Update - not much to update on around here, so I spent the weekend in Illinois!

Jeff is in his second week of the new job.  It's such a different type of company (size wise, the exact opposite!) so he's working on getting used to the differences.  Luckily, he knows what he's doing, so it's not like he has to learn how to perform the functions of his job.

  

I think it's going well.  I hope it's going well.  It's hard to know how things really are from so far away.  All I can do is send positive thoughts over the 3200 miles.

Me, on the other hand...  work is work.  I've been busy writing instructions for job duties, which unfortunately puts me behind on finishing said duties.  (Hee hee "doody" )

At home I've gotten used to sleeping on an air mattress.   I sleep fine, but don't get fully rested.  Sleeping on a real bed at Mom & Dad's house was a treat!  I woke up feeling like I had really slept - it was wonderful!

I keep removing things from the house and only bring in groceries and mail, which I consider to be an accomplishment.  I have been lucky to sell a few things, with more to sell.  Some is being sold at secondhand stores, some taken to a consignment store, a bunch on garage sale.  I'll put some things on Craigslist,  and some on ebay.

So even though I am here all by myself, I have been keeping busy.


I took Friday off and went to Illinois.  Rylee was having an 8th grade graduation party!

delicious softball cake!  so moist!

the (8th grade) graduate!  I think she enjoyed her party.

Now, back to being busy removing even more stuff from the condo...

After the Garage Sale - an update

It was a blustery day here in Wisconsin on Saturday.  I think the high temp was in the 40s.  And I spent 7 hours outside at my garage sale.

The night before I was able to figure out where to put everything for display.  I couldn't put everything up because I wanted to put some stuff in the driveway - the only way people would be able to see the garage sale from the street.

Rhy helped make garage sale signs, Jeff got me change, and I updated the Craigslist ad with some pictures I took when most stuff was set up.  We were ready!  I got up entirely too early for a Saturday so I could shower and look presentable - you don't want to scare your customers, you know - and I made a list of corners for Jeff to put out signs.  He went on his errand and I went to set stuff up in the drive.

Not too long after 7AM people started arriving.  A few commented on how early I started the sale.  That brings me to...

#1 = Schedule your Garage Sale start time based on what season of the year it is.

I was not thinking when I started the sale at 7AM.  I was thinking of the summer months!  I wasn't thinking about the fact that the sun now comes up around 7AM...

I had a fairly decent flow of traffic.  Most people bought something, except for the men who came alone.  They were looking for outdoor items, and Jeff was not selling any hunting or fishing items.

#2 = Advertise.  Be specific.  Include pictures if possible.

I only advertised online on Craigslist and a few other websites.  A decent number of people commented on the Craigslist ad.  I took advantage of all 8 available pictures, and filled the spots with pictures I took the night before.  At least one group of women came specifically because I had included in the ad that Jeff would entertain offers on the motorcycle.  One woman said that she doesn't garage sale, but saw the ad on Craigslist, and she bought a set of dishes and a knife block for their new cabin up north.

#3 = Put arrows on your Garage Sale signs!!!

Seriously people!  Put arrows!  People do not know all the street names, and if they're at an intersection, they might not know which way to turn!  I included arrows on my signs, the address was kinda small, but that's okay because I was pointing people in the right direction.  And some people said that they stopped by on the way to or from somewhere because they saw the signs.  Yes!

#4 = Decide on the goal of your Garage Sale.

Is the goal to make money or to get rid of stuff?  I've always priced stuff low at garage sales.  Most things at our garage sale were $1 or less, and only a couple items were more than $5.  Obviously our goal was to get rid of stuff.  We made $125.  Not too bad.  I spent about $15 total on the sign frames and price tags.

#5 = Decide what to do with your leftovers.

I knew that we needed a plan for What To Do With the Unsold.  We're giving the clothing to a clothing pantry.  I'm keeping some stuff like the Christmas items, the Smurf glasses, and the doilies.  The rest, I'm calling St. Vinnies to come and pick up.  But you know what?  Seems like we only have about 1/3 of what we started with!  That's just amazing!

#6 = Clean up the garage right away.

Jeff and I got everything put away as good as possible tonight, so the car is now back in the garage.  No more sleeping outside for the Legacy!

All in all, it was definitely a successful garage sale.  I doubt I'll have another while we live here...

Garage Sale - scheduled!

For the very first time ever, I'm having a garage sale.  I've only participated in garage sales before.  I've made about $50 in some sales, but I've never had enough stuff to have my own sale.  I've only ever had things like Barbies and some clothes to sell.

And then Jeff moved in.

When you combine two households, you end up with A LOT of stuff.  Two couches.  Two vacuums.  Two irons.  Two table & chair sets.  Five sets of dishes.  In general, A LOT of stuff.

So you get a storage unit.  And you spend too much on that storage unit every month for two and half years.  And then you do the math and realize you've probably spent almost $3000 on storage, and you decide it's time to sell some stuff.

That's where we are now.

So, this Saturday we are having a garage sale from 7A-2P.  Need stuff?  Come on by.  I'm just nervous trying to figure out timing.  You know, timing of putting out signs and setting stuff up and I told Jeff that he wouldn't have to do much for this garage sale because he wasn't interested in having one in the first place.

In a week I'll let you know if the garage sale was a success.