I typically do not enjoy having yard sales. They are a lot of work and take a lot of time. However, for a few years now, we have been accumulating items in our basement we wanted to get rid of. Last weekend, we finally decided to just get it done.
The boys hauled it all out, then we set to organizing it on tables.
This unrecognizable kid showed up sometime while we were getting things out of boxes and setting up. We were pretty sure it was Malachi, but we may never know for sure…
Just for fun, I took a picture of some cooking I did last Thursday in an effort to get ahead for the weekend. I knew Friday and Saturday would be full, so having easy to warm up foods was a real life saver!
I made Calzones, Corn Dog Muffins, Cheesy Salsa Enchiladas, and Giant Breakfast Cookies. What? The giant cookies don’t look very big? Well, that’s what happens when you’re making too many recipes at once and you forget to add eggs to the cookies. Ah well, at least they still tasted good. ;)
But back to the yard sale. Ultimately, we just wanted to get rid of the “junk” and de-clutter our home. Therefore, in the hopes of seeing the stuff walk away, our yard sale prices were crazy low. In fact, we didn’t put a price tag on much of anything. When people asked what we wanted for an item, we just threw out a low number, in hopes they would just take it!
More than once, when asked how much we wanted for a toy or a plate, we’d shrug and say, “How about a quarter?” And would you believe that people would say, “Oh, that doesn’t sound like enough! I’ll give you 50¢. How does that sound?” Ha! It was the opposite of anything I’d experienced at any yard sale. People were requesting to give us MORE money than we were asking for.
By Saturday, we’d sold everything of value to us, so we just told people to take whatever they wanted for free. We found that it was a fun way to bless people and get our house cleaned out at the same time.
It ended up being a great weekend and yay for me, my house is cleaned out!
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Oh, what a great feeling to get rid of stuff! And then to bless someone else with it…love it!
(and I smiled wide that you forgot the eggs in your cookies. thanks for helping me feel more normal!) :)
We will be having a yard sale this weekend. They sure are a lot of work, but it feels good when your done! Your food looked yummy. Can you share the recipe for your calazones?
Blessings~
Shari
Sounds like you had a great garage sale! I agree they are a lot of work but in the end its a nice reward of a less stuff in the house and a little extra money for something fun.
I love how you handled your yard sale! I’m with you, the value lies in decluttering, not in the money you would make.
Today I am grateful for our “summer son”; our little boy from the Fresh Air Fund. ANyone else want to try it? Read about it today on my blog. They need more families!
My kids LOVE those corn dog muffins — I saw the recipe on Pinterest.
I think your calzones look amazing! YUm yum yum!!! I vote to share the recipe, too!
I often price things low at my garage sales- I’d rather sell the items cheaply than figure out what to do with them after nobody buys them!
There have been many times when the Lord has provided our needs with items at garage sales that we paid very little for, so I try to bless others as well through low prices.
Our church has a quarterly garage “sale” called “Free-bay.” Members donate specific items (this weekend will be kitchen items) and books and magazines are always welcomed and we give everything away – for FREE!!! Each person gets to take 7 items. Anything left over goes to local charities. There is such joy in being able to fill needs and bless others. So glad your sale went well.
We were planning a garage sale 2 weeks ago but I got sick then a friend had a stroke. I’m glad we canceled but now I have a ton of stuff stored that I was ready to get rid of. I’m not sure how much traffic we would have now that the temps are over 100.
Today I linked up and shared how thankful I was for my babysitter! She is a great girl who loves our boys!
I love that you found a blessing in clearing your home and you blessed others by giving them things. The fact that greed didn’t play in makes all the difference! And what a fabulous idea to cook food ahead of time! Definitely a tip going in the back pocket for the next yard sale! Thanks for sharing! Love your blog!
Looks great! What dough recipe do you use for your calzones?
I love how you handled the garage sale! Also, I made your breakfast cookies for the first time several weeks ago, and they didn’t last long. And it’s just my husband and me! We’ll definitely be making them again.
I have friend that does a give a way instead of a garage sale. She does not price anything and let people give what they want. A few people pick something out and leave without giving but most people give something. She always uses the money to bless a friend in need or send to those we know that support missions in Haiti. We all donate and help her when we can. It is very interesting as people are not sure how to handle receiving. what a blessing
Garage sales are a lot of work but what a great way to clean out the house & bless others at the same time!
Is the little money you make really worth it? You could be free of all the stuff quickly by taking it to Goodwill or another second hand store when others could benefit from your generosity, and then you wouldn’t have to store it all for a year(s). Or go to all the hassle of setting up a sale for a few bucks.
You know, I didn’t think it would be worth it, but even with what we considered “junk” we actually brought in over $200 – which definitely was worth it!
We’ve been talking about doing a yard sale for nearly 2 decades! Obviously, it’s long overdue! Your blog post is an inspiration!
God bless,
Laurie
I am totally window shopping your yard sale! Our youth had one to raise money for camp, and they made over $400, selling stuff super cheap also. It is a way to raise money and also bless the community by offering things so cheaply.
Ha! I am so glad I’m not the only one who has done that with the breakfast cookies… happened to me just last week also!