Yup, we had a garage sale last weekend. I had been both looking forward to and dreading this sale since my husband and I decided to bite the bullet and just do it. For a few weeks, I’ve been going through my children’s drawers and closets for too-small clothes (there was a lot). Then we went through their toys. They were pretty good about choosing toys they didn’t want anymore. My six year old daughter gave up almost all of her Disney Princess things. She says she’s too old for that kind of stuff. (Sigh.) My hubby and I were excited about giving away large things that take up room and never get used and of course making a little money in the process.We sold our wares all day on Thursday and Friday and a few hours on Saturday morning (since we had ball games on Saturday and a dance recital on Sunday). We set up a pop stand to keep the kids busy. They were arguing over who would sell the pop first (a very sugary variety of black cherry, grape, lemon-lime and Dr. Chill, yes a rip off of Dr. Pepper, but a tasty one!), but lost interest quickly. I rarely let them have pop, but I thought since it was the first week of summer and they were in charge of it, they could have two per day. Hello purple stained shirts, faces, and wired kids! Usually it was unmanned (or unkidded) as they were off playing with the neighbor kids most of the days (they had to run off the sugar somehow…).
Key items sold: large toddler outdoor play set, a battery operated Hummer that didn’t work –we were upfront with the state of it and sold it for $10, two tricycles, a double jogging stroller, a ride on battery operated train and a big ole plow blade. My babies are growing up! (Sigh again.) But then again, those are the big items that take up so much space.
The funniest thing sold was a Hannah Montana wig. My neighbor also had a garage sale, and her daughter and my kids came running from her house telling us that some teenage boys just bought all their play wigs and a blow up unicorn. They were coming our way so I raced into the house and grabbed my daughter’s scraggly Hannah Montana wig that she didn’t want anymore (and I didn’t put out because it was a mess). The boys walked in the garage, bought that scraggly wig, and even gave the kids some quarters for the pop stand even though they didn’t want any pop! Then with their wigs in place and the blow up unicorn sticking out of their sunroof, they sped off to impress some chicks who appreciate guys with a good sense of humor (that or they were going to go see the Hannah Montana movie).
We made about $500 which was a few hundred less than our last one seven years ago, but the best part is we have more room. We’ll pack most of the other stuff and send it off to Purple Heart or Goodwill.
Is anyone else attempting a garage sale this summer??
