I really should have taken a picture of all our junk, but I didn't. We had the whole living room floor covered in toys at one point (and we have a big living room) - we weeded through them, keeping the boys "favorite" toys and deciding which ones to put in the garage sale. Then we had to put a price on them.
We also sorted through nearly EVERYTHING in our house and shop this week, going through the same process. It was a big PAIN. We made the mistake of advertising the garage sale in the newspaper - don't do that. It cost $17 to list it (for 3 days - 2 days was $15 - $12 for 1 day). Who knew that would cost so much? We also spent $3 on signs and stickers. So we were already $20 in the hole.
So then we got up early this morning - about 6:30am to set everything up. We had people showing up at 7:40 (with an 8am start time). We were still trying to get everything out there. And then we waited and sat in the hot sun and watched people look at our junk. People came, but they didn't buy like we thought they would. There were some items that we thought would go quickly and they never sold. And then there were some things we thought would NEVER go. Who would have expected the carcass of a blowfish to go? Or a big CD/radio player on which the CD player doesn't work (we told them...)? I was surprised at how many men came, mostly looking for guns, knives, fishing, and yard stuff. I expected more moms and ladies looking for household things and toys. I think more men showed up than women.
After subtracting our advertising, we made $55. It wasn't worth the time and energy. What did feel good was taking 2 van loads of stuff to the Salvation Army. I think what we discovered is that the bigger junk items you put on Craigslist and donate all the small junk. We listed some things on Craigslist and by the end of the day, we had several replies.
I don't think we'll be doing any more garage sales, but hopefully we learned how to get rid of our junk and can continue to do so. It's a nice feeling to have things more organized and cleared out. We still have too many TOYS though...
8 comments:
I feel your pain. We were doing that same sorting and deciding today. We have given up on garage sales and just decided to donate. I'm hoping this move will be it for a LONG time!!!
Garage sales do take a lot of work. We had one two weeks ago, and while we thought it went well, we don't want to have another one anytime soon. Mike is happy we can see half of our garage again : )
Funny...I came to that EXACT conclusion after my last garage sale 5 years ago. Never again!!!!! Donating is awesome. :) Praying for you, as you move and also with that sweet little baby that's making it into this world soon!!!
Sounds so familiar! We have given up on garage sales I think. Still have stuff to put on CL though. I don't know how, but toys just multiply when you're not looking. And we're about to be in for twice as many! Sometimes a few "disappear" when she's not looking, but she actually does like and play w/ all of them, so I haven't had the heart to get rid of enough. I love getting rid of stuff! It's a great feeling.
I'm with your mom...it must be location. Before moving up north I participated in at least one sale a year. We would kind of rotate which neighbor's house it was at but would all contribute. Maybe that is the key-go in with several families? The only time we had more than a handful of men was right before we moved and we actually advertised that we were getting rid of lawn care stuff, the pool table and electronics. The lawnmower was the first thing to go and we got more than we paid for it. That was the only time we actually advertised.
I'm not sure we are in a good sales neighborhood now so I've been doing the donation thing.
The clean out/get rid of phase is the best part of moving. I keep telling my parents that is why they have so much stuff...they have been in the same house for too long!
I am so sorry, but thank you for making me feel better about not having one. We went back and forth and ended up deciding to do some craigslist things and donating most. It is such a pain to move and de-clutter, a yard sale is just that much more headache! Glad you got rid of some stuff though. Nice fish- what the?
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