Don here......The 6 AM alarm sounded - it's still dark as pitch and I'm getting out of my warm bed to go out into the frigid 65 degree Central Florida weather - before the sun even comes up, before the birds sing and even before the early yard sale schmoozers appear from out of the darkness like characters from "Night of the Living Dead". Yes blogsters - we had a yard sale today, and had I known that it was going to be such work, I would have donated the crap and taken a tax deduction.
All week, I'm going through the house looking for 'cramique' that I slap a price tag on and send it off with a happy, snappy bargain hunter to take it's place and gather dust in someone else's domain. We sold old soap and half used bottles of cologne that could burn nose hairs. We sold a miniature dried up old cactus barely clinging to life. We sold a spindly, wobbly old table incapable of supporting the weight of anything but a few magazines. We sold remote controls without accompanying electronic devices. We sold the gnarliest sofa you've ever seen, delicately accented with white dog hair woven into the fabric (thank you Diva). I gotta tell you the story on this one - I told Be "I'll sell it for 10 bucks if it comes down to it, I just want to get rid of it. But first I want to have some fun with it." So, after making a computer generated sign saying $75, I took a sharpie, X'd through the price and wrote "Make An Offer". Some guy comes along and lit up when he saw the soft - "That'll fit in great with my decor!" I'm thinking "What decor? - Nouveau Hair du Doggie?" So, he says "Will you take $50 for it?" ------ "Well, buddy, you're makin' me bleed here, but since you're a neighbor - SOLD!" He was happy as a clam! Anyone know where that expression came from?
I told the bargain hunters that proceeds were going to our adoption fund for Joanna Mei. One gal got tears in her eyes at the story and one guy gave me a few bucks extra when I sold him a couple of the ugliest bromeliads you've ever seen. He saw beauty in that which I apparently did not. I also offered to deliver bigger items for a donation to the adoption fund. One gal gave 10 bucks for delivery of bookshelves costing her the same amount. At closing time, I had 1 load in the back of my Ford Ranger pickup and was on the way to the Salvation Army with the leftovers.
Neighbors helped us out with the loan of tables and signs and after expenses, we netted $350 (about 1/3 of the SN child adoption fee) and met some neighbors who we did not know in the process. A lot of work and a pleasant experience that I'm ready to do again ----- 20 years from now when I can't move in our house with too much 'stuff' accumulated.
11 comments:
I LOVE garage sales! I like going to them and having them. We are going to have one in the spring.
I love the couch story, you sound a lot like my hubby. I'm always "giving" things away and he barters for a good price. One time he went to the dump to dispose of some construction debris and he came BACK with some stuff, I couldn't believe it. He then proceeded to sell the stuff at our garage sale that he had gotten for free at the dump!
We need to do a garage sale. In fact, it might be better just to open up the house and let people walk through and make bids on what we have!
That's cool that you got to hook up with some of the neighbors.
Aly's working on the April dates. I may be making a "family" trip that month to Las Vegas.
peace
fm
Don,
Anything you find in the future, just freecycle it. It is easier and less time consuming.
Melissa S.
They are work !
I like going to them but not having them.
It is fun chatting with people.
20 years?! With a child, you will be crammed with stuff in just two years!!! Trust me on this one!
Way to go on the couch!
you are too funny...so glad your garage sale took off...which i'm a little sad i didn't know about it so i could come by and see about that wobbly table, i mean what household is complete without one....but alas i guess i'll just have to survive knowing it found a home...hehe
We had a garage sale and we were doing great, but after two hours we were over it and just put up a sign that said FREE. Everything was gone in an hour and we were loving it!
Okay so I loved the story about the sofa. Too funny. Your trash is someone else's treasure ... now how neat is that!
What a great idea to have a yard sale!! You made some extra dough and met some nice neighbors.
We really need to have one too!! We have piles of stuff stacked up that we should really get rid of...
Love the Diva sofa story!
~Dawn
Sounds like a productive day!
What fun! My small group had 2 garage sales to help me with my adoption fund and it was great fun!
The story of the hairy sofa is too funny!
Your last comment made me laugh though. 20 years? I'm thinking in 2 you'll have so much baby stuff to move on that you'll be hosting another one of these.
Glad you had such a great time and were also able to help with your adoption costs! A great time was had by all.
How does the old saying go, one man's junk is another man's treasure. LOL! I'm sorry we missed it. We worked on the nursery/guest room on Saturday. We had a garage sale a few years ago. I remember it oh so well...I sold designer baby clothes in almost new condition (my son hardly ever wore an outfit twice - that's how nutso I was back then) for $.50 to $1. Some people tried to talk me down to a dime. Come on, a dime for a RL polo shirt! I came to the conclusion 'never again'-LOL! Too much work for me.
Take care,
Michaela
LID: 05/24/06
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