I HAVE A CHANGE OF HERAT!

I had my garage sale this weekend. I know I told you all I hated everything about having a garage sale. But, I've had a change of heart.

We got up at 5:00am (still hate that part) and set everything out. Even though I advertised no early birds, people still started to come a little after 6:00am. Our sale was set to start at 7:30am.

People were buying things like crazy before we even had 1/2 of the things unpacked. So between customers we quickly pulled things out of the boxes and sat them out.

I had planned on setting things up so it was pretty and organized like a little store. We had no time for that and no one seemed to care.

I don't think we went for more then a minute or two without having someone shopping and buying.

Where I live we can only have a garage sale four times a year. This weekend was the first time this year our city could have one and I think everyone was out either shopping or having their own sale.

I was worried I was going to have done all this work getting ready and then only sale about $100. I was shocked to see in only 5 1/2 hours I made close to $1600.00! Wow!

That is when my change of heart took place. It all became totally worth it.

Plus, we had so many nice people show up. We had a lot of laughs and everyone was so friendly and in a good mood.

Sadly we did have a few things stolen from us and I did have a few people try to get a lower price even though my prices were rock bottom. But, even those things didn't put a damper on the day.

When it was over, we still had lots of stuff. I packed up three car loads and took them to Goodwill. I had a super heavy solid steel work bench, a large table and a huge bag of packing peanuts that I listed as free on Craigslist.

By the time I got home from my third trip to the Goodwill, the table was gone. Then last night some time before 11:00pm the work bench and packing peanuts were gone! Yeah!

We have so much room in our garage now and I have some space in storage to move around.

It went so well that I'm planning on having another one in three months. It will be a great reason for me to go through all the things I have in storage and get rid of a lot of it.

So for those you, who are like I was, give it another shot. You too may have a change of heart.

I'M FINALLY DOING IT

I can't tell you how many times I have said I was going to have a garage sale and then didn't. Yet, this Saturday, I'm finally going to have one.

While I love going to garage sales, I hate having them. I don't like to prepare for them. I don't like getting up early. I don't like the actual sale. Nothing about having one makes me happy.

Well, except the money and extra space one gets from cleaning out everything.

I'm not one to haggle over the price of an item. I practically give my items away when I do have garage sales because I don't want to pack things back up and haul things to donate afterwards.

So, when I am asked a price and I give a super low price I don't like when the buyer comes back asking for it to be even less. I know this is normal and considered part of the "game" that people enjoy but I don't like it.

I also don't like the feeling when people come up, take a look around and leave. I feel like they think my stuff is just junk. Again, I know people are out looking for certain things but I still feel like a simple hello or good bye would be nice.

I also feel uncomfortable when a child really wants an item but the mom or dad tells them no. I'm not sure if I should offer to give the child the item for free or if the reason the parent says no is because they don't want any more toys around.

The thing that gets me the most is when someone steals something from you. What do you do? Do you confront them and start a fight or just let them take it? Every time I've had a garage sale or helped a friend have one I see this happen.

Most of the time I figure, if someone needs something so badly that they steal it from a garage sale then they need it more then me so I just turn away and let them have it.

So, I'm not looking forward to this coming Sat. But, I will be happy when it's over. I have so much stuff I'm getting rid of. So far, I have 1/2 of my garage full with boxes of items to sell. I still have a lot of my storage to go through before Sat too.

I wish all my blogging junking buddies lived close by. I know I have things you guys would want and having customers like you guys would make my day!

Wish me good luck and if you are in the area, stop by. I would love to see you.

Look what I found today

Today I figured I would just take it easy and have a lazy day. I had to go run a few errands though. As I was driving around I spotted a few garage sales going on. It was pretty late in the day so I almost didn't bother to stop. But, I'm happy I did.
I found these two little bird candle holders. They have pale pink chippy paint on them. I don't think they are really old. I think they are newer and just painted to give that old look. They are made out of some type of metal though.

Cost $1.50 for both.

I also saw this little cup. I picked it up and then put it back down. As I walked around I kept looking at it. I went back, picked it up again and then thought it would look cute on my desk holding pens so I bought it. Besides, it was only 50 cents.
I love this little plate. It has hand painted forget me nots on it. I'm going to hang it in my bedroom with my other plates.

Cost $3.00
I love this little plaster pot. It has three cherubs on it. There isn't any drainage holes though so I'm not sure what I'll do. I could either try to drill holes or put a pot inside and pull the pot out when I water the plant. What would you do?

Cost $2.00

I think my best find was these candle holders. They are heavy. They are tarnished silver. I think they look much better in person. I'm not sure I will paint these or let them stay this color. I'm leaning towards letting them stay silver.

I put the crystal part on the top. I think it looks nice with the tarnished silver look. Sort of a real Shabby Chic look.

Cost for these were $3.00.

So what do you think? With or without the crystal top? I'll be putting pink candles in them. I have to buy some though. I'm going to put them in my office.

I was pleased with my finds. I guess sometimes you find good things at the end of the day as people just want to get rid of the things they have left. I've noticed that you find a lot of nice things if you get out there really early but often the prices are much higher.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

Don't forget to sign up for my CHRISTMAS IN JULY giveaway. There is a link on the right to click on. You must sign up on that post to be entered. You have until July 31st to sign up.

Hugs,
Joanne