Sellin' Stuff

Last summer I hosted my first ever garage sale. I was inspired by my next door neighbors who hosted one on their front lawn, right on Portage, and made around $500! So on a Monday I purged the entire house and garage of anything I could get my hands on, bringing it all to the dining room. And for the next 4 days, there it sat.

We kept talking about pricing it. Someone suggested it would take 2 people to do it right. Seemed like we just didn't want to face the challenge. And then, the night before the sale, I took bull by horns and attacked with my colored circles and pen. It took less than a 1/2 hour to price the whole kitten kaboodle. :-)

My sister rolled in later that night from Virginia with my 4 year old great niece Jayden (my crew), and Saturday morning most of us were up before dawn setting everything out on the gigantic (former ping pong) tables my neighbors had used and no longer wanted. Our gig,complete with lemonade and cookie stand, was ready for business.

I only wish I had a journal entry for that magnificent day, selling my stuff to neighbors, strangers and friends. Eventually a daughter or two entered the fray, just sittin', sippin', smilin'. But the highlight of highlights was the end when, after rain had closed us down and we had roughly a quarter of our stuff still left under the tables to keep dry, we brought it all back out and put FREE signs up That's when it really got good.

There was the lady who just couldn't believe I was giving away the unfinished antique night stand that perfectly matched hers, or the guy who took away every last piece of artwork I had stacked on the handlebars of his bicycle! Good times watching from the living room window as people came and went,picking things over, over and over. Many a good short chat was had at the front door reassuring folk that it was indeed free.

When all was said and done, we had a small pile of sundries which sat on the curb for approximately 7 minutes.And then, faced with having someone haul the tables away,  we slapped FREE signs on them, and in a matter of a couple of days they too were taken.

My croquet set sat next to the house for a good long while waiting for pickup, but it too finally went.

Now that's what I'd call a win win situation!!