Our garage sale was a resounding success today. Each of the families who brought items had a handful of cash by the end of the day plus the benefit of a morning and afternoon of genuine camaraderie. We sold most of the items in the sale for fifty cents to a dollar so we sold loads of books, clothes, knickknacks, dishes, toys, lamps, shoes, sheets, dishes, glassware, along with a fair number of larger items: tables, hall trees, cabinets, and dressers. Every one of our customers seemed pleased and we were happy to see our discards become their treasures. Certainly, a form of recycling – use until done, then pass on for not much money. A win-win for all.
The highlights of the day: an overstuffed chair to a young married couple expecting their first child in just a few days; a hall tree and dining room cabinet for a young Austin College girl who has just graduated and is moving to a new town for her very first job; handfuls of tops, shorts, and shoes to people who clearly needed them; two small bikes with training wheels bought by a proud uncle taking them home to two nephews; a heat massager bought by a mother to give to her daughter whose shoulder pain might send her to physical therapy; a chest of drawers for two grandparents who are fixing up a special room for their granddaughter; and dozens of books to people who poured over them and then seemed very pleased with their “finds.”
People helping people simply by sharing what is slightly used. This translates into people helping our planet by re-using household items rather than simply tossing out the old and going out to buy something new. And people talking and laughing and sharing a part of a day together in recognition that face-to-face time together is fun, rewarding, and connection-building.
Tomorrow we head over to clean up what didn’t sell. We suspect we’ll have a few more buyers as we pack up the boxes to head to Goodwill, where everything not sold will be donated. And we can all go back home knowing we have less clutter in our lives and happier hearts since our little treasures are now being enjoyed by others, and not heading off to the landfill.
I am happy with our efforts and we’re already talking about how we can make our now annual neighborhood garage sale better next year. With that in mind, I plan to begin gathering, sorting, and boxing more household items for that next sale. And I’ll look forward to a future day in June when my husband and I will sell what we no longer need and our neighbors and friends with sit together with us under a big oak tree and laugh and joke until the sun goes down.
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