“Garage sales are so much work!” That’s a comment I often hear when I mention that I’m having one. And it’s true. In our family, though, garage sales are a tradition and an accomplishment. And while the monetary reward is not spectacular, the experience is one that I choose to repeat every couple of years. Yesterday’s sale was held only one year since our last purging of household items, in part for son Kyle’s sake. As I wrote in A Season of Changes, he moved in with us in the spring, bringing everything that filled his apartment, items that were his and a few that were left behind when his brother married.
Living in a smaller space, he had belongings he wanted to sell, so I rummaged through closets and drawers, collecting “odds and ends” that still had some usefulness but were not being used. My husband, concerned about my back, suggested we wait until next year to hold another sale. But, with our guest room full of stuff I no longer wanted, I pressed on, buying my city permit, writing a newspaper ad, hoping for good weather, asking him to spend the day with me.
Our chosen sale date, sandwiched between hurricanes that affected even Ohio, was sunny. And while we squeezed the sale in at the end of the season, it was well attended and successful. Many more items were purchased than remained, and people seemed to enjoy the experience of shopping here. We saw and heard some interesting things during the day, a few of which I thought I’d share.
- As is typical, someone parked in front of our house well before our advertised opening time. One of the things I advertised was Star Wars toys. A friend asked me to hold most of those for her to purchase for her children, which I was happy to do. Our early shopper, probably in her 60s, did not look like a Star Wars fan, so I was surprised when she become a bit disgruntled with our small selection of the movie merchandise. Her son told her to get there early and buy the Star Wars stuff, the stuff that my son was ready to sell. She mentioned that she bought a sewing machine from me last year, and we had a bit of pleasant conversation as she found something she wanted to buy. No scene. Whew.
- A gentleman in a suit walked in, took a quick look around, and paid $1 for the rusty cast iron dinner bell that we removed from our deck before putting up new vinyl siding.
- A shopper picked up our mercury-style outdoor thermometer and asked me if it worked. “Well,” I said, “Let’s look at it and see. 73 degrees seems about right. Yes,it works.” “Then why are you selling it?” he asked. Now that’s a reasonable question. Again, it came down with the old siding, and I replaced it with a new one. So he bought it.
- A grandmother who I know came with her granddaughter in tow, a little girl who I engaged in conversation about school and learned that she will be one of the First Graders that I visit for Winners Walk Tall this year. One name learned! Seeing her at church this morning – priceless.
The East Richland Friends Church steeple on Sunday morning.
- A mother who stopped by showed some interest in the books I’ve written for Winners Walk Tall while I was taking a break inside. Dave called me out to talk with her. I explained that “All Done…Unless” was written at the request of a teacher whose students always left behind a mess. This stranger felt that the book would be great for her kids. She felt it so strongly that I noticed a tear in her eye. She said, “Since you’re the author, would you sign the book?” Now a tear was forming in MY eye. She took a phone call, maybe from her husband, and I heard her saying that she found a perfect book for their kids and the lady who wrote it was signing it for her. I asked for her daughters’ names and carefully wrote the inscription. After she left, Dave told me that she has cancer, but said she will be OK.
Who am I that I should have the honor of meeting her, blessing her family through my writing, and being able to pray that her daughters will have a healthy mother for many years to come.
When closing time came, we were exhausted, pleased that there was little to put away, but exhausted. Dave wanted to take me out to eat, but I couldn’t muster the energy to go and to interact with other people. So, I dumped a bag of frozen stir-fry into a skillet and that was dinner.
A garage sale IS a lot of work, both to get it ready and to hold it. Putting up that door to welcome anyone who will enter is a bit risky. There is a vulnerability in laying your personal items on a table, inviting comments from strangers. Sometimes a lengthy conversation makes me want to escape into the house. Sometimes I get flustered when trying to keep track of multiple customers’ items. There is always something that I thought should have sold left at the end of the day.
But this year’s garage sale has been accomplished. I was blessed by it. The kids who got the Star Wars toys were excited. The woman who bought my book was precious. The guy in the suit may sell that rusty bell for a nice profit. I look forward to seeing a friendly face in the first grade classroom I visit in October. My son has less stuff to move to his next place. And my husband and I enjoyed a day, shoulder-to-shoulder in our garage, watching our junk become someone else’s treasure.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 (words of Jesus)