Saturday, June 20, 2009

Garage Sale Lessons Learned

I had a garage sale today. The last one I had was about 9 years ago and that one was before I had kids.


Here's what I learned today:

Sitting on a chair in your garage for half of the day, sipping coffee and chatting with strangers can be quite relaxing when you are used to taking care of 4 kids.

Listening to the lady that is telling you every last detail about the car trouble she has had for the last 5 years might be exhausting but also might be worth it (she spent $50!)

Putting a few guy things (such as car accessories, tools or old army gear) up close to the road, really works. It draws the husbands in, and then the ladies walk around and buy stuff.

Neglecting to clean your kitchen the night before the sale is not a good idea. No matter how helpful your spouse is (and mine was really helpful with the kids and the sale) the mess will most likely still be there (and be doubled) after the sale.

Getting pizza for dinner after a garage sale is pure genius.

Complimenting a man on his truck is a great way to start a conversation. Have your husband talk to him about his truck, too, and he will hang around until his wife arrives from the garage sale down the road. This is a great way to make your husband happy, learn about the community, and ensure a sale.

Meeting a neighbor for the first time and then watching him try on a shirt that is quite a bit too small leaves quite an impression.

Letting your kids sell lemonade at a lemonade stand is really cute. Letting them have a video game Saturday is really smart.

Having a garage sale a few days before you leave on a big trip is perfect because when the sale is done you can move on to your next To-Do list instead of relaxing. Or... not so perfect... but at least I have some money for those last minute trip purchases.

12 comments:

Karen said...

Our Yard sale was great kids earned some money I got a little space back!

RLR said...

Glad it went well! We also had pizza after our garage sale a few weeks back - must be an unspoken tradition!

Jill@Barnes Yard said...

Yay, I'm glad it was a success. I love my purchases!

Trisha said...

clever you are, luring those men in! love it!

More Than Words said...

I'll have to remember those tips!!

Beth E. said...

Great lessons! All I've learned from yard sales is that they are a lot of work, and they leave me exhausted! LOL The extra money is nice, though, so that balances everything out. :-)

McCrakensx4 said...

Sounds like a very productive day! And it is the best way to get some extra spending money! I had one in April and made almost $300 in less than 5 hours! My boys helped and loved having the responsibility and for the help they were able to get a new video game! Glad it was a sucess!

He & Me + 3 said...

I love having garage sales...but our sub is terrible for them. So now I don't do them I just shop them. Glad yours seemed to go well. Hope you made lots of cash.

Jill @ Sneaky Momma said...

Sounds like you had a successful garage sale!
We are in desperate need of holding one ourselves, but simply cannot get motivated to do it. :)

Anonymous said...

I've never had a Lebanon yard sale past 1:00 pm. The stuff that's worth it goes quick and the rest isn't worth much. By 1:00 the rest is free. I go to lunch, come back and everything is gone. Done. I don't like to sit the rest of the day to take in $4 in quarters.

sarah said...

very cute post! I love garage sales!

samantha said...

We had one this weekend to. I always enjoy getting rid of stuff. We also had pizza for dinner and I hear you on the clean kitchen. Enjoy spending the money on last min purchases.