Just because you like your stuff doesn't mean everyone else will

On Saturday, me and two fellow mommas and friends, organized a charity garage sale. From gathering donations, to organizing and pricing, this sale was a huge undertaking. But all the work we invested into it was well worth it as we raised more than $450 for the CIBC Run for the Cure.

For the last two months, I've been slowly getting rid of darling daughter's baby things. It has been a work in progress. I sold a bunch of stuff in July through on-line classified ad sites. I've taken a break because that it was a huge undertaking in itself. Dealing with strangers, including those who can be classed under the random category, can sometimes be an exercise in frustration.

I decided to put darling daughter's clothes in the garage sale because I have painfully discovered that selling baby clothes is nearly next to impossible. Some stuff I sold at the garage sale almost broke my heart. Parting with baby clothes is hard as they are a reminder that the baby age is gone she'll never be that small again. Despite the fact you are ready to let go, it is hard to divorce yourself from these items. Throughout the sale, we sold the clothes at bargain prices. Again, this broke my heart (and injured my ego a bit) as I knew they were worth more than what we were selling them. I tried to remind myself that (a) this was a garage sale, not a consignment sale and (b) selling this stuff was raising money for charity. I think at one point I agreed to sell a clothing lot consisting of seven sleepers and two pajamas for $5. That was hard.

Despite having my heart broken a bit, my ego was injured when people rejected darling daughter's stuff. The thoughts of What do you mean you aren't going to buy this stuff? My kid look darn cute in it? ran through my head as people pawed through the clothing bins. Despite trying, I couldn't win.

I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with the leftover items. I guess I could keep them. Or I guess I could try and sell them again. Between trying to sell baby and maternity clothes, I think I've given myself a massive headache.

Recessionary times bad for garage sales?

I'm new to the garage sale scene. Early Saturday morning with my car packed full of baby stuff, I headed out to the Giant Kids Garage Sale with high hopes of getting rid of my stuff and making some money. Eight hours later, I returned home, with my car packed with my baby stuff and about $70 in my pocket. Ouch!

Last week I was so busy trying to get ready for the garage sale as well as trying to get a big hat order out that I had no time to blog. For a week, I painstakingly put items in Ziploc bags, labelled them, priced them as well as sorting and pricing items for the clothing rack, while trying to block dear husband's pleas that I was "selling darling daughter's childhood" every time I put a priced item of clothing or toy into the sell bin. I've heard so many great things about this garage sale, so I did have hopes of selling darling daughter's unwanted clothes and items. I did get rid of some stuff, but stuff that I thought would easily sell didn't.

It was an interesting experience as most the people I encountered were savvy shoppers, on the hunt for bargains. At one point, I reduced my prices. Two hours later, I took all the prices off, hoping people would make me an offer. I got some nibbles, but nothing concrete. People weren't even looking. And when they did, they were extremely picky. I took comfort that most people were in the same boat as us as no one seemed to be buying. At the end of the sale, it looked like no sale had taken place because there was so much stuff left over. It was incredible. I learned from other vendors that the sale didn't attract as many shoppers as it usually does. Some theorize that mass consignment sales that are being held every weekend throughout the spring here in the Ottawa area took a bite out of business. Some have said that these sales, overall, have been slow.

So are recessionary times bad for garage sales? Sure you want to get rid of stuff, but you don't want to give it away either. I enjoy bargains too, but the shoppers I encountered on Saturday were very hard to please. Right at the moment I was packing my stuff away to haul out to my car, a woman came over to look at darling daughter's cookie jar shape sorter. In my mind, I was doing a little happy dance as I thought I had a last minute sale. When she discovered the toy was battery operated (batteries were working perfectly) that apparently was a deal breaker and she walked away. At that point I had reached my limit. I stuffed the shape sorter in the box and headed out to the car. When I returned home, dear husband was happy to discover that I hadn't sold that piece of darling daughter's childhood.

To make a long blog post short, I'm off garage sales and possibly consignment sales, too. Not too sure how I'm going to get rid of darling daughter's leftover sale items. Luckily for me, they are folded neatly in Ziploc bags. I'll likely end up packing them away, lick my wounds and wait for a consignment sale in the fall. Hopefully by then people may be apt to part with their money.

Is it Saturday yet?

I can't wait until this week is over. If I never see another hanger, card stock tag, price sticker and safety pins after Saturday, I'll be a very happy girl.

A couple of months ago, I decided to get a table in the annual in the Kids Giant Garage Sale, hosted by the Ottawa Chapter of the La Leche League Canada. On Friday, I spent three hours sorting and folding clothes before inserting them in plastic bags before labeling them. And I wasn't even done. A couple of hours here and a couple of hours there, I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, I still have yet to sort through toys. God help me.

So the insanity continues. However, I hoping this venture pays off as it is time to clear house of a good portion of baby clothes. While I like the thought of keeping darling daughter's clothes for a possible second child, I'm trying to be realistic. I have no idea if or when child number two comes along. Plus, I can't keep hoarding Rubbermaid bins of clothes in my basement. I'm running out of room. So it is time to say goodbye.

However, dear husband doesn't make it easy. "Do you want to give that away?" he asked while I was tagging a footless sleeper last night."She really looked cute in that."

"Yeah," I replied. "Did you think she looked cute when you were swearing under your breath, wondering how to get her in it?"

The conversation soon ended and there were no further remarks from the peanut gallery.

So my kitchen looks like a closet and I'm tired of pinning tags onto clothes. I can't wait for Saturday to come and go. I may tear up when selling darling daughter's clothes, but my basement will thank me.