Sell, Sell, Sell

Over the last couple years we've given away A LOT to Goodwill and similar organizations, but this time as we cleaned out we decided to make a little extra cash on our unwanted items. Each time we pack up to move, and then again once we move in, we get rid of our clutter by donating. However, while we were taking the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace course we did have a yard sale with the church and used the money we made to pay off our debt. Since March, we've already been to Goodwill three times--I'm definitely one to clear out the house as soon as we're not using something. My husband, on the other hand, LOVES to keep EVERYTHING! He's been much better in the last couple years about giving things away and I think we balance each other out when it comes to deciding what to keep and what to get rid of. 

As it gets closer to Baby A.'s arrival, we need to make space for her incoming items. We announced our garage sale on Craig's list a couple days out and made signs to advertise in our area. The night before the sale we tagged our stuff and set up tables to display everything. We planned to be up by 5 A.M. so we could hang up our signs and get some change from the store. Our little girl must have been excited for the garage sale because by 3:58 A.M. she was kicking up a storm and there was no way I was going back to bed. I got up, ate breakfast, made a few more signs and then woke my bleary-eyed husband at 5. Our signs and Craig's List must have worked well because before we even returned to the house customers were lined up, an hour earlier than the time advertised. Tim dealt with the rush of customers while I fed the dogs and within those ten minutes he sold quite a bit. By 7 A.M., when the sale was actually supposed to start, the rush was over. But people came in waves all day long and we sold the majority of what was on sale, making almost $500.00. A nice extra pot of cash to purchase baby goods. 

The LARGE majority of our customers were from Juarez, Mexico. Many of the people explained that they buy things from garage sales in America to take back over the border and resell for profit. Most of our visitors asked for tennis shoes and broken televisions or video games, of which we had none. We had a pastor from Juarez visit our sale, who actually spent a half hour pruning the bushes and trees in our front yard!!! He explained that a couple of our plants were about to die and then he and his wife proceeded to take out gardening tools from their truck and start working on our yard; you can't say people in El Paso aren't friendly! 

This afternoon we're headed to Goodwill to donate what we didn't sell. And the big ticket items that didn't go will be reposted on Craig's List at a lower price. All in all, a very successful sale. Below is a picture of Tim recovering from the day's events.