There is a knack to every business. There are communities of people that revolve around some very interesting things. Take people who are bargain hunters, treasure hunters or people who go to estate sales on the weekend. My grandfather passed away a few months ago and my family just had an estate sale, where we sold many of my grandparents belongings.

My grandparents were CPA's, so they had great records, including most original receipts and any appraisals. We hired Chelsea Estate Service to assist in pricing and cataloging everything in the townhouse. In truth, it's an emotional experience. Going through their belongings, picking out what items are special to you and taking them home. Since I have a small house, I don't have much room. I chose items that had more sentimental value.

So how the estate sale is run is rather interesting. First, there is an ad in the newspaper, then people go to Chelsea's for a number. This number reflects what order people can enter the house. Only 25 people are allowed inside at one time. The bottleneck seemed to be the cash register.

My job was to work the front door, handing out numbers and managing the flow of people inside and outside of the house. Oh, that and the community didn't want the street to be filled with cars, so I had to make sure nobody parked out in front. We got permission from the church up the street to use their parking. Lastly, when big purchases were made, I was the muscle to help get things to their vehicles.

Saturday morning there were about 35 people lined up outside the front door. We had about 10 or so people waiting to get in from when we started at 10:00am to about 1 o'clock. As the crowd became more manageable, I moved inside to check out the scene. Everything inside was priced to sell, but people still want to haggle. I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I'm fairly sure somebody took prices off items, just to ask and hope for a better deal in person.

Things I didn't even think about, people would come up and ask for a price. For example, to make it easier for my grandparents to get out of their leather couch, they put it up on wood blocks. A gentleman asked me for the blocks. How much? Um, let me check...

Many of the people were regulars and called each other by name. Or they would talk about seeing one another later at the next estate sale, whether later in the day or a couple weekends from now.

The second day everything $75 dollars and under was half off. I was surprised to see many of the same faces the next day. They know the drill. Huge rush in the morning and things moved fast. I think they come on the first day, buy the "must haves" then come back the following day early for the half off sale.

What I enjoyed was talking with people who really wanted what they were buying. They'd want to know the history, who my grandparents were, what type of life they led. It's nice to know some items that have been cherished by my family will now be cherished by another.

I'm not totally done yet. A few big ticket items were left that I'm still currently trying to move. I have a Baldwin baby grand piano, a persian rug, an huge armoire, a dresser with end tables, a coffee table and a mirror. I have them posted on Craigslist. Next I'm going to post them on eBay.

We're in the process of painting the townhouse, which should be just about done, then new carpet goes in and finally the staging. The house will go on the market at the end of this month. It's amazing how much has to be done.