[Seahawk]

There is a large farm/everything-under-the-sun auction run by the Amish here every November. It draws about three thousand buyers over the course of the day.

Every year as I work through my farm weekends and days I invariably reach the "dump or auction" fork in the road.

Over the last 20 years I went from making a dump run (or recycle run) five or six times a year to once a year: Everything else goes to the auction. I keep a separate bin and shelving for items going to auction. Or I shoot it then recycle it.

My "ah ha" moment came a year or so after we bought the farm. At our suburban place we had one of those smaller, wheeled metal Sears dump trailers for loading stuff up behind a small yard tractor. We brought it with us to the farm and frankly abused the poor thing.

New, I paid $80.00 in 1993. I took the battered, still functional hulk to the auction and it sold for $60.00 in 1997. I became addicted to unhoarding.

I rarely buy anything at the auction btw: I have gotten all of our barn cats the last 20 years for free. We get them spayed and they live the dream.