Yard sale

The list, in order, of what to do when your husband is laid off.
1. File for unemployment.
2. Put the student loans into forbearance.
3. Have a yard sale.

"Have a yard sale" can be shorthand for "sell your crap on craigslist," too. The idea is to have a forced fire sale of assets, to bring in much-needed money. But this step also gets rid of unnecessary junk, in case of a forced move to a new location for a new job. Since we may very well have to move, and possibly move cross-country, a yard sale is the first step toward lightening that moving load.

So, hey, I'm having a yard sale tomorrow! Anyone in the New England area, you can tweet me @brokefoodie for the address.

I'm making a lot of money at my job, and my husband has qualified for the maximum in unemployment benefits, so hopefully we will not be in danger of either starving or bankruptcy. I've also been selling some furniture on craigslist; that's been bringing in some very welcome extra cash.

It's funny; every time I move I think, "That's it, I'm never doing this again," and I settle in and start nesting. I buy things to fill in the corners. Then I have to move again, and I think, "How did I get all this crap?" and I once again strip it down to the bare essentials.

The lesson here is: Less is more.