Garage Sale Gab!!

Beth (my sweet sister-in-law) and I set out last weekend to clean house - both our houses. I have had stuff piling up since Neno and I got married 5 years ago and she and Jeremy had their fair shair of duplicates since they got married in January. We weren't sure how it was going to go, but we made out like bandits. Unfortunately, we got cheated on a few things - sad society we live in- but on the whole, it was really good. And by the way, Friday is the day to have a garage sale. We made a majority of our money then. I was even able to buy my new treasure - a oak dining room table - and finally got rid of the furniture that has plagued me since we moved into this house. I have a clean slate to get what I want for the fireplace room.




Anyway, back to the garage sale and the whole reason that I was writing...





We started our day on Friday at 7 a.m. with a posting on Craigslist that said NO EARLY BIRDS. Beth had bairly pulled up with our Chick Fil A for breakfast and we already had people coming up. We were so frazzled. We didn't have everything priced and thought we had an hour to get ready. So much for thinking!! Right off the bat, a lady put a bunch of jewelry in a bag and asked Beth how much for "3 watches" (Beth realized later that it was more than 3 watches). Beth told her $2. It wasn't until Friday night that she was just sick over all the things that lady made off with - 3 watches, some rings and a necklace (I think). The day did get better, though. The stuff we thought wouldn't sell did (little figurines and trinkets that Beth and I laughed at as we were setting up) and I finally got rid of decorations from my wedding 5 years ago. I really think I made this ladies day when I told her the price of the vases and mirrors. She even came back on Saturday for all of the marbles that I had in mason jars. I second guessed the price of all that stuff all weekend - oh well, it is gone now. And the whole idea was to clean out!!!


We really had a great time, reminiscing over old clothes and stuff that we were selling. Beth made fun of my leather pants. Yes, leather pants!!! And sadly, we got some good laughs over our clientele. The best had to have been when I was trying to get Ava Grace inside for a nap and she spotted a man with a pony tail. Before I could get her inside these words came out of her mouth...

"Mommy, that man looks like a girl!"

I immediately went into mommy-mode and told her that we don't say things like that because it hurts peoples feelings. Beth and I laughed about it for the remainder of the sale and anytime that a man with long hair came up we looked around for Ava Grace.



As much fun as it was, I have to get on my soap box a for a minute. I was appauled to see a young girl come shopping with her mother only to have her mother change out price stickers on our stuff. She even let the girl try to scam us with a ten-key calculator. We had $5 on it and I saw the young girl put a 25 cent sticker on and then replace it with a 10 cent sticker before she got to Beth. We aren't stupid!! Beth stood her ground and said it was marked at $5 and that the bathroom accessories that she was trying to buy were marked at $1 and not 25 cents (she compromised on that one at 50 cents). She even lied about a price that I quoted her on a shirt. I am not upset that we didn't get the money, because if she needed it that badly, I would have given it to her. I am upset that she was teaching her daughter that it is okay to cheat people and to lie. That is just wrong and that is part of what is wrong with our society today.


On Saturday, we had some extra helpers when Neno, Monica and Braidy joined us. The Curry clan had put a few things in our garage sale so they came on Saturday to lend a hand.


Saturday was a much slower day. We even ransacked our houses to find more stuff. Beth and I boasted a little about how great our stuff was because we were complimented on prices and we had repeat shoppers. We even had a sweet lady at the end of the day saying "I can't believe I missed this sale. I cannot believe that I missed it!!"


Overall, it was a huge success and Beth and I were more than satisfied with the outcome. We were also more than exhausted for the rest of the weekend. Garage sales are hard work and I won't consider it done until I get what was left out of our garage.


One last note, I was telling Neno on Sunday how glad I am that Jeremy married Beth. I wouldn't have been able to do that garage sale without her and I wouldn't have wanted to do it with anyone that Jeremy dated before her. She is wonderful and I am so glad that my sweet bother-in-law found the "perfect" woman for him and a fabulous sister-in-law for me.