Adventures in Yard Sales - Part 3

Oh thank goodness it's over!  It wasn't as crazy as the yard sale we had ten years ago and for that I am thankful.

A quick summation.  I got up at 4 and very slowly got dressed.  You'll remember that as soon as I'd finished putting my garage sale junk out yesterday I fell off my foot and sprained my ankle.  (And trust me, I had NOT been drinking ... yet).  I kept it iced most of the evening yesterday and slept with an Ace bandage on it.  When I unwrapped it this morning it is still grotesquely swollen and getting pretty colorful (see photo - trust me, my foot is not normally that puffy).  Anyway, I got dressed and put on my walking boot (a souvenir from the last time I sprained my ankle) and headed outside to finish setting up.

Our first customer showed up an hour early, at 6, with his flashlight.  He was sympathetic to my plight as I hobbled around setting out last minute junk.  Donny & Gena weren't out yet - when Donny said 7, he meant 7.  The man waited, peering through the slats of Donny's wood fence every so often to see what was back there.  Gena finally came out and we got things going.

There is a double driveway between our two houses so we were wandering back and forth from one to the other and it was easy for buyers to do the same.  It's funny how yard sales go - as I've said, last time we met some really strange folks, but this time we met lots of really nice people.  One lady even had an Army connection with Steve.  They'd been stationed at the same base at the same time.  They talked Army stuff for a long time and had a good visit.  She bought a lot of stuff from both sales and we ended up exchanging phone numbers before she left.

I guess the oddest customer wasn't really a customer at all, but a fellow driving down the street on his bicycle who wanted to know if we had an air pump for his low tire. 

It was hot as blazes out there and I spent most of the morning sitting in my lawn chair with my gimp foot propped up on an old 19" TV I was selling.  I thought I might get some pity sales but I don't think I did.  Feel free to hit the tip jar and contribute to my pity party.   One lady did regale me with tales of her friend's recent foot surgery which required seven pins in her foot.  I didn't feel so bad after that.

I sold a lot of DVDs, a few books, a couple of purses, some pots, pans, and skillets,  a weedeater, some minor knick knacks, some fish and turtle food, some weights, a couple of board games...by the end of the day I ended up clearing about $150. 

Donny and Gena did slightly better because he made a late sale of about $100 in albums.  I think they ended up clearing about $250 or so.

The worst part of it all was putting that junk back up.  Some of it I threw out, but most of it we just stored in plastic tubs and put back in the garage.  Steve thinks he wants to do this again in the fall when it cools off some.  I guess it'll be okay as long as I don't fall off my foot again.

Was it worth it?  I don't know.  It was a lot of work, it was hot, I've hobbled myself for several days (or weeks) to come, but I did meet some nice people.  I cleaned out a lot of crap I didn't need anymore.  We shared camaraderie with the neighbors (we all went out to Tacomania for lunch after the sale).  I guess it was worth it.  Do I want to do it again?    Not any time soon!