Is garage sale-ing still a “thing”?
August 21, 2023
This weekend was an exhausting yet sad experience with having a garage sale.
Did we sell things, yes.
Was all that work worth it? Yes.
While the amount of visitors we had was not as busy as I had wished, it allowed us as a family to go through things that have been buried in this home for almost 40 years.
Our small 3 bedroom home built in 1952, has 1 ½ baths, full basement with ¾ remodeled, kitchen, dining and living room, an attached small attached garage and a much larger disconnected 2 ½ car garage behind the house. We moved in the summer before my 7th grade year. It used to have 6 giant maples (at least 5 stories tall) but a lightning bolt quickly reduced that number when I was in high school.
Unlike California or the south which really has no basements, most homes in Ohio have full basements, some are not finished, some are called “man caves”, some are scary places with dirt floors and rarely entered. Our basement has been the TV room, office space, always the laundry room and the workshop. It’s always 10 degrees cooler and eventually became the place we stored things.
The last real big improvements done on the house were completed in the early 90s. In 2021, my mom and I began to tackle small remodeling projects around the house. Since it was not something Dad seemed too pleased about, we started in her bedroom. Dad’s health issues pretty much restricted him to the main living area of the house and unfortunately he could no longer walk up stairs, so he was moved into my old tiny bedroom. Mom eventually moved into the other room across the hall.
Our projects have continued slowly throughout the house, to the hallway, his room, painting everything we could. Hiring someone to fix a few things we couldn’t and working on the process of making the house more ADA friendly. Houses in the 50’s were not really handicap accessible and many have at least a few steps to get to the main floor.
Dad passed before some of the work had been completed or even started.
After his death, our conversations switched to really cleaning up the house, fixing what needed fixing, improving what needed to be improved, getting it ready to eventually sell. This meant cleaning out what I like to call the “dark-side” of the basement; aka laundry room, workshop, box collection, canning storage, file storage, golf club and tennis racket graveyard and really what you would think a basement laundry room should look like. Dark and lots of places for spiders to call home.
It meant cleaning out the upstairs room and attics, removing the at least 50 year old blue shag carpet. Washing wall after wall, painting the upstairs, which is the length of the house; multiple times. Throwing out the things not worth saving and carrying up or down furniture no longer being used to the garage. Sorting through items collected over the 51 years of their life together is an overwhelming task and we are not done. This was stage “whatever” out of the hundreds of things to do. It’s been a hell of a project.
During this cleanup, I made the choice to not travel in my travel trailer and to sell it and travel part-time. I do see a potential trailer in my future, but it may be vintage and will be down the road a bit before I head that direction again.
I have officially taken over the upstairs and made it my small studio apartment. This will be my home when Sawyer and I are not traveling. Until I am done traveling or ready to find my forever property why spend money on a rental that does nothing to benefit my future plans?
The depressing state of “garage sale-ing”
Growing up, my grandparents had multiple garage sales a year. It was actually a big thing in their town. They had the perfect lot. Busy street, small town, big driveway, lots of room for cars.
It was an bi-annual event and often very lively. We had 4 families worth of clothes, books, and little things collected over the years. Their garage was in perpetual state of garage sale readiness. Once done most items were stacked in boxes, unsold clothes were stored away and the rest neatly tucked under or on the few tables they kept up. Priced and ready for the next one.
The small two car garage, that never really held cars (while I was growing up) was connected to the house and also was the place we as a large-ish family would hangout during the holidays. It held the washer and dryer, our closet of toys, hula hoops, baseballs, golf balls and clothespins. It was also grandpa’s second workspace and at one point my grandpa’s darkroom.
This small 3 bedroom home on almost 2 acres, held 6 people, originally. Once my mom, her sister and brothers moved out and had a family, it grew to 17 of us. Now, with my brother, me and my some of cousins with spouses and kids, it’s currently at 33. Just walking into a restaurant is now like our own private parade.
We’ve grown, spread out across the country and sadly don’t get to see each other as often (which was typically at least once a year). Most of us however experienced at some point growing up, Grandma’s garage sale. While grandpa helped, he often would work on his “honey-do” list, which included mowing, weeding, gardening, working in his shed or improving his carving skills. Many times I would be taken down to my grandparents house for the week to help them get it set-up and help (I was the oldest).
My nephew, Evan, had that task this weekend. Not sure if his memories will be the same as mine. Other than a moment of playing “I spy” and laughing until we cried..he was often saying “I’m bored” — this led to binge watching Stranger Things, trying to putt into a 2 inch opening, shooting the bow and arrow, finding an old walkman, listening to the cassettes we had, and playing with pups.
By the time 4 pm rolled around, we were all tired and really just watching the time slowly tick to 5pm.
During the 70s, 80s and even 90s, garage sales seemed to be the thing to do. Cost cutting, saving money and buying used. Finding the gem hidden in someone's garage. Unknown treasures.
Eventually the rest of it will be taken to the donation center we have downtown.
My check list of tasks is slowly being crossed out (and changing)
Garage Sale 1.0
Garage Sale 2.0
Repair Trailer Window
Shoot Video of Trailer for YouTube/Insta
Post Video of Trailer
Clean Trailer
Take Photos of trailer
Write selling info for trailer
Remove all items keeping from trailer
Sell Trailer
Get all shipping supplies needed for Wanderlust & Wit
Print Ohio State Parks map
Post Map to IG / YT w/link
Completed CA State Parks map
Start PA state parks map
Print Photos for Hartville Flea Market
Prep for Flea Market
Attend Flea Market (again)
Get a game plan in place for my first flea market show.
Sell truck
Find new truck
Find truck camper
Get back on the road.
#tuesdays
