It's too hot for............A What?

August. The hottest part of the summer. August days are long, hot and humid where I live, and are good for just laying on the couch and catching up on movies all weekend long. Now, that is something a smart person would do. Notice, I did not say I was smart!
I decided it was time to de-clutter my house. So I convinced some of my friends to hold a garage sale. The first thing they all said was, "it's going to be hot"!
Boy, and hot it was, but what better time to purge some of the clutter in your life and then hold a garage sale at the end of the summer.
I mean, August is the last of the summer break, and right before the new school year starts. Everyone could use some extra spending money for back to school clothes, school supplies, paying your electric bill that is nearly as high as your mortgage this time of year. Or maybe, if your lucky, making extra money to spend on that last minute family vacation.

So that is just what a group of friends and myself did this weekend. Mind you the temperature was a balmy
104 degrees today, and the heat index....well, we won't mention that one. Nor will I mention the fact that Friday morning at 4:30am a lightening storm so intense forced my husband and I out of bed to drive across town to bring tarps to cover our precious wares in case it would rain....and you guessed it, it did not rain a drop. Lucky I tell you......Oh, and who's idea was this??

I thought I would share some interesting photos that I took this morning....after we had sold numerous items all day Friday....
This was early Saturday morning. Can you believe we sold tons of clothes on Friday? From the look at this photo, it looks like we did not sell a single piece of clothing.

Here is a shot at one of the long tables full of goodies. Again, after we sold lots the day before.

Oh, here is one of our early shoppers this morning. She is a smart lady, she knows "it's the early bird who catches the worm". Oh, and I think this is when I had to put the camera down, to sell something to that smart shopper.

Let me mention the fact that not only did we have a smart shopper shown above, but you see this umbrella? That is the smart thinking of one of our smart sellers. My friend and her husband thought ahead and brought umbrellas to sit under, AND......

How brilliant is this? An industrial fan. It may have blown 104 degree wind, but it helped. Really. Smart move friend's husband. We ladies thank you. I swear, I would have never thought of that...I would have just sat in the sweltering heat without a fan.

A tip on having a successful sale is to group like items together. Here is a group of vintage dishes. Yes, I was selling these, and now I'm having second thoughts. If they are not sold by tomorrow, I sure hope I don't decide to bring them back to their lovely home. Really, I hope I don't.

Another tip: Always, label where the customer can see the price tag. That is exactly what one of my friends did with this collection of old bottles she was selling. Note to self...I don't need these bottles, so I will try and not drag them home tomorrow if they do not sell.

You can be creative with what you sell. My friend, who's house we had the sale at has a very green thumb. In fact, her thumb is probably hunter green, because she can grow anything. Potting some of your existing plants and thinning out what you have is a great idea, and profitable.

This is brilliant: Package your seeds from cut flowers, add a little picture of what the flowers look like, and people will buy them. This is free money folks...do you hear me...free money, from your yard. All it cost is a little of your time.Now, if you still think you have nothing to sell, you can always sell drinks on a 104 degree day. People will buy drinks to cool off. Another brilliant move by my money making friend.

Now, lastly, I will mention that if you decide to clean out the clutter, host a garage sale, and make some cash, be sure to check in your area to see if you need a garage sale permit. Don't forget to do that. Believe it or not, it is important. Likewise, make sure that your town does not have any ordnance's against posting little signs on street corners. They look innocent enough right?
Well, not so innocent when the code enforcement officer shows up to inform you of a fine they could impose for having those innocent little signs on street corners. Or how about the officer checking to see if you had a permit, which you forgot to get.....Well, let's not talk about that. Really, let's skip that part. But I will say this...everything worked out fine. Smile.

This first weekend in August was hot. I'm talking sweating bullets hot. Almost too hot for a garage sale. However, the time shared with dear friends was really wonderful.
Everyone is so busy these days. Some of us work outside the home, others take care of family members, and some of us keep ourselves busy with just everyday life. This was a great two days shared with friends, catching up on our lives and family members, and swapping each others junk. That is something you can not put a price tag on, sharing time with precious friends, even in the August heat...that, I tell you is priceless.