Sunday, June 09, 2013

The Fat Lady Sang.......

and the garage sale is over. I think if I counted up all the hours I spent getting ready for it and then having it, I made about $1 per hour. 

BUT, my original goal was to get someone else to carry stuff away from here so I don't have to; now my garage is considerably less crowded than it was at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning,  but it will still require packing the van and taking the leftovers to a local charity, which is on tap for tomorrow. 

It will have to be after the plumber comes. Why do toilets always break when you need them to work well?  The handle assembly broke in two, and while I have been adept in replacing some parts in a toilet, I cannot be sure I can do what this one requires. *Sigh*  I hope it doesn't take all my profit from the sale to pay the plumber.  

The first sale on Saturday morning was a 1974 Schwinn men's bike. It was the last one out of five that we had when we moved here. It has been stored under the house for 31 years, and ridden once since we put it there. The young man who bought it sure did look happy with his purchase. He will have to put new tires on it - but I think he got a good deal.

The old wooden Williamsburg planter boxes sold too, as did 2 bedside tables and our big, old metal tool box, which weighed about 20 pounds when empty. I could barely lift it when full, so I decided to pitch it and I'll get something plastic and easy to carry. 

I thought I had a buyer for the garage fridge, but her husband was less enthusiastic than she was. The three drawer metal file cabinet that I bought 47 years ago from De Paul Hospital in Norfolk is still here too. It still works perfectly; the drawers slide out as if they were new. I paid $5 for it in the mid 60's and that was the price I had on it, but people passed up a good deal on that. What's a little rust, people?  Hmmm? I would have given you a wire brush to banish that rust had you asked me. Some people have NO vision whatsoever. 

11 comments:

Duke_of_Earle said...

Judy, most handle assemblies can be replaced very easily by the homeowner. Before you pay a plumber, I would urge you to try to remove the assembly and take the pieces to an Ace Hardware, or Lowes, or Home Depot, etc., and ask someone what you need to fix it. Chances are you can do it, and not waste all that hard-earned garage sale money. If you can't get the pieces off, go ahead with the plumber. What have you got to lose?

Shiny Rod said...

Sounds like it went well and at least the weather cooperated. I wish I could have made it by to see if there was anything I could use in my abode. Replacing toilet fixtures is one of my favorite tasks, compared to ripping ceilings down to get at a leaking qwest fitting, I would say.

Anonymous said...

I used to love having garage sales, but I'm way too old and puny to do that now. So, I applaud you. However, most weekends I manage to go to a few!

MC's New Life said...

Loved to hear about your garage sale. I have a feeling this will be your last big one as you wore yourself out preparing for it. That is the problem with having them. Getting all the stuff together, pricing it and making sure the presentation is good and people can see everything without looking under and pulling boxes out. I am surprised no one bought the cabinet for $5. I would have bought it. Good luck on the toilet. MC

MC's New Life said...

Sounds like you had a good sale. I would have bought the cabinet for $5. So much you could do with it. Glad it is behind you and you are getting a great start on downsizing. It is not easy to weed out years and years of accumulated treasures and memories. I know the rest will fall into place and you will be happy when it does.

MC

sage said...

thanks for the motivation... I would agree with Duke about the handle on the toilet--that's generally the easiest part to fix.

Arkansas Patti said...

Having been shocked by a plumber's bill this year, I agree with Duke of Earle. Google how to do it and it really isn't hard.
That bike sounds like a collectors item. So glad your sale was mostly a success.

Celia said...

I fixed the handle on my potty wimpy fingers and all. Give it a try. Good for you with your garage sale, I'd like to have one too but it seems overwhelming right now.

Jay said...

I think your advice in the previous post applies to anyone, age be damned. If we aren't using it, why do we insist on hanging on to it? I'm pretty ruthless with most things, but I confess to keeping my "skinny" clothes even when the scale has been telling me to throw them out for a long time!

Congratulations on letting go of quite a few things between all of your sales. It feels good to purge!

Anonymous said...

Glad the sale helped to clear so many items. I still need to do some clearing out. My days of entertaining at home are few as everyone likes to eat out.

Pat said...

Must be catching - my bidet has just sprung a leak.