Friday night parades. Saturday morning yard sales. Does it get any more Norman Rockwell's America than this? Geesh, I live a charmed life. Or maybe I'm just easy to please. (Somewhere my husband is choking as he reads this.)
This morning I woke up at o'dark early and headed over to the house of Henry's BFF, Nathan, for the yard sale. RP is an expert yard saler, so I decided to hitch my yard sale virgin self to her wagon. I'd labeled everything and was setting it out by 6am. The things I'll do for cash. So here are the things I've learned---
1. Some people are weird. Like the old guy who approached Sloan and said, "So I'll tell you who I'm not voting for..." Sloan looked at me as if to say, "Was I in the middle of a conversation with him without knowing it?"
2. At least three people will come to your yard sale looking for guns. Am I the only one that is shocked by this?
3. Yard Sale Strategy. There are two types of yard salers--the early birds and the buzzards. The early birds come buy at 6:58am when you clearly stated on the signs the sale begins at 7. And half of your stuff is still in boxes. They are looking to purchase one of the four non-crap items that every yard sale is bound to have--furniture, yard equipment, children's items, or maybe some type of home item. And they want to purchase said non-crap item for rock bottom prices. To these people I say there is no way I'm selling my wooden mantle to you for just $10. You're the first person to show up. Be a buzzard. These are the people that come at the end of the yard sale and are frustrated that you've already sold that commercial air sweeper. But these buzzards, while they may not get the nice duvet cover, the red keens, or the oriental rug, they know a little secret... (see below)
4. By the end of the yard sale, I was willing to pay someone just to clean up and take the crap that didn't sell to Goodwill for me. Seriously, I kept saying, "Ugh, why didn't I sell that mantle for $10" as I did the "Goodwill or Craigslist" sort.
5. That thing you thought no one would buy will sell and your really great non-crap item won't. Mine were a box of plastic floral arranging dishes, which sold for a dollar and a pair of Pottery Barn Silk Striped drapery panels which didn't sell for $20 for the pair. I just couldn't part with them for $5 like everyone kept offering me. So if you want them, check Craigslist.
But all in all, we made over $60, had some fun with our friends, and also are going to get a tax write off for the rest of it we donated to Goodwill. We're planning on doing it again at our house next Spring, so if you've got any crap you'd like to donate to the cause (my wallet being the cause)--bring it on over.
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