Family not counting on eBay for a fresh start

Some people go to great lengths to get a fresh start in life. Lisa Perry's clearly one of those people. The Minnesota woman has decided to sell nearly all of her belongings in an online auction on eBay. The 45-year-old Perry told the Associated Press that she's selling more than 300 items including snowshoes, a futon, a "Village People" album, seashells and other assorted items.

She says she's keeping just a few items -- her dog, her cat, photo albums and some clothing.

Personally, 300 items doesn't seem like a lot of stuff when you're in your mid-40s. I've got more stuff than that, although thankfully I don't own a single album of the "Village People."

And since I've got a wife and two daughters, the list of items taking up space in our home is extremely long. We do have a futon. But it has an honored place in our teenager's bedroom. I'm sure Becca doesn't want to auction it off on eBay.

We have so much stuff that our garage has become one huge storage closet. Of course, some of the stuff in the garage needs to be pitched. But buried in all the stuff, I'm sure, are at least some things we want to keep.

Perry doesn't view her actions as reflective of a mid-life crisis. "This might be mid-life, but it's not a crisis. It's mid-life excitement," she says.

"I don't need it all. I don't use it all. I just have it all. Actually, it has me," she's quoted as saying.

I understand such sentiment. It's the kind of feeling I get when I step into our younger daughter's bedroom. Bailey's floor often is covered in toys. She has a lot of stuffed animals too. They cover much of her bed and hang from netting in the corners of her room.

Bailey would never agree to sell her stuffed animals online. At least, not easily. Joni and I have, on occasion, talked her out of some of her stuffed animals but only after some serious negotiations.

As for our 15-year-old, she's more interested in buying things than selling them at this stage in her life.

Becca cleaned up her room the other day, but as far as I know she didn't throw out anything remotely close to a personal belonging.

Still, it's nice to know that we can get rid of stuff through the miracle of online technology. It gives a whole new meaning to cleaning house.

Perry, who delivers subpoenas and legal documents, says that the online auction means she'll have fewer breakable things to move when she heads west this summer looking for a new career. She's thinking of a career in creative writing or holistic healing.

An online auction clearly is one way to get rid of the clutter in one's home. After all, there's only so much you can store in the garage.

But I'm not ready to auction off any of our major belongings. The Mark McGwire bobble-head doll still has a place of honor in our china cabinet. We don't view it as a reflection on the steroid issue. It's just another Cardinal souvenir like the replica Busch Stadium brick. I grew up in a family where nothing was pitched without serious debate and discussion. Childhood toys were stored away to be passed on to the next generation.

This Minnesota woman probably wouldn't approve of such actions now. She even wants to sell her seashells. We won't be buying them. Becca, Bailey and Joni returned home this week from a spring-break trip to Florida with two large plastic containers full of shells they picked up along the sandy shores.

Joni says she plans to display them, not auction them off on eBay. I can't blame her. They're some of the best looking shells my family's ever collected. Of course, some of our belongings need a little tidying up. But it's something that can't be done with a click of a mouse.

Selling seashells and other belongings might help clean out a closet, but it won't refresh our lives online or otherwise.

Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.