It's out-a here!

Garage sale 2011 is behind us. As hectic as the last two weeks of preparation have been (gotta love those last minute decisions to hold one), I think I prefer it to last year when we spent more than a month pulling it together. And now it's Monday and I can finally relax... by going back to work.

Friday's weather was perfect and the crowds turned out in huge numbers. AJ was quite disappointed he couldn't skip school for the event. While waiting for his bus, he did his best to sell what I think was one of my old stuffed toys.

He held up the 10-cent treasure to two older women and said, "Isn't this an adorable puppy?"

The women gave him a nice smile, but didn't seem particularly interested. Thinking quickly, AJ held the toy by it's long floppy ears, "Or it could be a bunny."

Amazingly, the puppy/bunny is still with us.

Sydney alternated between befriending and playing with children while their parents shopped... and doing her best to scare them away. "That's mine," I heard her tell one little girl. "You can't have it."

 



As she tap danced around the driveway in a pair of lovely black new-to-her shoes that likely will fit her next Christmas, I desperately wanted to tape a sign to her back reading, "I've been outside all day. Her daddy dressed her."

All in all, we did quite well. We didn't earn as much as last year, but sold a much larger percentage of the stuff we put out there. And that's the best part of all - much less to bring back inside. I am down to just one bin of boys clothes for sizes newborn through 4T, and three bins of girls clothes. At the end of the sale, I commented that I'll never again say never to a garage sale, but it'll likely be at least a year before I'll have enough stuff to do another one.

But then we decided to continue our decluttering efforts yesterday. Looking around, I couldn't help but notice the various "to be sorted" piles that seem to be popping up (and falling over) everywhere. Jeff and I hunkered down and cleared out a whole lot more. Much of it's paperwork that's now in the recycling bin or will be used to kindle our next bonfire. But there were lots of little kid toys, books and puzzles. And that's just from one room. In other words, garage sale 2012 is looking more and more likely.