Today I did what will most likely be my last garage sale. Ever. It really wasn’t that hard to do. I’ve been setting things aside to sell since last September when we were packing to move. Some things I had even priced. The day was nice—cool this morning and just starting to get hot when we packed things up this afternoon. The company was enjoyable—we were at the home of some friends of ours to take advantage of their city-wide garage sale day. I even got rid of a lot of things (did you notice the poundage go up again?!?).
No, none of that is the reason. I just don’t find it worth it anymore.
When we first planned to do this sale with our friends, I was well aware that we would just be returning from a vacation. But, as usual, my plans far exceeded my time-limitations. When we came home on Wednesday evening, I had my big pile of garage sale items waiting to go, and a smaller pile of things that needed to be tended to. By Thursday evening, I had decided it wasn’t going to get done. So instead I pulled up this site, documented my items, packed them up, (weighed them), and loaded them up in my van. Friday morning, I dropped them off at my local thrift store, made sure I got my receipt, and drove off never to think of them again.
Friday afternoon, I took my garage sale boxes, (weighed them), loaded them up in the pick-up, drove to my friends’ house, and unloaded them—essentially moving the pile from my living room floor to theirs. This morning, I loaded up 5 card tables and my 4 kids (plus snacks, drinks, sun screen and extra clothes). We set up the tables, carried out the merchandise and set everything up. We tended our little sale for 8 hours today. Then I boxed up our leftovers, loaded the pick-up back up, brought it all home, unloaded it, (weighed it), and piled it all back in my living room. From here I’ll sort through it one more time for it’s next (and final) destination.
Was it worth it? Let’s see…
My garage sale items fit in the back of a pick-up (requiring me to make an extra trip since we do not own a vehicle that holds cargo and kids at the same time), and took 8 hours of supervision. Half of them were then repacked, brought back to my house, and will need more tending before they leave my house for good. The half that was sold weighed 86 lbs. and netted us $65.
My thrift store items fit in the back of my van, were donated while I was already in town running errands (one block away from my next stop), weighed 42 lbs. and put $0 in my pocket. BUT, because we itemize deductions on our taxes and I took the time to document this donation, it will save us in the neighborhood of $50 come April.
So from now on, no garage sales for me. If I can’t find someone who can use the things that are no longer needed by us, I’ll find someone who can find someone who needs them.
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You may remember I mentioned that anything that didn’t sell at the garage sale could be left to be picked up by the local thrift store. The problem is that it’s a for-profit store. I chose to bring my things home to document them, donate them to a not-for-profit charity, and receive the tax benefits. I’ll admit that I chose the extra work of repacking and hauling them around (not to mention re-weighing them). Even without that extra work, I believe donating my things is a better option.
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All was not lost today. While I tended my items, Abby and Ellie ran their own little business.
They’ve been working hard over the last month to build their supply of friendship bracelets. They’ve practiced each technique on scrap thread, then worked diligently to do quality work. We’ve made several trips to the craft store so they can find just the right colors. They even took their supplies with them to Texas to increase their inventory. Today they sold $17.50 worth of product. They are so excited and are making plans for more items with more detailed work, and trying to decide when their next sale will be. It’s been fun to watch them in this little venture.
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