I had a gigantic yard sale today. You know the old saying..."friends help you move, but real friends help you move bodies.." I would argue that the best friends are the ones who help you successfully execute a yard sale.
My early bird helpers were Chelsey and Cole, who woke up at 6:00 a.m. and hauled dirty bed frames and boxes out of the garage and set up them all over two driveways. They were moving a little slow despite the Krispy Cremes I procured, and I was a little crabby. Then my boyfriend came over to help. Thank goodness he showed up at the exact moment he did because there were a few things that needed strength that us girls just don't have. He also came back after the sale to help me move a few things back into the garage.
Then my blog coach Mike Sansone showed up with a breakfast pizza from Panera. I didn't get to sit down and eat a piece of it until 10 a.m., but it was the perfect snack. Thanks, Mike.
My parents saved my ass today. They both showed up at 6:30 and stayed until after noon. Mom ran around and priced stuff all morning and dad helped with cashier duties. This was a neighborhood yard sale, so there were literally dozens of people in my yard at one time. When it finally slowed down mid-morning, Dad was there to chat with me.
My biggest pet peeve about the people who come to garage sales? The ones who show up early. Commonly referred to as "early birds," these are the folks who are on a mission. They are looking for a particular do-dad, gadget or antique. They swoop in, whether you are ready or not. I saw a couple parking their car and walking up the street a full 45 minutes before we opened. I headed them off with a ..."we're not open yet." Yet they just kept walking toward the sale tables. That is just rude. So I told them we were not opening the sale until 8. Period. The couple wheeled around, headed back toward their car and said..."We won't be back." Fine! See ya, wouldn't want to be ya.
They came slinking back an hour later...suckers!!! I welcomed them with a sunny, "Glad you could make it back!" They didn't buy anything. These types are professional garage salers and either don't buy anything, or when they do, they offer you half-price.
My favorite customers, by far, were a family of Latino immigrants. They bought a ton of stuff and had the cutest and most well-behaved children I saw all day. They even came back to buy something they'd seen earlier and took advantage of my "take it, please!" sale during the last hour.
All in all, it was a great day. I didn't make as much money as I wanted, but hey...I got rid of a mountain of stuff and got to spend the entire day in the glorious 75 degree sunshine.