garage sale....or not????

**many houseapes** · 07-18-2005, 08:07 PM

I have a question....although we could use the money,should I have a garage sale? I have so many things from decluttering it isn't funny and I really need to get rid of it...also have some crafts stuff that I've made that is just taking up space. The last garage sale that we had really wore me out and to top it off, it seems like everytime we have one, someone always tries to steal from us. last year, my then 15 yr old dd caught a lady in her 30's trying to steal something and believe it or not, that lady rose such an arguement about "being accused" that she was about to hit my dd...of course, I stepped in between them & the witch backed off...but it seems like it has become too much of a hassle to have garage sales..although the money would be a blessing..would it be worth it?

**homesteadmamma** · 07-18-2005, 08:34 PM

I use to have garage sales when we lived in the city. I stopped though because it became too much of a hassle. Some people would come with only fifty dollar bills and want to buy a 50¢ item, thinking they'd get it free that way. You had to be watching everyone. It just wasn't worth it to me.

Are there things you can post here at the village. You might want to try that and see if you can get rid of items that way.

Can you sell any of the stuff on eBay?

**many houseapes** · 07-18-2005, 08:45 PM

ebay is getting to be a big hassle....I think that i'll put some things on freecycle.

**Mamaw** · 07-18-2005, 10:06 PM

Do you have a local flea market that you can go to. Maybe get a friend to help you watch over your items to prevent theft. I think it is a sad world when someone steals from a garage sale! If nothing else, you can donate the items to goodwill and get a receipt for tax deduction. Good luck

**Minner77** · 11-24-2005, 11:17 PM

We've never held a garage sale... although we were tempted once until we realized that we'd probably profit just as much from a tax write-off as we would from torturing ourselves.

We also never sell on ebay or anywhere else, as we always find someone who can use what we have. We know we're blessed, and want to share. Besides that, we're big fans of reduce/reuse/ recycle.

We put all our theories to the test recently when we moved from MN to SD and we did a major purge of the house -- we were especially motivated as we had to pay for the move ourselves.

We gave a great deal to our church for its garage sale, pulling out particularly nice items for the Silent Auction and Holiday Boutique. We even donated my grandmother's costume jewelry for a special sale (a parting gift to a church we loved!) as there's a woman who has a knack for polishing it up and packaging it nicely. I gathered up all of my corporate America wear, including purses and accessories, and took them to Ready for Success, which helps women in difficult situations get a head start in the working world. Freecycle came in very, very handy for getting rid of stuff we didn't want but couldn't give to the church. We donated several rooms of furniture to Catholic Charities, gave household items to shelters, gave tons of books to the library (and theology books to the church library).... well, you get the idea!

We were motivated by the fact that we had to pay for the move, and would be in a smaller rental for a year while we built, so we wanted to strip as bare as we could. More important, however, is that one of the main reasons we were moving was that we were sick and tired of excess and wanted to simplify.

My DH was getting frustated that I was putting so much time into finding "good homes" for our things, especially when we had so very much to pass along, but to me that was just being respectful of what we had spent very good money for (many things were brand-new, brand name, etc.) and making sure that things would actually be used. It got to be fun.... I was so thrilled to find someone who also had tall, thin sons and was glad to have their (barely-worn, rather pricey) clothes.

We believe we need to be good stewards as God has blessed us so. And I confess that we were shamed to realize just how much we still have, even after giving so much away. Such waste -- all buried in our closets.

I realize that we were also blessed in that we didn't need cash right away, and could afford to wait until tax time and just know that our burden was reduced at that point.

Kindest regards,
Mary

**hollyhill** · 11-25-2005, 02:41 AM

Mary, I agree. I love finding "homes" for things I can no longer use. As my children outgrown things we pass them on, good toys I take to the hospital waiting room in emergency, magazines go to the music school, books to friends or the thrift store etc. I have always done this systematically even my children do that now. When my youngest Dd outgrew her beloved bike she searched for a new owner and found a little friend who loves it just as much as she did.
With garage sales unless you have some big items for sale you can end up making very little for your effort.

**Minner77** · 11-25-2005, 09:44 PM

Originally posted by hollyhill
Mary, I agree. I love finding "homes" for things I can no longer use. As my children outgrown things we pass them on, good toys I take to the hospital waiting room in emergency, magazines go to the music school, books to friends or the thrift store etc. I have always done this systematically even my children do that now. When my youngest Dd outgrew her beloved bike she searched for a new owner and found a little friend who loves it just as much as she did.
With garage sales unless you have some big items for sale you can end up making very little for your effort.

Glad to hear I have a kindred spirit! To me, the small extra amount of effort is so worth it!

Blessings,
Mary