I’m squeezing this post in while Fisherman is taking a much needed nap after a hectic three days. (Today is his birthday and I took him out for lunch. It’s a beautiful day and we sat outside at a restaurant by the river, but the food gave me a stomach ache.) The next few days we expect will be equally as hectic. It’s hard getting rid of a household of furniture, deciding what to keep, what gets donated, what gets sold.
I’m throwing up some pictures that aren’t edited or even watermarked. I just don’t have time and besides, if someone wants to ‘steal’ my photos of my garage sale, they can have them ;).
We were fortunate to have lovely weather, which is saying a lot considering how Mother Nature has treated the Northeast this year. We had a steady flow of people, with Friday being the better of the two days, but on Saturday at the 11th hour one person bought two armoires, our huge sectional and a chaise, aka a fainting couch. Whew!!
I would have liked to keep this jewelry hutch, but I just don’t have the room. I hope to have Fisherman build me a jewelry case where I can actually SEE what I have, otherwise I find I wear the same jewelry day in and day out.
I went to the cabin last week and brought back some things from there. As you can see, it’s a lot more rustic than what we had at our primary home. The idea of living somewhere full time with boat paddles and canoes as decor just doesn’t float my boat (no pun intended).
Long after our sweet Bubbles passed away, we kept this bed because it’s so darn pretty! With the addition of maybe a piece of mirror or glass, I can see repurposing it as maybe a holder for toiletries or barware if you have the counter space.
We didn’t sell the vase or the pictures, but the rest of these items sold. Can you say gold overload?? It’s funny how our tastes change isn’t it? I find about every 5-7 years I’m looking to try something different. How about you?
Everything here sold except for the tray in the foreground. That’s been donated. We did two Goodwill runs today. Felt good :). Notice the tissue holder? Another cabin transplant from my nightstand.
These little guys were kinda cute and if we didn’t sell them I would have taken them with us to the cabin. I was a little sorry to see Moe, Larry and Curly go!
Remember this rug? It’s an Ikea rug that I painted on both sides to make it reversible. Sold it for $13, and believe it or not the buyer STILL wanted a discount! Geez Louise…
Here’s a poster we had on the gate with some of the items we were selling inside the house. On the second day we brought out the leopard chairs and the bench and they sold. Here’s a tip: if you want to sell something, DON’T keep it in your house if possible, even if you’re having a moving sale like we were. People feel weird about going inside sometimes.
We sold everything except that table in front of the sectional, art work and an oriental rug. Pricier items are a tough sell at moving sales so I’m going to look into dealers once we get settled.
Here’s a picture of our bedroom at our last house. We sold everything you see here, except the chandelier. I’m not parting with that, even though I have no place to put it at the cabin :(. The armoire in the top right of the picture above faced the bed. It didn’t actually come with the nightstands, but isn’t it interesting how they match?
The town we live in has pretty strict rules about signs so we couldn’t do as much as we would have liked, but overall we are happy with the results. I’ve read lots of tips about how to have successful tag sales, such as place similar things together, put up yellow signs, have a ‘free’ box, make sure everything is clean, have plenty of tables to display things, etc., but the best tip of all is to know WHY you’re having the sale. Are you looking to make money or do you want to just get rid of things? Maybe a little bit of both? Whatever it is, price accordingly and always remember MOST people will ask for a discount no matter how low the item is ticketed at. Remember my knee surgery in February? Well, I was given a cane that I NEVER used so I ticketed it at $5, and yes, the buyer wanted a discount. I didn’t give it though because sometimes it’s just too darn ridiculous already, but naturally she took it.
Monday -Wednesday will be crazy busy this week and since I’m not one to schedule posts in advance you may not hear from me for a while. I promise I will try to stop by and visit but I’m sure you understand things are a little busy right now. Once the computer is set up at the cabin I hope to be back on track but until then wish us luck and I miss you all!
Lavender Dreams says
Garage sales are so hard. But you had some nice things and I know the people that came were glad for the good deals. I’m wishing you the very best in the week ahead! Take care my friend! Sending you lots of hugs, Diane
Nana Diana says
It sounds like you had a really GREAT sale, Doreen! Good for you!!!! I am so glad that you are getting all prepped and ready. It does feel good to get rid of stuff, doesn’t it? xo Diana
Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow says
It sounds like a success! We’ll hear from you when you are ready !! 🙂
Shelly says
Oh man! I would’ve bought out that whole garage sale! 🙂
DMO says
My friend you are so amazingly organized even at this you are a natural. Wishing you luck and speed in the move. Congratulations on the next phase Supa Star! xoU.
Jane says
I think you did really well. And I was in awe of the picture of your former bedroom…it was SO pretty! And I had to laugh a little about the “Cabin” stuff that’s a little too realistic and having to go. The first few years at the lake we were given tons of “lake” stuff and we just couldn’t take it after awhile. It’s a home, people, a home!
I think so many of the Professional Yard Sale People automatically try to get the price down. And sellers have the price marked up for some wiggle room. All in all, you did great and you must feel a little skip in your step unloading it and having some money in your pocket!
XO,
Jane
Cecilia says
Yes, I think people = yard sale with cheap…as in ask for a discount no matter what the price is. Sounds like you had a fairly successful sale! I’m not looking forward to deciding what to keep/ get rid of. Slowly doing some now so maybe won’t be so traumatic when the time comes? Wishing you the best and will be waiting your return!
Hugs,
Cecilia
Amy @ StowandTellU says
That has got to feel good to have gotten rid of so much. I never have too much luck with yard sales, but it looks like you did quite well. Moe, Larry and Curly are too cute and so is the bed for Bubbles. The trip to Goodwill at the end of the sale is rather cathartic, isn’t it? Good luck this week with all the busy stuff you have to do, Doreen!
Poppy says
You did a fantastic job because a) you always do your research for maximum results, and b) you followed through with your initial goal which was to do away with things that you priced to sell and not to profit! And, voila! Mission accomplished, which is so very YOU, in all that you set out to do!
I love that you enhanced that Ikea rug and I wouldn’t have asked for a further discount – $13 is a steal for such creativity!
Hope everything goes smoothly in the next few days! Remember to take those necessary time outs for treats and TLC!!
Sending hugs,
xo
Poppy
Cynthia says
Doreen it sounds like you had a successful garage sale. It is hard to say goodbye to things we love but you are starting a great new chapter in your lives. I just can’t stand when we go out to eat and I wind up with a stomachache. It ruins the whole thing. Playing catch up with email.
Cynthia
Andi says
Man, I suck at garbage sales. We had one before we moved and Phil completely balked and wanted nothing to do with it.
But. He’s a salesman. Which means he completely took over and had a blast all day (which he will never admit), but it was the most successful garbage sale we’ve ever had!! Unfortunately, we sold a mattress set we should have held on to. Oh well….
Looks like yours was awesome!! Happy belated to Fisherman! He shares a b-day with my son!
-andi
Manuela@A Cultivated Nest says
Sounds like you had a good sale! They’re a lot of work aren’t they. We were planning on having one but decided to just donate stuff instead. I really hate having garage sales and usually wind up talking myself out of them!