The Smell of Sweet Success

I am happy to announce that our yard sale was a HUGE success. Seriously, I don't think we'll ever be able to have another sale because we will NEVER be able to do as well as we did at this one!

Here is what we started with on Friday morning ... (actually this pic was taken about 30 minutes in because we are already missing a few items on the table)

Even though you can't tell from this pic, the two six-foot tables were stuffed full of stuff, and there is actually another card table full of curtains, a desk, two end tables and a small entertainment center of which I forgot to take a picture.

Also, you might have noticed Landon sitting bundled up on the couch. It was actually a beautiful morning but because our driveway is in the shade, it was quite cool.

We put out our signs the night before and set all the "merchandise" out around 7:30 a.m. As we were moving it out from the garage, our first early bird arrived. The others followed shortly after. Within an hour, we had already sold a huge chunk of our items. Then we had a small lull and  that's about the time Landon got bored.

But, then he started counting our profit and once he realized he was making money, he quickly changed his tune. (This was his favorite part of the sale and even motivated him to look for more items on Friday night to sell Saturday.)

Our friends Ernie and Susan also brought over some items to add to the sale around mid-morning, which helped restock our supply.

We had steady traffic until about 10 a.m. and probably sold about half of our items. Then, it got pretty quiet. What we realized later is that is about that time our signs were taken down. 

Yep, I didn't quite read the city's "rules" to realize that despite the fact I had gotten my "garage sale" permit, I had placed my signs on city property which is a "no no." As a result, the city took them. Grrrr.

So, that meant Friday night I had to go back out and buy supplies to make new ones. I decided to be nice and knock on the door of all the houses on the corner to ask if I could place my sign in their yard. I did this twice with no answer, so I decided to take my chances and hope they didn't care.

For Saturday, the signs made all the difference. We had steady traffic from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. We were amazed that the big items like our couch and chair didn't sell until 11 a.m. on Saturday. They were both very reasonably priced. Matter of fact, several people told us that, though they didn't need them. We had several "low ball" offers, but luckily, a man who was furnishing his twin daughters' apartment for college bought them for our full asking price.

We had a few people offer us way below what we wanted on a few items, but overall, we got what we wanted. And, I'm happy to say, when all was said and done, we had several hundred dollars profit and only a few items left.

I've already put the chair on Craig's List in an attempt to get rid of it. Everything else will either be stuffed somewhere is a closet or given to Goodwill.

As I said, I don't think we'll ever be able to have this successful of a yard sale ever again. I had no idea we would do this well, considering the stories I had heard from others. But, I think we had two things on our side:

1. Weather. This past weekend was probably the nicest we have had in Texas since summer. There were lots of people out and about and it made perfect "yard sale" conditions.
2. Location. Our street connects two main roads. Because of that, we were able to put a sign on either end and draw traffic from both.

I can say, it was an exhausting experience. It was a lot of work and wore me out. I'm just glad it was also a good experience!

Yard Sale Time

I've decided to have my very first yard sale. I've heard from several people how much trouble yard sales are, but we need to get rid of our old couch and a few other items, so I thought it is worth a try. Plus, I figure if I can make a few extra bucks, I can buy a few extra items (particularly a coffee table, which we now need to go with our couch).

So, I've been reading up on the Yard Sale Queen about tips and tricks for having a sale. I've already posted the information, with pics, on several free websites. 

I feel like I've priced my items pretty reasonable, but I guess we will see. We decided to price to sell, because even a small amount is better than nothing.

Here are a few items that we hope to get rid of ...

Add to this a microwave, speaker system, picture frames, tons of curtains and various other items. I'm hoping it's enough to draw some interest.

Have you had a yard sale? If so, give me your tips! The sale will be Friday and Saturday. I'll let you know how it goes.

Bedside Table Reveal

Last week, I told you about my yard sale project. Well, I finally got it done on Saturday. Here's what it looked like before:

I used Young House Love's suggestion on how to paint it, which included starting by sanding everything down and then applying an oil-based primer. Next, I applied two coats of Glidden's Toasted Oatmeal, followed by a sealant. It all was very easy. As suggested, thin coats are the key. You don't want to goop it on or you will have a mess.

Here's what it looks like now:

I love it! Now, I have a cute bedside table in my guest bedroom.

I haven't placed anything on it yet because I want to give it plenty of time to dry so as not to mess it up. I will be adding an alarm clock and maybe a book or two for guests to flip through. I'd love to put a small lamp, too, but don't want to fill it up so much that it's completely full. I may have to look for a reading lamp at IKEA that will go on the wall.

I have one more planned project for this room and still need to buy a few more pillows, but I'm liking how it's coming together!