If you are like most Americans we have so much junk that ever so often we need to purge and get rid of our belongings to make room for new ones. Our closets are stuffed, our garages are overflowing, there is no more room under our beds to hide all that stuff we no longer use.
I’ve mentioned before that I love websites like FreeCycle and Craigslist but when was the last time you held a Yard Sale?
Well this past weekend we did just that, held a community yard sale. A neighbor decided to organize the sale and advertised in the local paper. Of course we also used the wonderful poster board signs to lure those bargain hunters in. I decided to post the sale on Craigslist in hopes of gaining a few more customers. Then I was sent an email with a new website just for Yard Sales and Garage Sales called Garage Sales Tracker.
It was very easy to use the site, just enter a title of your event, the date and times, your phone number and address, and a brief description of the items for sale. Presto…your sale is listed on the web for FREE!
Unfortunately, I have no idea how any of our treasure hunters found our sale because we were too busy to stop and chat. Our sale started at 8am and by 6:45am the hubby said people were circling the neighborhood waiting to find the best bargains of the day. As soon as I opened the garage doors at 7am the cars began to park and the fun had begun.
You might be wondering what items would sell at a yard sale. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised at the stuff that sold and the stuff that we were left with. We sold everything from CDs, baby clothes, mommy clothes, maternity clothes (ok…all clothes sold well!), kids toys (you know those McD’s stuff…great seller), vases, books, radios, VCRs, you name it…it sold!
I did have a hard time selling some of the nicer items. I had a highchair that I’ve decided to part with but I wanted to get $30 for it, no one even asked about it. I also had a nice train set (GeoTrax) that Big B has outgrown, all the kids played with it but their parents didn’t even ask about it. Picture frames, didn’t sell well even at 50 cents.
While I’m not the regular yard sale shopper (rarely stop) I was surprised to see the diversity of people who stopped. I was extremely surprised by all the ‘rich’ people who stopped by. We had a few Jaquar and BMW owners who actually stopped and bought…maybe that’s how they can afford those nice cars! Maybe I should take a lesson from them and start my Saturday mornings driving around town looking for my own treasure.
Our sale was winding down by noon and we were left with only a small truck load of stuff. We loaded the leftovers into the hubby’s truck and dropped it off at the local charity truck (this week we gave to Goodwill). I did keep a few things that I thought I could still sell or give to a deserving person I already know. I’m making a trip to the local consignment store later this week with the highchair.
What did I learn? There is always someone who can use what you no longer want or need. I guess the old saying is true, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
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