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Dana K. White

A SLOB COMES CLEAN

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The Big Garage Sale Dilemma

September 21, 2010 By Dana White | 9 Comments

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The Big Garage Sale Dilemma at aslobcomesclean.com

Garage sales.

Love ’em. As I’ve shared before, my slobbish ways came perilously close to hoarding when I discovered eBay and the whole “buy it for a quarter, sell it for 17.01” fabulousness.

Garage sales became less of a shopping experience, and more of a grabbing experience. Up at 6:30, crazy-eyes aglow with the anticipation of finding treasures I never knew I needed, and coming home at noon with a van-full of randomness.

A big part of my deslobification process has been . . . not going to garage sales.

But the other side of this dilemma is that I’m also cheap frugal. Because of my years of spending only 10 dollars for an entire year’s worth of clothing for each child (and truly, the year’s worth was enough to clothe quintuplets), I can’t bring myself to spend even 5.00 on a pair of shorts.

And this goes for so many things in life. Dishes, clothes for myself, furniture pieces to fit in that corner which used to be piled up with stuff . . . I KNOW that I could get those things for pennies on the dollar if I shopped garage sales.

But I’m scared to put myself in that situation again.

So, here are ten things I’ve done to try to keep myself in check and not go back down Slob Road.

(Believe me, I have the same icky feeling in the pit of my stomach that you may have . . . . thinking this might be a post I’ll someday look back on as foreshadowing that I was going to fail at the deslobification thing.)

1. Sleep in. Don’t be one of those people who gets there an hour before the sale is supposed to start. Have breakfast with your family, and then get going leisurely. This means that things will be picked over by the time you get there. While that used to be your fear, now it is your saving grace. Most likely, there will be some cute pieces left, but the entire wardrobe in your daughter’s next-year-size won’t be calling your name.

2. Make a list. When I attacked my clothing clutter recently, I figured out what I truly needed. Now, I know it’s okay to buy a few wintry dresses for my daughter. Not 23, but a few.

3. Dig through your change pile. Take change only and you can’t buy out the entire sale. Better yet, get mostly dimes and nickels.

4. Put the change into a Ziploc bag. OK, 3 and 4 could be one thing, but I’m trying to make this a list of ten. Here’s the logic. If you don’t have a lot of cash, you can’t buy the big stuff. If you truly do find just the thing you needed, you can always go get cash, but while you’re driving to the ATM, you can have a heart-to-heart with yourself and decide if you really need it. Also, with an embarrassing plastic bag full of change, you’re more likely to spend less than a dollar at each sale, since that’s as much as you can surreptitiously count out. Pulling out the bag and counting 6 dollars in dimes is embarrassing enough to make you think twice about how badly you need those candlesticks and Barbie clothes.

5. Don’t check the paper. If you used to map out your sales the night before, and woke up in a cold sweat that someone else might get to the “toddler girl clothes” first, go against that temptation and determine that you’ll just randomly hit the sales whose signs you run across.

6. Only go when you’re looking for something specific, and in that case . . . check the paper to find which sales to go to. (I know. I just contradicted myself. I’d be mad too.)

7. Make going a special (rare) thing. My husband takes the boys on outdoor adventures occasionally. While they’re gone, my daughter and I go to garage sales. It used to be that those weekends were when I could justify going ALL DAY LONG, as opposed to a few hours in the early morning. Now, that’s almost the only time we go. It’s fun girl time, and we love it.

8. DON’T take your never-meets-a-stranger, falls-in-love-with-the-ugliest-rattiest-has-to-be-fumigated-before-it-can-enter-your-home-doll daughter. You probably think I’m advising this to avoid the “Can I have that?” conversation. No. People love to give things to cute little kids. Give. Meaning, you’ll end up with, ahem, stuff . . . that you would never buy, even for a quarter! I’m amazed at the number of times my kids have been given stuff at garage sales. People’s eyes light up when they see my 4yo cuddling with that smooshed-faced-one-armed doll that they never thought anyone would want. Lucky me, my daughter has a special place in her heart for the ugliest-of-the-ugliest.

9. Declutter. I know of nothing that motivates me to avoid bringing clutter into my home, more than actively trying to get rid of all the clutter I’ve brought in in the past.

10. Keep on decluttering. Like it or not, I’ve realized that this decluttering thing is an ongoing lifestyle, not just a 30 minute show.

 

Related Posts:

Read Newer Post Daily Checklist – Again with the Priorities
Read Older Post Forever Re-Prioritizing

Filed Under: My Survival Techniques, top ten tuesday | 9 Comments

Comments

  1. Betsy (Eco-novice) says

    September 21, 2010 at 4:16 am

    I so agree with #9. Decluttering, esp. in combo with moving, really KILLS the hoarding impulse.

    Reply
  2. Kathryn says

    September 21, 2010 at 11:09 am

    This is amazing!! What a great list. I'm a garage saler, bargain hunter, thrift store shopper too… however being an Army wife (and frequently moving from place to place) has been influential in keeping the house clean!! Haha!

    Reply
  3. Jennifer says

    September 21, 2010 at 2:36 pm

    It's me again. LOL Yesterday I got started on my house…here is the completed tasks: Dishes done, bed made, bathroom completely scrubbed, Kitchen floor cleared, swept and mopped. We are in the process of moving rooms around and I have mounds of stuff to go through, but I have a game plan for the first time ever. Oh, and the living room is straightened and I cooked 3 lb. of beans and a huge pot full of rice. I made some of it into baby food for my 6 month old. My husband could not believe the difference in the house and I am planning to really surprise him tonight.
    I completely understand your garage sale dilemma, I used to go often, but could not justify all the junk coming into my already full house. My problem is that both sets of grandparents work at thrift store and send a ton of clothes to the kids. I have a hard time going though and deciding what we need and then it ends up getting piled and piled. Ok, I think I've rambled enough. Thanks for listening. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Cherish says

    September 21, 2010 at 4:38 pm

    I know! The clutter comes back so fast!

    Reply
  5. Stephanie says

    September 21, 2010 at 5:12 pm

    OH this so rings true.
    We were totally the map it out night before, get up at the crack, pile our 3 girls in and grab donuts to keep them quiet while we garage sale family. Then we started decluttering, and youre right: you dont WANT to bring more in when you just got rid of alot!
    And half the dolls we have (might be an exaggeration) were given by garage salers who couldnt resist my girls and their charm!

    Reply
  6. Crystal @ A Well-Feathered Nest says

    September 21, 2010 at 11:36 pm

    Oh, I have to laugh about people giving stuff to your daughter. The same thing happens to my son. I usually drag him along for a little company, but it really is crazy how often people just give him things!

    Reply
  7. Suanna says

    September 22, 2010 at 1:08 am

    Here's an idea. If you are looking for something specific check craig's list or freecycle or something like that and you might just find what you are looking for without being tempted by other items at the garage sale.

    Reply
  8. Melissa says

    June 28, 2011 at 6:51 pm

    “DON’T take your never-meets-a-stranger, falls-in-love-with-the-ugliest-rattiest-has-to-be-fumigated-before-it-can-enter-your-home-doll daughter.”

    LOL! My girls are like that, too. I believe the last garage sale we went to (which, amazingly, was nearly a year ago) I actually had to say “But she’s missing an eye… and she doesn’t even have any hair?!” There was absolutely NO WAY that creepy-*** doll was coming home with us! 😛

    Reply
  9. Heather Mac says

    April 12, 2012 at 5:55 am

    Girl, you know you’re stuff! . . . Unfortunately, I know too – because I’m guilty with the Garage Sale Game myself. I should probably get one of those tacky bumper stickers that say, ” I Brake For Garage Sales”, or NOT!

    By the way, relate to the daughter scenario. Our issue is the Little-Frilly-Girl-Has-To-Rescue-Every-Orphaned-Baby-Doll Routine! Hilarious, or NOT!

    Reply

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