I am in charge of the annual neighborhood garage sale. It is a tiresome and arduous task for me. One might ask how someone as disorganized as me could be responsible for the event. As I remember, I was out in the yard talking to the neighbors when I foolishly said:
“Hey, we should have a neighborhood garage sale.”
“Great”, everyone replied, “We all want to do it. Get back to us with the details.”
I learned my lesson. When another neighbor told me:
“Hey, we should have a block party. It will be great fun! Everyone should get together and plan it.”
“Sounds fantastic!!! Get back to me with the details”, I replied.
The block party never happened and I am the primary organizer of the annual garage sale. Actually, there are 3 of us involved with the garage sale. Bobbie, Joann and I. Joann is retired and sells things to supplement her income. Her job is to start calling me in March to tell me that she is ready to have the sale “NOW”. AND that she wants the white wrought iron settee in my yard for her daughter. I never have understood why she thinks that I am thinking of parting with it. She has seen my yard, full of lawn furniture. Does she think she’s helping me by taking my favorite piece? The settee is important to me for sentimental reasons (upcoming post). Regardless, Joann’s contribution is to drive by often and yell out her car window, “My daughter wants that settee” and “When’s the garage sale? I’m ready NOW.”
Bobbie is more of an equal partner to the garage sale. She takes phone calls from the neighbors after I distribute fliers inviting everyone to participate. Although, I place both our phone numbers on the fliers, my answering machine is always full and she fields most of the calls. This is great because inevitably I get the calls from the elderly neighbor who calls to tell me “I have stuff. Come get it.” Or another neighbor, who is in her nineties, who wants to sell cardboard boxes full of garbage and vintage rusty and rotten smelling appliances that got damaged when her basement flooded in God only knows what year. For obvious reasons, I don’t make clearing the answering machine a priority this time of year.
Bobbie posts signs in public places to advertise the sale and organizes the list of the participants and turns it over to me so that I can make a map to distribute the day of the sale. She also collects the money from the neighbors for the cost of the ads we run in the local papers. She is excellent at shaking down any dead beats that try to avoid paying their share of a $1.35 for the ad (it happens). I love her tenacity, she makes them all pay up. Between the 3 of us, the neighborhood garage sale is a successful event. Joann is the motivator, Bobbie is the enforcer and I am the procrastinator. It works.
This year started like any other, Joann drove by in March and wanted the date of the sale (and the settee). I told her that I would talk to Bobbie and that the sale would be sometime in the summer. I waited until May and went looking for Bobbie to start planning the event. We agreed to check our respective calendars. I picked a date and I checked back with Bobbie.
“How about the weekend of June 26th and 27th”, I asked.
“You know, I don’t think I’m going to do it this year”, she replied, “I don’t have anything to sell.”
Pinch me, please! Where did that come from? I started having a panic attack immediately. I am incapable of running this thing by myself. It’s not the money from the ad (I’ll just pay it, I don’t have time to march around the neighborhood for $17). It’s not posting the ads in public places (the ad in the paper will have to do). It’s not the phone calls (well the thought unnerves me but most of them will be easy). How will I organize the event and get myself ready for the big day? Impossible!
I haven’t found anyone willing to replace Bobbie. I am so screwed. I did move the date into July to give me more time to prepare for the event. But I have already changed it 3 times. I am driving the neighbors crazy. New date: July 24th & 25th . It better be the last change or the neighbors will have my head.
all you need is some kindly person to come along and tag all your items “free to a good home”. sale organized, and junk is gone. ’nuff said…
Perhaps you are that kindly person? I might start a riot if I were to give it away. The neighbors already circle the place coveting all my finds. Anytime I open the garage and bring things out, people get excited and ask if I’m moving and place dibs on things. They may not be treasures to you but to a true junkoholic, it’s GOLD!