Lessons from our Real Garage Sale

A few weeks back, I wrote a post called "Lessons from my Virtual Garage Sale." Well, 2 weeks ago we had "the-mother-of-all" garage sales at our house before me moved out of it. It turns out, if you move to another continent, you can actually liquidate close to everything you own and make some good money. The 2-day sale was pretty crazy, and when it was over, all we had left could be fit into 2 boxes and a garbage bag which we took to the local thrift store. Here are some lessons learned from the "real" garage sale.

• No one warned us about the "early birds." The sale was supposed to start at 8. Let's just say the EB's were waiting for us when we started setting up at 6:30! We had already sold through a third of our stuff before the actual start time.
• Not a good idea to put your garage sale signs on wooden stakes, when it hasn't rained in Austin in a year. The ground is basically like concrete.
• My math skills aren't what they used to be. I didn't think we would need a calculator, but apparently, it is a lot harder to add up 17 items that are priced everywhere from 25 cents to a dollar.
• Check out these stylin' aprons we wore. It was my MIL's idea, and I have to admit I didn't want to do it. But it turned out that when you're swamped with Early Birds, it's the only way for people to know that it's your sale. By the end, I loved my apron with all the great pockets to put my tape measure, spare change, and whatever else I could think of!
• Don't let people use your bathroom. This story is too gross to tell...
• We enjoyed asking people what they planned to do with certain purchases. The award went to a lady who bought our doghouse. She planned to use it as yard art along with the ceramic dog she was making.
• I sold half a used bottle of WD-40. The man buying it told me, "This stuff is great for almost anything." I agree. But he told me about a new use I wasn't aware of... rub it on your hands for arthritis pain. Hmmm. I'm gonna try that in the ER.
• Finally, I have learned that some of what you sell, you will almost certainly need in the days after the sale. My best example of this: We sold a plunger. First of all, who buys a plunger? But not only that, I distinctly remember saying to myself, "We haven't needed this plunger in years. We surely won't need it in the next 4 months." Two days later we put potato skins in the garbage disposal in our rent house, and I went to Home Depot to buy a new plunger for $5. (I think I sold the old one for a buck.)