The Joy Of Garage Sales

The weather here in Florida has been absolutely gorgeous. The temperature has hovered at about 80 degrees. At night, the temp dips down into the 50’s, creating as close to a cold snap as it gets down here. And so, with all the sunshine and crisp days, we’ve had a massive influx of…garage sales. They’re everywhere, every weekend. I guess with today’s economical climate, people are out hunting for a bargain, especially with Christmas around the corner.

Since I’ve been tripping over things in my garage that I mean to get rid of, it seemed the perfect time to get items together for the neighborhood sale. Twice a year the sub-division advertises the sale, which is great, except every neighborhood in a ten mile radius had the same idea for the very same weekend. Still, I spent a week sorting and tagging. Honestly, it felt great to clear the clutter. And we had a successful weekend, in more ways than monetary.

I met some really nice people. Because I work out of my home, I don’t socialize as much as I used to. I thought I’d gotten rusty, but found out otherwise. And another thing I learned? There are still a lot of nice people in the world, despite all the gloom and doom and horrible stories we hear on the news or read about in the newspaper.

I chatted with a gal who had moved from Florida to Tennessee, only to have the job market dry up there. She had some business cards with her because she hoped to drum up some business and move back to Florida, so I told her to give me a couple cards. She was really thrilled and thankful that I would help her out, but really, isn’t that what it’s all about? Helping each other? I hope she finds the clients she needs to stay here.

Then there was the woman who couldn’t decide between an abdominal toning chair or a laptop briefcase. After watching her work the ab chair and laughing along with her, we threw in a free VCR so she could watch the instruction tapes. She promised to come back when she trimmed down. Oh, and she bought the briefcase too.

A few Christmas’s ago, a friend had given me a Bobby Sherman CD. Every woman in my age group (you know who you are!) who saw the case laughed. We had more fun reminiscing about our teen years, until one woman talked about how her daughter would have no idea who heart throb Bobby was. I told her she could have the CD on one condition; she had to continually play the CD just to drive her daughter crazy. (I have teen daughters as well and live for this stuff.) She agreed and drove off with Bobby blaring from her speakers.   

Of course, the best was when my good friend and fellow Diva Kimbling stopped by to set up her own table and sell a few things. I think she ended up spending more money buying things from me than she actually sold. Yeah, I bought something from her too. Did it even out at the end? Probably not, but we had fun.

So if you get a chance to have a garage sale or book a Saturday to go bargain hunting, think about the fun you’ll have talking with people. It’ll be the best money you’ll ever spend.    

Diva Tara