On Keeping Things Dry When It Starts Raining

It is raining. Yet again, it is raining. It's rained for weeks straight & then it's rained some more. Somehow in the midst of all of the rain, on a singular sunny day (that was forecasted to be cloudy) I managed, with a tube of this in the car, to get way too much sun. Sitting in my car, waiting for the sun to go behind the clouds & become that forecasted cloudy day. I do so good in the Springtime; I consider the rays & plot out my outside time well according to the time of the day. Once the seventh month of the year strikes, my brain switches too. Like the first weekend of August last year when I earned myself a sunburn on the upper portion of my body while wearing a strapless sundress sitting underneath a tree in a friend's front yard as her family held a yard sale.

Sometimes I think these rainy days were the type of camping days when Mom & Dad decided we were best to get a camper versus continuing to camp only in our family tent. Camping in the tent on rainy days meant watching the edges of the underside portion to be sure that all of our fabrics weren't nearby. Oftentimes we'd have our sleeping bags too close to the bends & folds of tent's base. These were the times we'd need to be certain & pull everything back about five or so inches. We'd have these & the edges of these sitting along the tent's sides. Mom would remind us that we weren't going to want any part of these wet when we'd be sleeping. It was up to us kids to scoot about the tent's interior & "mad man" style prepare the area for the oncoming water. Mom would instruct us as soon as water appeared to be imminent, yet there were many a time when there would hardly be a sprinkle or two prior to the downpour.

Dad would be hustling about in the small space surrounding the picnic table. Though we'd have the family's cooler (which stayed in the minivan overnight to keep the groundhogs from helping themselves 😁), as well as all of the cooking apparatus sitting in a line on the ground with the apparatus items in cardboard boxes in so that it wouldn't be sitting directly atop the campsite's ground. He, most likely, would have been working to prep the next family meal, or at least to get it organized. Mom would've been directing all of the traffic.

We had one of these, which helped a lot. It kept away the bees, mosquitoes, flies & more. When the sides were zipped with the plastic in place, the rain stayed out too, though having plastic for walls created a heat problem & if the rain had come around as Mother Nature's way of decreasing humidity, which wouldn't happen instantly, the air both inside & outside could get very uncomfortable. And the campground's pool would be closed during the rain.

And visiting the bathhouse & toilets while it rained at a campground...Well, that's synonymous to driving through the neighborhood's of a major city when its sports teams have a playoff or finals game: it's very much vacant. The reasoning is different; well, unless it's raining during the sports games too, then everyone is trying to be out of the weather & under a roof. 😂

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A "Real" Lawnmower, or a "Reel" Lawnmower

It is because of this, I'm sure, that I also felt very strongly about these. In fact I'd found one at a garage sale (go figure! 😁) & was bound & determined to make it worth my while & useful for my yard. Such a small yard, self mulching, no gas needed, nor electricity. And think of the guns I'd be giving myself.

It wouldn't take up too much space in the garage. I used it; I did. It did work, though the blades on the one I found at the garage sale were a bit duller than they should've been. And I did find myself using Grandma's old mower much more often for the task. I'm sure it's directly linked with my overall familiarity with having a gas-powered mower.

I'd still like to use one of these & know that, when I do get my own lawn again, & I do decide how much to make into a garden (growing food, not a lawn), that with the remainder - whatever lawn I do have left, I think it would be most sensible (&, of course, super unique) to use a reel lawn mower. I think this model, though "Amazon's Choice", would also be my choice, as it's a narrow mower & I would think for spacing efficiency, & cutting around landscaping nooks & crannies, it'd be a great option. If anything, go for the additional blade; get the five blade instead (same link).

I'm sure that the one I'd gotten at the garage sale wasn't up to par & that getting a brand new one would provide the efficiency, quiet, good-for-the-environment/no gas cost/no electricity cost goodness I'm truly looking for - along with a quick workout built right in.

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On Side Discharge Lawnmowers

The timing, if it's to be called that, of Grandma's death very nearly lined up with some adult transitions in my life. I'll always be grateful that Grandma got to know about my having my first apartment, & even got to come by & enjoy a meal there - along with Mom & Dad. At the same time as I was in the apartment, I was simultaneously looking to buy a house. Grandma did know about this wish of mine, yet she died in the Winter before the Summer when I made the house purchase.

When she died there were many things of Grandma's Mom knew I'd be able to use. One of them being her lawnmower, remember this post 😉. It'd be one more thing I wouldn't need to purchase - either at a store - or, at a garage sale 😊, to further complete my "list" of "needed items" for my house.

Trouble with this was that Grandma's lawnmower wasn't state-of-the-art; it was quite the opposite. It had a side dumping area with no bag, like this one, which meant it really only made sense to mow using her mower from one side, not in actual rows. The side discharge flap wasn't flush, so the task was never "clean" looking. If any landscaping would be nearby, the grass clippings would end up in it, or any cement structures, like front steps/stoops, simply couldn't get close enough - since the cement wouldn't move.

It would seem a driveway would be a welcome alternative as to where to turn, yet that just meant that the mess of fresh grass clippings would spew out onto the driveway, thus needing to get brushed up - which never fully happened; some remnants of the project were always sure to be remaining.

It was a gas powered mower, which was great since the house I got was right down the street from a gas station. Whenever I would happen to run out of gas for the mower, I could easily just walk on down, add a bit of gas into the can I stowed in the garage, & be back on my way.

I've never used an electric lawnmower, though, with a neighbor a few houses down from Mom & Dad's house using one, I have seen one in action. It was always odd to see them mow a bit, then reach for the cord, toss it to get it far enough out of the way, then continue on; it seemed rather efforted. I was glad I didn't have to bother with one of them.

Grandma's mower didn't mulch. The only plus that came with the mower - a while after I had it - was when, as a birthday gift to me, Mom & Dad, looked up the information about the bag that matched the mower, a side collection bag like this one. Then at least, for the remainder of the time that mower worked for me, I didn't have to deal with it spilling everywhere. I simply had to strategize the bag/side dumping area - that they wouldn't be butting into higher landscaping or front stoops.

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Inspiring Lunchtime During a Garage or Yard Sale

In this post from a week ago I wrote about eating lunch while hosting or buying at a garage or yard sale. Today's post is about the inspiration for that post.

As I mentioned yesterday Dad didn't originally come along for the trip. In fact, I think it was after Mom called him a time or two when we'd see a tool or other something we'd think would pique his interest, or we happened to be nearby enough to their house that we just stopped back after an hour or so & added him while unloading whatever we'd accumulated up to that point.

As our family cleaned up & cleaned out Grandma's house after she died & once her house sold, we'd also work the garage & yard sale scene in her town. She lived a few hours away in the next state over & that seemed to come with a few other "normalities" that our town didn't have. This included running garage & yard sales mainly on Thursday & Friday, sometimes also including Saturday as well. I had a hard time wrapping my head around how these families got shoppers to stop by & shop their sale, figuring they'd be at work on Thursdays & Fridays; somehow the set up did work, as it was their way in that area. Unlike in our area where sales typically began on Friday & ran on Saturday as well, sometimes Sunday too. In our area, if a family would only pick one day, it would most often be on a Saturday.

It was on one of these saling days in Grandma's neighborhood where Dad decided to tag along because he otherwise kept cleaning up & packing up everything around Grandma's house to take back to their house & he got frustrated when we kept bringing things back from our scouting out sales nearby her house. One time we came back & Mom explained that we'd seen one of these for what seemed to be a really decent price. Dad eagerly dropped what he was doing & the three of us headed back out to check on it; it was indeed still available when we returned & Dad excited purchased it - of course, along with a few other, similar treasures. They took up tons of space in the back of the van & we had trouble fitting many other items with which we'd intended to return back to Mom & Dad's house. As much as Dad was interested in the items he'd found, he mentioned & we all acknowledged that we were in Grandma's town in order to load items from her house in the van for the few hours trip back, not garage sale items. Besides, for me, I'm not one to be among lots of "things" in a closely confined area - which is definitely what I had to do for that trip back to Mom & Dad's house. I was certainly interested in not putting more items in the van than could rationally fit.

*****

The Saturdays when Mom & I would head out to the sales in our neighborhood together we'd typically shop until we ran out of sales, had commitments to tend to later in the day, ran out of the amount of money we'd rationally pre-determined we'd want to spend, or just got worn out & felt done for the day. Sometimes this would happen by 11 or 11:30 a.m., other times it would happen later. Sometimes Mom would have set aside something at her house that she wanted to eat for lunch, so it made the most sense to wrap up traversing the streets once our stomachs began growling.

One Saturday when all three of us headed out from the start together we happened to be nearby a McDonald's when we realized it was time for lunch. We had enough sales remaining at which to shop & we weren't worn out either. Mom suggested we just stop at McDonald's, grab something quick there, & continue on. Dad & I said okay & we all got in line.

Mom stepped up first & ordered a cheeseburger & fries. We had water with us, so there was no need to order a drink too. She paid for her order & I stepped up, happening to order a cheeseburger as well & the same size fries as Mom had. I paid for my order. It was Dad's turn to step up & pick what he wanted. He turned his head in consideration & then followed our lead by ordering a cheeseburger & the same fries as both Mom & I had ordered. As he paid for his order (because, although we could have all easily shared one tab, Mom happened to pay separate, & then so did I, so Dad followed suit) the counter clerk said, "Wow. If you can get a fourth person to order the same exact thing, I'll pay for it." "This has never happened before."

Sadly, there wasn't even another customer in line that we could tell our quick story to & encourage them to order a suddenly "free" meal. So the three of us just walked away from the counter with our three trays of burgers & fries thinking of this impression we'd just made. We briefly considered about if we'd had just one more person in our party, though there wasn't a chance for that to be, so we let it go.

After we finished eating at McDonald's we resumed our remaining sales listing. Though, had a family hosting a sale elected to have some quick lunch options available, we'd certainly have opted for them instead; we just wouldn't have the story of the counter clerk amazed by three people in a row, paying separately, & purchasing the same order, suddenly willing to pay a fourth guest's bill, should they order identical to us.

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How It All Got Started

Mom & I had always gone garage saling. But we really began going garage saling the year her mom died, which is also the year when I lived nearby in an apartment while I house hunted knowing I'd be purchasing a house soon. Mom was thrilled that much of the items from her mother's house would work to get me started when I got my new house. The time frame between Grandma dying & my buying my first house was less than six months & Mom was perfectly fine with stowing those belongings of Grandma's, which I'd be using, in their (my parents') garage until my house was mine & the items could be moved over.

There were still plenty of things which we knew would be helpful for me to have in my new-to-me space (read: the house I'd be buying). We visited local thrift stores, flea markets, church festivals, &, of course, garage & yard sales. Mom would make her listing perusing the weekly flyer that came in the mailbox each Thursday. We'd know we'd want to get an early start, so I'd make sure to be at the house by 7:30 a.m., typically 7:15 a.m. Oftentimes she'd give me a heads-up when any promising sales were to begin at 7 a.m. On those days I'd head over to their driveway sooner.

At the time I drove a little compact car, my beloved Green Dodge Neon. For this reason Mom drove their minivan around to the sales each Saturday; my tiny car wouldn't have held all of our "finds". Mom would have her listing set up by neighborhood. She'd head to the general area & I'd help find the street, sometimes the house number too. Although when the sale was in the yard, typically the visual gave it away. She'd park us & we'd get out while scoping out the scene as we approached the host's tables.

I think I mainly looked for nifty things which I'd be able to use practically, though I found plenty of items that could only be described as decorations. Once I did find the house I bought I naturally began selecting items to adorn it. Specifically the obvious nature theme the living room/dining area seemed to already possess simply by the spaces being separated by a partial stone wall. Oh, & that I love nature, so anything about camping, etc. would be something I'd welcome & with which I'd feel most at home.

I found a lot of "do-dads". I also found plenty of practical pieces in the form of kitchen appliances, trash cans, (though the idea's out-dated now) CD racks, picture frames, jewelry, movies, & more. Mom looked around for items that'd interest her. One of her favorite things has always been decorating specifically for each holiday, & each season as it came along on the calendar; she found plenty of these such items as we scoured each sale.

We continued this on from Spring, all the way on through October & November; basically, when households stopped setting up tables, we folded for the year. Once Springtime came around again Mom was filling me in on how many sales were on the list & we were headed out just like the year before. We didn't last until Fall that year though. Somewhere along the way Mom complimented me one day while noticing that I'd not picked up many items that day. It's true, I hadn't really been finding much; I'd maybe gotten a bit pickier. Sometime in late summer we realized between a slight lack of sales one or two weekends, & a few more things we could get accomplished around our own houses, we'd not go out saling. Then we just didn't go back out anymore. Well, not like we had been: Ritually.

One of the reasons I'd realized that going saling wasn't as important, or at least, necessary, was because Mom decided to use my garage for a sale for us. My address, not theirs because I lived nearby a through-way & a main traffic artery where we'd automatically get plenty of potential buyers passing on by. It was after this sale, our sale, that I realized while shopping at all the other sales how much it had become the items I was considering buying that I'd basically been trying to sell at that sale of ours.

I still peruse the occasional flea market & church fair as well as follow the roadside arrows pointing "this way" to a sudden "pop-up" sale. And I still look most for good bargains on yarn. Times have changed though in media as, when it all began, I found it difficult to pass up a good VHS tape; nowadays I peruse for DVDs. Also nowadays I focus on trying to use the items I'm grateful to own, & use them well. Passing along the items I'm noticing I really don't touch as much, like a box full of pots & pans and four clear plastic chests of drawers, each three drawers high. It's also stimulated wardrobe purging.

We should all try it sometime; it's what brings fuel to hosting a garage or yard sale: items with which to cover all those tables you've set up in your yard & lining your garage walls.

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On Participating in Multi-Family Garage or Yard Sales

My earliest memory of our family hosting a yard sale was during our multi-family garage sale; I was an adolescent. As we lived on a long enough street, even having a third of the street's family participate, even with just a small table, & for a few hours, made for plenty of families participating.

The idea became when my parents were talking with a few others, probably half a dozen, right in our strip. Our street was long & windy, as well as hilly in sections. One of those hills, though a mole hill, crested & turned into a temporary straight-away at our property. It was mainly the houses in that straight-away area that we seemed to acquaint with most often & who my parents first contrived the notion that a multi-family sale would be a good idea for some of us on the street.

It had also been decided that our house number, because of the pattern the numbers made would be the easiest to recall, would be used in the advertisements. Having a multi-family sale shared many burdens. One family could work on poster boards. One could work with the company that sends out the flyers that announced local garage sales (this was long before the internet & craigslist existed) & get us listed. One could work on talking with the other neighbors in order to best include as many neighbors as could be interested in participating. Selecting a mutually convenient Saturday was also a decision for the group.

A particular perk to participating in a multi-family sale is that if, per chance, your household doesn't have much to sell, maybe just one table's worth, or you've only larger items, like a leaf blower, snow blower, wet/dry vac, extendable ladder, treadmill, elliptical, dining room set, etc., it can be more difficult to get passersby to pause & consider your loot. They'll be thinking, "there's not much at that house." and keep on going. You'll be left thinking (especially if you're sensitive), "You didn't even give me a chance 😭." If your next door neighbor, or the folks across the street, have the same amount of items, or more, it can be more attractive, convincing, & overall helpful.

Also, if you arrive at a house & don't see what you need, maybe you're particularly in search of size 2T clothes, the family at that house might know that the family five doors down & across the street to the left of their house has children who've likely outgrown that size & could be selling their clothes. It's almost the same as walking into a retail store, asking about a product, & being told what aisle, & at which end of that aisle, the product is located; it happens.

The neighborhood sale could be set to begin at 8 a.m. & end at 2 p.m. It's up to each household to be prepared for the 8 a.m. crowd & early birds. If they're not, it's that house that's missing out on offering their items to anyone already walking around. If any neighbors would rather not remain "open for business" until 2 p.m., they would be able to individually, & totally on their own, be able to shut down & be done for the day. Again, it's them, & solely them who'd be missing out on passersby. Though, on the afternoon side of things, the more who flake out early tend to diminish results for the result of the 'hood as the passersby do notice & second guess their knowledge of the sale's hours & whether or not there's a likelihood of "enough" houses with sales still "open" for them to bother passing on by. This is when they begin driving on by instead of stopping & trying. Also, they're likely tired from their own long day of treasure hunting.

This idea of a multi-family sale has grown & been renamed many times. Oftentimes housing plans host a sale date for their area, as do subdivisions. Another pro & con to this is that walking about the roadway can be easier as those who'd be driving on the roads are instead likely either buying or selling. The con would be that it can be more difficult to find a place to park your vehicle, as there might be that many buyers clogging up the parallel parking spots likely located in between neighboring driveways. Additionally, it's harder to shop your neighbors' sales when you're standing behind a table of your own. If there's multiple people helping at your sale, say someone else in the family, or a family friend who's not from your neighborhood, then you might be able to step away for a few minutes to consider your neighbor's trash as your treasure.

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On Knowing the Value of What You're Going to Buy

When hosting a garage or yard sale it's always important to evaluate the importance of selling an item versus receiving "top dollar" for it. Sometimes Mom & I would peruse a sale & basically say to one another, "It doesn't look like they really want to part with their things. An item which might have made the most sense being a dollar, was marked for $3.00, maybe $5.00.

Mom & I weren't big on bartering either. We might see something &, if it were marked for say, $4.00, & we thought it could be something good for us, yet didn't really want to spent four. whole. dollars., we might question the sale's host, "Would you take $3.00 for this?" Or, even less.

It's also good to know the value for the condition of anything you might be looking to get. This was helpful during my yarn purchasing phase. I knew which brands (some were super old) like Wintuk & Murphy's Mart, weren't worth much at all. While some, like Red Heart, Caron, & Lion Brand, are. I'd also have to scope out to be certain the yarns weren't smelling of four-legged friends, or just having been stowed away in a damp area & reek of bad moisture.

If you're checking out your neighborhood's yards for a first apartment's (or dorm room's) furnishings, then you might be looking for a kitchen table or modest dining table. You also might be looking for a simple couch. End tables optional 😂. You might be looking for one of these, or any of these. You'll have to decide (possibly based on how many visitors you expect you might have) how dinged up you care that the furniture is, or maybe you'll decide the shape or size of the furniture you find wins over.

One year I desperately desired to get a dining table, that was wooden, that came with four matching wooden chairs. Dad came along with Mom & I this particular Saturday. Mom's list of garage sales included more than one multi-family neighborhood. Dad figured it might be a good day for tools & other items which perked his interest. Dad kept joking that, once we found the table & chairs I wanted, we'd find them at every sale.

Sure enough, I happened to notice a wooden table & chairs like this; I was sold. Mom was so thrilled for me that she paid for them. Five bucks a chair & the table was twenty; the set was forty bucks as a whole. That's priced to sell; we found no reason to barter.

We came upon this yard sale after walking through a few streets of this neighborhood's sales. The next three houses following this one all participated in the neighborhood sale too. And each of the three had a complete kitchen/dining room table & matching chairs. Dad couldn't stop chuckling. The thrill for me was that the one I'd gotten was what I'd been looking to get; I'd not settled for less.

At another garage sale, on another day when Dad decided to tag along, we came upon a couple. There were numerous tools & tool storage units. Mom gave Dad the go-ahead to pick out what he'd use & decide how much he wanted to spend. He quickly realized that it was the woman selling the tools & not the man who sat with her, obviously, literally supporting her. She negotiated all of it with Dad, though it was obviously a strain for her at times. Dad decided their story must have been that the man was dating the woman who'd lost her husband & it was her husband's tools that she was parting with, which was her apparent & obvious emotional struggle. The man encouraged her softly & well.

Whenever Dad would find a few things, he'd ask about the price, suggesting an offer. She mainly agreed, for the most part increasing his suggestion amount by just a few dollars. Then Dad would see a few more things & ask to add them on to the already set amount. If she added more dollars on, it was fewer each time, to the point that Dad spent a "garage sale 'boatload'" while there, on many things he knew he could use. We filled the back of the minivan with all of these tools & supplies. Dad gleamed the whole way back to their house. ...in much the same way he gleams when Mom lets him stop at a roadside vendor selling fresh peaches.

It was a good thing that garage saling day wasn't the same as the one where I found my table & chairs. The back of the minivan could only hold so much! 😂

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On Pricing & Displaying Books

Some people buy books, some people borrow them from the library, some people do both. People end up with extensive amounts of books for various reasons. Gifts, bookstore purchases, online purchases (Amazon 😁!), purchases for college courses, the list continues. Sometimes these books are purchased brand new & sometimes they're purchased used at a discount.

No matter, when the books get placed atop a table at a garage or yard sale, their original varying prices can become obsolete. You spent over a hundred dollars on that book, that one you didn't even want, for that college course you resent you had to take? It's best you don't take that into account when you're pricing the book at the sale. It's not to say that certain books can't "go for more", it's that they often don't.

If books are stowed at a house in boxes, a convenient way to set them up for the sale is to organize the boxes by price. Back when Mom & I coasted the garage sale scene books ranged as low as $0.25, & as high a $1.00, sometimes $2.00. Books were also priced in the middle at $0.50. In fact, books were most often priced at $0.50. When we'd host our yard sales, our family didn't really own many books; we were frequent library patrons instead.

Instead of labeling each & every book, an idea, as mentioned in this post, something like a paint stirrer, or one of these with a sign attached & fastened in the back of the box, could be a great way to
set up your books. Set them "book shelf style" into the box, so that all of the spines are visible & easily readable. Unlike a book shelf, the box can be set on the table in so that the potential buyer needs to look down into the box to view the titles.

These boxes are a good option to use, especially as they have detachable lids, which will be convenient for displaying purposes. While at the same time, if keeping track of lids, or simply using foldable flaps instead is more your style, try these.

After I completed college I had plenty of books which I wouldn't have minded collecting a "fair college value" from; I also quickly recognized this was unrealistic. And, yes, I resented that I'd not be able to get back nearly as much for books I'd paid too much for & didn't want in the first place. I knew a college professor who had books which they'd spent plenty of money on (& decades earlier than what I faced, as they stood nearer retirement than anything) & couldn't see selling them for anything less than $20 or $30. I politely explained that if they wanted the books to sell, they were going to need to adjust their expectations; I think they rolled their eyes 😒. It is difficult to section "college specific" books into the same category as "ordinary" books when applying the $0.25, $0.50, $1.00, etc. denominations, yet it's hardly the case that yard sale patrons will recognize the dignification & honor it. Wear & tear are important & worthy reasons to apply a price to a book; so is the book's size. And, yes, a book's popularity, such as any of these, can be priced higher. Otherwise customers might be dropping coins in your hand with an exclaimed, "Thanks!" as if to say, "You're a fool."

As with everything at a garage or yard sale, they really should be "priced to sell". Be thinking about what you'd want to pay for the book if it were you arriving at the sale considering what's a bargain & what you could really use (or impulse buy 😁!) & how much you'd want to be spending.

With this in mind you're much less likely to be deciding during clean up whether you want to keep those remaining books stashed in your space, or donate them to the local library's book drive (or wherever) because if they're priced right & plenty of patrons stop by, you're not so likely to have books left over.

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To Sell Apparel or Not to Sell Apparel

Just as some companies extend their sales week into the next, here, the discussion on things related to yard sales is also extended a week.

Some flea markets, when collecting items, will make particular mention that 'no clothes' should be dropped off. There are also plenty of garage & yard sale hosts who find it more difficult than it's worth to include apparel among their treasures for sale.

However, 😏 if a yard sale host does decide that apparel has a place among their selection, then one of these could be beneficial. If there are gowns (for example, prom gowns) available, dresses, suits, or skirts (maybe part of a professional's old wardrobe), hanging them versus folding them, could be a good way to keep them in their best condition, as well as an optimal way to display them. They'll be easier to notice & thumb through, just like an actual sales rack at a retail store. And one of these could help too, especially if someone wants to check it out better for sizing...& you really don't want to be taking them into your house, even with the powder room just inside the door 😉.

Mom has said before that she's tired of trekking the clothes about the house, keeping tabs on their whereabouts in the house & then again once the sale has begun, making space for them throughout the duration of the sale, & making sure they are folded nicely as they get too picked over & they don't seem to sell well, in her opinion. She basically began eliminating that option, when she hosted, early on. And when she'd go garage saling, & could see that a sale seemed to have mostly clothes, she'd typically skip it. There'd be too many variables in what would be available & it was never easy to try any items on.

It would be important, just as if shopping at a thrift store such as Goodwill, or Salvation Army, to pay particular attention to each part of each item & inspect the fabric for any unwanted & unexpected holes, snags, stains, etc. Sometimes washing and/or drying instructions aren't followed properly (or at all! 😁) by the original owner & suddenly a garment that seems to be okay, really isn't. This is one reason why it can be very good to try on whatever you might find intriguing rather than just buying it & hoping for the best.

Nowadays, with the way clothing sizes have become so manipulated & variable, among designers & between retailers, it can be rather difficult to trust a garment sizing label anyhow, & that'd be before the original owner's had a chance to mess up & accidentally alter the item in the laundry room.

If you've the time, & the right item's on the rack (or the table), then check it out & grab it up if it's really going to work out well for you.

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Lunchtime During a Garage or Yard Sale

Yesterday discussed suggestions in having a little extra something to wet the palate available for those who are pondering the items scattered across your tables. If a yard sale is scheduled to last until 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. (usually because there's that much stuff available, OR the hosts are that ambitious, OR they have the time of day to wait around their yard for the additional time, so they figure "Why not?", OR a combination of these 😁.

Basically if the sale is likely to last beyond a traditional lunchtime, an idea could be, in addition to offering beverages, have food available too. This will ensure that, would they suddenly hear their stomach growling, they won't alternatively be mentally sketching out where the nearest fast food joint is when they should be intensely pondering how they could better make use of the item hanging off the edge of your folding table that they've considered long enough that they've now touched, it's at the edge of their finger tips, they've put their finger prints on it. It's like having a thought on the tip of their tongue, they just need to close the deal on the creative juices running amuck through their mind. Or, are they gonna take a break & head down the street to grab a burger, be far enough away that they realize it's just not realistic, & they really do have enough do-dads in that section of whatever random room of their house they were dreaming about.

It's not necessary to have a full picnic with potato salad, baked beans, brownies, & fruit salad available, (well, maybe the brownies at a quarter a crack, - or, $0.50 😂), rather a small grill (or the family grill) off to the side preparing some hot dogs & burgers. These are both by George Foreman & both operate on electricity. Each is designed to sit atop a counter or to sit atop an included pedestal. Each is designed for indoor or outdoor use. This one is designed for a gathering of up to fifteen; this one is designed for many more; it's advertised to adequately entertain a tailgate! I would use one of these as I would find using an electrical product more my personal style than to handle gas or charcoal, regardless of their typical practicality (& stereotypes) for the purpose. The image link is for the one designed for a gathering of up to fifteen as it seems that would be more likely appropriate for the purpose during a yard sale. Though, for the enthusiast (& for comparison), here's a link to one that's gas.

Keep it simple & don't even necessarily have cheese to top the burgers off, making them cheeseburgers. If a container of this or this happens to be in the family fridge, then yes, maybe have them sitting alongside the protein options since there always seems to be one in bunch that cannot eat their dogs or burgers without such condiments.

Charge a buck or, maybe a buck fifty, for each sandwich (you may need to base your sandwich price on yard sale factors); maybe toast a few of the dog & burger buns, or all of them, depending on convenience & ability. I mean, if your trash-to-treasure is flying off your folding tables a few feet away, then you're best to give all your attention there 😂. At the same time, not everyone likes their bread products toasted, so another lunchtime "customer" isn't as likely to walk away because a soft bun isn't available if you don't take the time to toast every. single. one.

As already mentioned, having brownies, or a similar dessert snack could be an additional option. Also, as mentioned in this post, not just having sugar snacks, rather also having salty snacks on hand, can be a good idea too. If it's just what a shopper is interested in or has a craving for, it could be the difference between selling an item you no longer want to have around & not. A potential buyer might just elect to ultimately purchase something because you have a preferred snack or quick meal-type bite & they might just be impressed or contented & figure, "Why not?" It could be a case of instant gratification in the form of the quick meal bite or snack, turned into, yeah-I'm-thankful-&-appreciating-this-food-energy-so-I'll-buy-these-items-off-the-table-too.

After all, this is just a yard sale.

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On the Topic of Hydrating & Beverage Options

Not that we had frequent yard sales growing up, though I do recall one where we included a lemonade stand. It was during our multi-family sale. If I remember correctly some of the other neighbors participated too [read: competed], though it was all in good fun.

Honestly I think it was established in so that I'd have something to do with myself while my parents looked over everything else going on. We had a spare folding table & a pitcher...& there would have been a plastic canister or two of Country Time in the kitchen cupboard...because in our family mixing up the flavored sugar crystals was our style of cooling sip to ward away the summertime blues.

I'd been left with a stash of Dixie Cups from the family's camper supply. The ones we'd have had would've been these, the paper variety coated in wax. And I awaited customers. Our competitive neighbors were also only looking to entertain the younger generation & were under-cutting our house by a penny. Obviously yard sale patrons smiled & giggled (& probably rolled their eyes) & went with whichever lemonade was nearest when they decided they were indeed thirsty. If anything I think their lemonade only varied in that it may have been a different brand of powder mix.

Corny of an idea as it may seem, it's actually quite beneficial (as it does keep the younger folks entertained [read: occupied & involved] & it does provide a hydration, a cute & adorable one, yet one nevertheless. I mean, come on, anyone can have a beverage handy in their vehicle while they're out~n~about, yet you're wandering amongst a bunch of residences admiring goods the residents no longer need & you see a young generation sitting there with a pitcher & plastic or paper cups &, well, it can be quite complicated to resist 😁.

Then again, if a yard sale host is serious about providing such a "perk", it could be possible to branch out into some "practical" options. Get one of these &, along with a bag of ice, bury some of these (for hydration 😂) & these (for a quick sugar high 😂). Have a kid monitor it as if it were a table with a pitcher of lemonade sitting atop it. The going rate these days? Up to a dollar a piece? I'm not sure, though I'm supposing at least $0.50.

Depending of the day's weather, humidity, how much the sun is beaming down & such, these beverages could be real crowd draw-ers. Recognizing that the idea is to be selling those items that've been sitting around your house for way too long, yes; though if selling chilled liquids keeps the cash box in the black, this seems to be the makings of an award-winning day.

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Keeping Your Cash Under Control

Besides the perk of getting rid of lots of stuff you own & no longer need, the perk of getting cold hard cash for these things is likely the best thing about hosting a yard sale. PayPal may have become something that's used more widely now to transmit funds at a yard sale; my guess is that most people still rely mostly on coins & the green stuff (💲💵 cash 😁). Therefore, unless the host is planning to collect money & give change via their pocket (I've seen this plenty of times), one of these is likely going to be pretty helpful. Although I think the image link has the most promise, versatility, & bang for the buck, I think I'd prefer the simplicity of this one, this one, or this one for a yard sale.

I'm pretty sure our family made do just by using one of the spare & well used pencil boxes us kids weren't bothering with anymore that had been stashed in the back of our closet or desk drawer. Mom focused more on the money & making sure we had proper bills on hand, ones and fives and such. Dad worked more on product placement & making sure items had reasonable asking prices on them & considering as the hours passed on by as to which items should be lowered a bit in price. Dad still jokes about an item that didn't sell for hours, & they kept lower the price, still no takers. Then they raised it, & it suddenly sold; he's rather proud. Though oftentimes patrons will question the usability of an item or its strength or it being broken when its been priced too low.

I've made a foolish decision or two on purchasing when I saw an item which matched the nature theme I'd been pursuing & asked if I could have it for a dollar (it was unmarked). The host joyfully acknowledged with a triumphant "Yes". What I was to learn later on that day, as I finally took the time to turn the item around, was that it was completely cracked & tapped & glued back together on its backside. It was a simple, basic ceramic & I'd been duped. Well, sort, of. I didn't ask any questions, so no "white lies" had been told, nor did I finely check it out. It's got to be a thorough "check out" similar to one that would happen at a donation store such as when purchasing clothing, etc., from the Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul, or Goodwill. Gotta check what you're getting before you actually get it, otherwise you'll be adding glued ceramics to your nature-themed decorations at a "full price" amount too.

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Options in Labeling Prices

A least fun thing, which, depending on who you're talking to, needs to be completed, is labeling, or pricing your items. The absolute easiest way out is to simply not mark anything, though that can leave your patrons turning away sooner than you might like. If nothing is marked then patrons must ask, or negotiate. Some prefer this method, some despise it (yes, I'm one of the despisers 😁). Some others will gather a grouping of items together (ones which are likely from an actual "marked" sale) & request a "price" where the sale's host will consider a discount for a patron to have selected so many items of which to relieve the host. It's synonymous with someone shopping at a retail store & being told they can receive $5 of $35 or more with a coupon, or getting 20% when they spend enough money. Suppose the host adds up a patron's findings & they've $20 worth of items. Maybe the host will suggest the patron only pay $17, or even just $15.

Another easy way out of needing to label items is to have designated priced tables; almost dollar store style. As much as having "departments" at your sale can be important, or at least helpful, the "dollar store" set up will override this layout. Each table would be set up to represent a dollar amount. Since it's a yard sale, it could be a good idea to begin with the "cents" increments. A $0.25 table, a $0.50 table, a $1.00 table, maybe a $3.00 table, a $5.00, & depending on how high items could go for, even a $10.00 table. It could also be an idea to split a table if there aren't as many items which apply to a dollar figure; maybe have a table that has $3.00 items on the left-hand side & $5.00 items on the right-hand side. For these tables, taking a paint stirrer or something similar & affixing either a simple sheet of paper, stock paper, poster or foam board by way of gluing or stapling it after using a marker to write the prices on, or printing them off a computer in a large, legible font can be a great way to prominently showcase your prices adequately for each section of items.

A little more complicated, yet thorough way to price items is to use these. One of these stickers labeling each item clearly indicates how much the host expects, or anticipates, for an item. If an item can be destroyed or altered by a sticker label, such as a sweater (where the threads could be pulled or snagged), or a picture frame (where an unlimited supply of Goo Gone would be needed), or plastic wrapping that would leave a spot or get pulled & distorted, then attaching one of these, or these could be a viable alternative solution, though more time consuming to affix.

Utilizing these options makes for a more likely chance of selling more items, in so that those patrons who don't prefer to barter, or really want to add up their costs as they walk about your tables will feel more comfortable doing so. Creating the best likelihood that someone who might live a block or two away will leave contented & go back to their house, be unloading their car, their neighbor will see them, ask where they were, where they found all their new things, & they'll share with their neighbor about their experience and it'll be a positive one. Then their neighbor will find themselves thinking that maybe a quick trip a few blocks away seems like a really good idea. Especially since your layout was so good that when the neighbor asked if you'd had much left after, the response they received was "yes".

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Our Other Table Options

Of course, this post discusses another great table option for sale set up. Our family also happened to have one of these tables; ironic of course, as we never played the game. Still the table provided great height & depth for optimal space. The one we had had a wooden base with legs that folded underneath & out of the way.  This gaming table came with a sort of cover-over wooden panel in-so-that it could be placed across the gaming table & be an instant flat surface - exactly what we needed in order to display items well. I believe we often used this table to display the apparel we no longer needed. Typically sweatshirts, sweaters, & tops in general.

Our family didn't have a garage, at least not an accessible one which could be used for a vehicle or be reached by anyone on our street as its location was at the back of the house & only accessible from the outside via a narrow gate entry, not until the house got remodeled anyway. We had a reasonable sized front yard & part of the side yard filtered up next to the, at the time, two-car, side-by-side driveway. So, when we had a "sale", it was a "yard sale", as in, it was definitely held in our yard.

We didn't have a lot of tables on hand to display our things, so these tables would all be used as well as one of these. Again, we never used the table for its intended purpose, yet since this table's legs easily folded up & could by shimmied out of sight & out of mind whenever necessary, it remained a piece of our household, coming out for the special occasions: larger family gatherings (toss a tablecloth on it & its an instant "kids' table"), & these yard sales.

We'd strategize these few tables about our yard, most utilizing the flattest land sections, such as the side yard & the driveway, then straddling our front walkway which divided the front yard into two sections leading everyone from our driveway to our front door. The system worked as we hosted numerous yard sales, & even a few multi-family sales, with each of these, hardly adjusting these options. In fact, I believe Mom & Dad still have this & this, & I know for certain that they still have this. If I glance at their gazebo, I see it 😊.

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Setting Up for a Sale

We'd always had one of these. It sat on the patio at the corner of the back of the house. Once my brother built the gazebo it got moved & has lived inside the gazebo ever since. It's a great fit; snug, yet enough room to move around it within the gazebo's framework.

And the wood's matched quite well too. Between it & the gazebo. Whenever we had a gathering, a party, any special occasion, & we needed to set up the backyard for additional seating, the seating in the gazebo was prepared, prime, & ready-to-go & also in high demand as it had more shade & overall ambience.

*****

Our family shopped at garage sales, yard sales, multi-family sales, & estate sales. We knew what to expect from each. We knew that estate sales typically had higher prices because there was a write-up from someone who'd been brought in to help with the process. We knew that multi-family sales could be a great option, especially if there was a reasonable sized neighborhood & most likely would be participating. We knew that garage sales would be helpful, especially as these weekend endeavors are planned before Mother Nature makes her precipitation plans. & Oftentimes those with garages typically don't fold & cave if any rain does fall. And yard sales can sometimes be in large yards where the hosts have canopies set up to keep their possessions, as well as their patrons, dry.

If we knew what we were thinking we'd want to get, or definitely not get, we could sometimes scope that out seeing what others' had sitting on their driveway or a table close to the curb. We'd often see lots of kids items & clothes when we were looking for crafting supplies, house decorations, appliances, & furniture. So we knew there'd be no point in our stopping by & taking the time for the congenial "Hello".

Sale item placement can be rather pertinent. Just as much as including, along with the congenial "Hello", "Is there anything in particular you're out looking for today?" Things shouldn't be blocking one another. Having "departments" is a good idea, or at least a bit of organization since one of these isn't all that ideal or practical to be sitting atop a table next to one of these.

Items being at eye level is of uber importance. This way those who feel awkward or may be rushed are more likely to see the available items without being "put out", needing to bend or stretch. One of these can be great to have on hand as a source to use for setting up items, yet unless the items are practical for setting up on its seats, those items aren't as likely to catch a shoppers eye. Good tables are uber essentials for adequate set up at these "sales".

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