Yard Sale

Oh, what fun a yard sale is! Not only the actual day of the yard sale, but the preparation is entertaining also. When we moved from Salt Lake to Minnesota this past summer, I took a load of stuff we were getting rid of to my parent's basement. I told my mom to start going through her stuff and we would have a yard sale when I came to visit in September. Well it sounded fun and exciting back then, but when it comes to actually getting everything ready and priced for the big day, wow, it is a lot of work!! But we made the most of it and had a lot of laughs and a few tears while my mom, sister Stephanie, and I rumaged through my parent's basement this past week. We sorted through everything from clothes, to bedding, to my parent's 31-year-old-unused wedding presents, to our favorite - our old toys. That is were the tears come in to place. Stephanie was hilarious! We would find a piece to a toy and say "what does this go to?" And Steph always knew where it belonged! There were so many toys scattered everywhere, even underneath the stairs. Some in good condition and some that needed to be tossed in the garbage can! We kept the toys that meant something to us, like My Little Ponys, Strawberry Shortcake, Cabbage Patch Dolls, my brothers beloved trucks and tools, and of course the ride-on spring horse. What is funny is that all of these toys have become popular again! I was at Costco a few days ago and they had Cabbage Patch Dolls! I remember going to the Cabbage Patch factory/hospital in California when I was a child and thinking it was the best thing ever! It seems that every 10-15 years everything circles around again and is back in style. Like those ugly leggings and skinny jeans!! Sorry, no offense to anyone who is into that style or who actually looks good in those pants! Maybe I should look into the leggings style, it may keep me warm in the winter! Anyway, back to the yard sale....

Once people heard I was having a yard sale, "stuff" came from everywhere! Rob's grandma brought 2 loads, I picked up 2 loads at Rob's parent's house, my grandma brought some stuff over, of course my stuff, and all my mom's treasures from the basement! But my favorite is the day of the garage sale, my friend Cari's mom show up with a car full of mostly home decor that sold like hotcakes! And everyone was so nice to donate all their items to me so I received the profit. I kind of feel like a charity-case, but I guess I kind of am with Rob back in school and me not working!! The "charity funds" are going to plane tickets so we can come home for Christmas. So if anyone who is reading this purchased something at my yard sale or donated items, please feel reassured the funds are going to a worthy cause!

It will always surprise you what actually sells at a yard sell and what doesn't sell. The things I thought would for sure sell, such as a cooler or baby clothes, didn't sell but an old curling iron did. Go figure. Overall the yard sale was a huge success and we only had to take 1 1/2 small pick-up truck loads to the DI (aka, thrift store for those of you outside of Utah). That may sound like a lot, but we started with about 12-15 truck loads! The biggest success was the fun we had people watching. All walks of life come to yard sales. As you can see on Evan's face, he was thoroughly entertained! I will probably take a few years break until the next yard sale.