12.13.2010

Infinite Garage Sale Day


Between work, travel, and holiday guests, I haven't been tending to the garage as much as I'd like. But I've been tending to the house! I had the carpets cleaned, the plumbing fixed, and even I cleared two of the bedrooms. Over Thanksgiving I was able to finally guests over and not worry that they'd be visually assaulted by sweaters.

Having people over was the motivation I needed to clear house. But after they left I fell into a slump. What now? The house is more livable but I still had that hairy garage beast. I couldn't stand knowing that the garage hadn't changed. So I decided to have an Infinite Garage Sale.

A few awesome friends came over the help, otherwise I'd have died! Angela was the much needed stickler, texting me at 6:30 am to set up. From a previous sale, I knew that the serious buyers start hovering before seven so I jumped out of bed. I was right. One guy drove past my house several times. A few were parked near the driveway. Their enthusiasm was scary actually. Maybe not as scary as when I hit sample sales. Now I know why those shopgirls are so strict with me.

We put out two racks and eight large boxes of clothes in a hearty clothing department. We had a kitchenwares section near the lawn with the Forever Orchids and a sporting goods section with golf clubs, fishing supplies and folding bikes. It was like having a little department store in my driveway.

Here's Angela with the vintage Sony multiband radio in front of "housewares" and the manual typewriter I used to make zines on.


Sporting goods. 


Ladies and menswear. 


A lace prairie skirt by "Spoiled Girls!"


My dog looking depressed because we weren't paying attention to him.


I loved the garage sale shoppers. They were mostly older folks and Mexican families. The first one, an elderly Japanese lady in a striped Breton shirt stayed the longest, sifting through every box as we brought them out. She left with a green striped boatneck top and an olive sweater vest. I think she was me in the future because she picked out everything I would have liked. One women bought two of the same The Limited cardigans and told me one was for her and the other was for her ninety-three year old sister! Awesome! Another sweet grandma type returned my beige Lesportac bag when she found money inside. I was relying on the kindness of garage sale strangers. 

It was exhilarating to hawk stuff for cash but stressful. When I found myself haggling the difference between $64 and $60 dollars, my friends had to remind me that I needed to price things to move. The number one priority is making the sale! Maybe I was taking the low balling too personally.

I was so beat afterwards that I left the housewares out on the driveway all day and overnight. The next morning I went to brunch and wondered if anyone would take anything. When I came back I found $16 wedged in my front door and noticed a few of the vases missing. I probably would have only charged $1 a vase. I couldn't believe I could run a garage sale on the honor system and make more money that way.

I'm having a few charities pick up the remaining boxes which will free up half the space in the garage. I might soon be able to use one of the carports for an actual car, just like we used to. Infinite Garage sale success!


Here's my cousin's daughter on her first dogback riding lesson.

8 comments:

SinoSoul said...

wait. Does that mean the blog is coming to an end? WAH WAH!

Raina Lee said...

Nah, I still have a lot of crap left!

Eat the Love said...

I am honored to have been a part of the Thanksgiving guests, and to have seen the Infinite Garage in person. I still covet that giant whisk.

Also, I would have loved to have seen those holiday sweaters in person....

Raina Lee said...

Hi Irvin! Thanks for coming over for the after after party, I have to figure out what I'm going to do with that giant whisk. Maybe you and I can make giant french macaroons (sp?) the size of our heads? xoxo

jade said...

Raina! I had an on-your-honor garage sale and made WAY more than i would have thought to charge! It was amazing to find out how fundamentally honest most people are. Sad I missed the trove of 80s fashions.

Raina Lee said...

Jade!

Yeah it's shocking what people want to buy. I wish I had your location for my sale! Don't worry, I still have tons of 80s fashions. Let me know what you need (like pleated stirrup pants).

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