Lesson Learned

This past weekend was W's BIG garage sale.  I have done one garage sale in my life... I was ready for this one.  Weeks ago I bought loads and loads of price stickers - I reorganized my schedule so that W could pick me up at 1:00p.m. on Friday - giving me the whole afternoon and evening to price his items.  I went to the bank and got gobs of change.  

For the past two weeks I have been going through my house finding all the little things that I thought I would sell at the garage sale.  I cleaned everything... I priced everything and packed everything neatly into boxes - ready to be transported to W's,

Oh yeah I also stressed all week that it would rain........... 

W picked me up at 1:40 - already running late according to my schedule.  We had to stop at the bank for W - and when we got to his house finally - friends had dropped by to help.  There were boxes and boxes of "stuff" for the garage sale... some in the garage - some in the house.  Immediately I was a little overwhelmed.  Nothing was clean... none of the electrical appliances (from old radios - to older fry pans) had been tested to make sure they actually worked..nothing had been washed down so it sparkled - the enormity of the job nearly overwhelmed me.  


About an hour into sorting/setting up / and cleaning - the heaven's opened and it started to pour rain!!  We quickly threw a tarp over everything and went into the house.  It rained and rained.  Finally we decided to go out for dinner.  


Over dinner W said he didn't get the need to clean and price - just throw everything on the tables and "negotiate" with the customers.   My image of a nicely organised - smooth running sale went out the window.  

Saturday morning I was smug - I admit it "SMUG" -  my things would sell and W's wouldn't.  I would make the most money.  W would see that organization is necessary.

Well by 7:40 a.m. people were already collecting around the tables poking through all of W's stuff..... stuff thrown out in boxes - piled on top of each other. mounds and mounds of stuff.  My neatly organised sparkly clean table barely got a once over. W was selling stuff like hot cakes........... my neatly organized sparkly things were barely touched.

The crowds kept coming - W kept selling - I was in awe.  By the end of the day W had sold almost double the $$ that I had sold.  We cleaned up and collapsed in the living room.  W said "Well did it once - not ever doing THAT again!"  which pretty much echoed my sentiments.  Though I was thinking more along the lines of cleaning and testing and pricing....... next time (NOT) I will simply throw my stuff on tables and let folks poke through it all............ 

Oh yeah - AND -  the sun shone brightly all day long..................