Curtains for you!

7/7/10 Two brand new, still-in-the-package curtain rods, given away on craigslist

This one took a while.

Joanna's had these curtain rods in the trunk of her car for as long as I can remember. I don't know why she bought them or, once she did, why she never used them in our old house. But, they sat in her trunk in Maine, sat in the trunk along routes 95, 80, and 76, and sat in the trunk through our first week in Colorado.

The new house comes with window treatments -- I know, I just wrote the check -- so they'll be no need for the curtain rods there.

I put them up on craigslist four days ago and immediately had a number of hits. As is my general rule, I offered it up to the first responder, an enthusiastic woman named Shauna.

Shauna's husband is a tow-truck driver and it's been an especially busy week. Each night, Shauna thought they'd be able to swing by to get the curtain rods, and each night he had too many calls. Guess the recession is good for those in the car repair business.

Lesson Number One I've learned about craigslist is that when you put things up for free, people will take them.

Lesson Number Two is that the follow-through on picking up the stuff is not always so good.

But, Shauna has distinguished herself with her excellent communication, calling and emailing each time she had to cancel. I decided to just put the curtain rods on the porch and tell her she could get them whenever it worked best for her. Four nights running and they are still out there.

At least it shows that theft isn't a big problem here.

However, I just received an email from her saying that she and her hubby have a number of places to go tonight, and they will promise to pick them up quietly as their last stop. She assured me they would be gone by morning.

Technically the downsize hasn't happened yet, since those curtain rods are still on the porch as I write this, but I trust Shauna, and I go to bed with confidence that the deal will go down.

In the world of downsizing, you've gotta have faith in people.

Editor's Note, 7/8/10: Faith Rewarded. When I woke up this morning, the curtain rods were gone. Joanna said she thought she heard them being picked up around 3AM. When I started my computer, I found a follow up email from Shauna stating that she had gotten them and thanking me. See, in the words of John Maxwell, you've just got to be a believer in people.