My First Garage Sale

I just finished my very first garage sale.. my parents had them all the time when we were young, but this one was my very own!

Was It Worth It? - That will probably be the most asked question.. Yes and NO

Yes: I made $230 profit.. not bad for a one day sale. I want to plan a little family vacation to San Diego this summer. The money will go quickly but I feel good contributing to the family's positive cash flow instead of the other way around.

and

No: It was a lot of work and I missed my seester's company picnic. Bad planning on my part. Free food (and beer for Matt) not to mention it's always so much fun (Matt took Maddie last year). At least they got to go.

I had to purchase signs (3 different stores), put the signs out, tag everything, learn spanish (not really, thankfully some brought their children as translators. Seis Dolares, gracias!) I also baked two batches of cookies yesterday and we put out water and drinks for sale.

Lessons learned:

1. Don't use cardboard on the back of your signs. I thought it would make them sturdier, instead it gave the wind more leverage. All my signs were down when I went to take them down. Could explain why nobody came the second half of the day. Which leads me to lesson #2.

2. Everyone comes in the morning! 7-11 would have been plenty of time and I could have gone to the picnic!!! The big "rush" came around 9:30.

3. Baked goods are a big hit, especially right around 10:30 when people start to get hungry and their kids start complaining.

4. Have change, lots of it.. can you believe people go to garage sales with $100 and $50 bills???!!! INSANE.. hi, I'm buying a huge pile of stuff for $14 but all I have is this hundred dollar bill... Matt explained they might not have bank accounts but still! Now I know.

5. Pee before you're left alone for the day.. oh, and make some lunch before you're alone too. I ate 50 cents in cookies. :)

6. It's ok to put the dresses you really love back in your closet... you might fit back into them... someday!

I did sell my wedding dress the day before for $50. It made the girl really happy to be done dress shopping and if she changes her mind, $50 is nothing when planning a wedding. Matt is glad to have it out of our hall closet.

It does feel good to let go of many things that I've had for way too long and as I'm sitting next to the pool or sweating like a pig at Sea World, I'll know that all our "junk" got us a night away! That makes it worth every $1 sticker!