• Home
  • about emily
  • before + after
  • HGTV + DIY Network
  • good press
  • contact
  • Let’s Organize These Posts:

    • Art Attack
    • Backyard
    • Barn
    • Basement
    • Bathroom
    • Beach
    • Bedrooms
    • Being Thrifty
    • Business-y
    • Buying and Renting and Selling
    • Casual Celebrations
    • Closets
    • Curb Appeal
    • Dainty Details
    • Deck
    • Decor
    • Dining Room
    • DIY
    • Dog-Related
    • Entryway
    • Flooring
    • For the Kids
    • Garage
    • Gardening
    • Helping The Economy
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects
    • Holiday-Related Projects
    • Home Safety
    • Kitchen
    • Lighting
    • Living Room
    • Merry Travels
    • Office Space
    • Organized
    • Other Pads
    • Outdoor Living
    • Scooter Fun
    • Stairwell
    • Sunroom
    • Supporting Sponsors
    • The Art Room
    • Tools
    • Uncategorizable
    • Wedding
    • Windows
    • Work-pads
  • Search

  • Hi, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle.

    You can find me writing for HGTV and DIY Network, follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

  • BROWSE POSTS BY CATEGORY:

    • Art Attack (7)
    • Backyard (92)
    • Barn (8)
    • Basement (27)
    • Bathroom (43)
    • Beach (13)
    • Bedrooms (73)
    • Being Thrifty (53)
    • Business-y (12)
    • Buying and Renting and Selling (23)
    • Casual Celebrations (36)
    • Closets (17)
    • Curb Appeal (44)
    • Dainty Details (8)
    • Deck (23)
    • Decor (286)
    • Dining Room (37)
    • DIY (577)
    • Dog-Related (24)
    • Entryway (59)
    • Flooring (58)
    • For the Kids (32)
    • Garage (17)
    • Gardening (70)
    • Helping The Economy (30)
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects (283)
    • Holiday-Related Projects (80)
    • Home Safety (12)
    • Kitchen (83)
    • Lighting (31)
    • Living Room (77)
    • Merry Travels (21)
    • Office Space (21)
    • Organized (41)
    • Other Pads (14)
    • Outdoor Living (12)
    • Scooter Fun (8)
    • Stairwell (20)
    • Sunroom (22)
    • Supporting Sponsors (43)
    • The Art Room (3)
    • Tools (43)
    • Uncategorizable (1)
    • Wedding (28)
    • Windows (14)
    • Work-pads (10)
  • Search

  • Pages

    • blog
    • Merrypad Features
    • Privacy Policy
    • about emily
    • before + after
      • before + after, our current home
      • before + after, our first house
    • contact me
    • choose a badge and share the merrypad.com love
  • Home
  • about emily
  • before + after
  • HGTV + DIY Network
  • good press
  • contact

New Yard To Sale On

July 8, 2013

We had our first yard sale of the summer over the weekend, smack dab in the middle of our new big driveway.

Maybe if we had planned better and the weather had cooperated more, we would have been able to have this sale at the old house before we moved (hence moving about 5 truckloads less) but we also considered that having it at the new house might draw a different type of yard sale-goer, and would certainly give us the opportunity to meet more of our new neighbors. Which we did. In mass.

Getting on with the sale landed at the top of our to-do list because until we cleared it all out, the garage was essentially unusable for our cars. Plus, we wanted to be rid of the stuff before we found a place to hoard it in the new house.

Pre-yard sale state.

Having lived in the house for several weeks now, we had a good idea what wasn’t going to work/fit/jive with the goals we have for this house, and knowing that in advance made stocking the sale and discounting our belongings to cheaper-than-Salvation-Army lows that much easier.

Having identified in advance what pieces were no longer fit with our home took a lot of the emotion out of selling materials and pieces of home decor that I still liked, and made me more apt to let people negotiate prices and make us offers. It also meant we moved a lot of stuff, a lot of stuff that you probably grew used to seeing in our old house. And I don’t even want to tell you what that stuff is so you don’t make me feel guilty for ditching it. So hormonal.

I think this photo is from the only time I sat down on Friday. I regret not taking a quick photo at the beginning of the day, because this place looked totally crazeballs.

Mid-yard sale.

Crazeballs, right. With people touring through out stuff as early as 7:30am, and not stopping long enough to let me finish my breakfast. In fact, we spent all of Friday during the sale relocating our inventory out of the house and into the driveway, which kept many customers loitering around like they were lions anticipating the fresh meat, which is a good feeling. Friday alone was nearly twice as productive, financially-speaking, than any of the other garage sales I wrote about hosting at the old house, and of course that could be due to any number of things, better weather, better neighborhood, better products, etc. We did, however, get away with using the old signage we had used for the past few years (because they never listed an address, just simple details with arrows), and supplemented with a few creative signs to encourage our immediate neighbors to come say hello.

Julia hosted a lemonade stand at the sale this year, an added complexity that we had never taken on before. I supplemented with five dozen homemade chocolate chip cookies, and I would recommend that to anyone. The stand is something that we’ll do again for sure; the little worker bee earned herself $50 on Saturday alone, which totally paid for the $13 water cooler I reluctantly splurged on at the last minute.

Our garage is relieved now; we can even fit our garbage and recycling bins in there, total luxury. In fact, after we Craigslist the last few big items (rugs, trunk, futon frame), and donate one more car load to drop off at the thrift store (far left behind the red stacked table frames) we’ll be able to park our cars in it (hurrah!).

Garage, post yard sale.

How was your holiday weekend?

Share

Being Thrifty

Emily
I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. I've been a freelancer writer for 10+ years and you can find my work on popular home and garden sites, like HGTV.com. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note.

5 Comments


Gloria
July 8, 2013 at 9:27 am
Reply

Ohh, I’m planning to do this next weekend and feeling a little anxious about it, do I have enough stuff? Will it even be worth my time? Looking forward to selling some stuff and making money before I move in a couple weeks.



    Emily
    July 8, 2013 at 11:53 am

    If you do it, at try for it on a Friday! Our Friday was 2x busier than Saturday! Totally worth your while if you have nothing else going on. We had actually thought “Oh, well we can get other things done around the house while we host the sale, it’s not going to be that busy” but it WAS.

    Pete
    July 8, 2013 at 12:38 pm

    The worst part is when people haggle you down to 25 cents over something that is marked 50 cents.

Rita@thissortaoldlife
July 8, 2013 at 11:38 am
Reply

We also moved first, purged later–and I so wished we could have done it before the move. But, sometimes it just doesn’t go that way! We were combining households/families, and we just weren’t willing to part with a lot of things until we could see if they would/wouldn’t work in our new place/life. I also remember how great it felt to finally park our cars in the garage. :-) Glad you’re getting more settled–sounds like a great weekend.



    Emily
    July 8, 2013 at 11:54 am

    Sounds like the exact same situation, Rita! We’re so relieved that it’s over. And hopefully it’s a few more years before we have enough stuff to sell again :)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • HI, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

  • Instagram

    merrypad

    Merrypad by Emily Fazio
    One straggler from #garlic2021 debuted with 7 stal One straggler from #garlic2021 debuted with 7 stalks and 7 scapes, and I can’t wait to see this mammoth looks like when it’s pulled next month. #garlic2022 

Also, fierce springtime performance by parsley, chamomile, and self-seeded cilantro.
    Annual garlic notes #garden2022 ~315 cloves total Annual garlic notes #garden2022
~315 cloves total
50 in new, unfenced garden
Still need thick mulch on everything
Did a terrible job tracking varieties when I harvested, so it’s all a mix of hardneck now 😒
Added some big cloves from @chasefarms and look forward to adding some @fruition_seeds in #garden2023 when @porterfarmscsa delivers.
    #smellovision — 22 pounds of concord grapes harv #smellovision — 22 pounds of concord grapes harvested from my parents pseudo-vineyard 🌈🍇 happy holidays, everyone. You’re getting jelly. #grapesfarming
    Teddy bear sunflowers 😍 #gardennotes @fruition_ Teddy bear sunflowers 😍 #gardennotes @fruition_seeds #garden2021
    🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔 〰️ decent yield from one 🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔 〰️ decent yield from one sprouted seed potato in the pantry! #garden2021 #hotpotato #misfitsmarket #organicpotato #plantapotatogetapotato
    Haven’t been able to grow green beans to the top Haven’t been able to grow green beans to the top of the trellis in a minute but this variety already scaled to the top AND back down. No beans yet. #gardennotes #garden2021 #trellis
    Annual 7/12 garden; tomatillos far left. #LDD wood Annual 7/12 garden; tomatillos far left. #LDD woods.
    Load More... follow emily: @merrypad



  • Like Us On Facebook

    Facebook Pagelike Widget



  • Popular Posts

    • How to fix an IKEA drawer. Cheap IKEA Drawers (And The Quick Fix) 61.4k views
    • DIY sideboard rehab. Our Refinished Midcentury Buffet 53.5k views
    • How to design and make a barn quilt. How to Make Your Own Barn Quilt 46.8k views
    • How to hang art on brick surfaces using specialty clips. The Easy Way to Hang Art on Brick or Stone 36.1k views
    • DIY driveway removal. The Driveway Rocks 33.8k views
    • Our DIY flagstone patio. Building a Patio in One Day 31.4k views
    • Goodbye, gold fireplace covering. Less Is More: How to Remove a Fireplace Surround 27.8k views
    • Fix an ikea dresser drawer. Life Support For An IKEA Dresser 25.4k views
    • Tips for dying pasta different colors, and a Halloween Recipe for the kids. Tips for Dying Pasta Different Colors (+ A Special Halloween Recipe) 25.3k views
    • After: Custom wooden garden fence. Expanding Our Backyard Garden 21.4k views



  • BROWSE POSTS BY CATEGORY:

    • Art Attack (7)
    • Backyard (92)
    • Barn (8)
    • Basement (27)
    • Bathroom (43)
    • Beach (13)
    • Bedrooms (73)
    • Being Thrifty (53)
    • Business-y (12)
    • Buying and Renting and Selling (23)
    • Casual Celebrations (36)
    • Closets (17)
    • Curb Appeal (44)
    • Dainty Details (8)
    • Deck (23)
    • Decor (286)
    • Dining Room (37)
    • DIY (577)
    • Dog-Related (24)
    • Entryway (59)
    • Flooring (58)
    • For the Kids (32)
    • Garage (17)
    • Gardening (70)
    • Helping The Economy (30)
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects (283)
    • Holiday-Related Projects (80)
    • Home Safety (12)
    • Kitchen (83)
    • Lighting (31)
    • Living Room (77)
    • Merry Travels (21)
    • Office Space (21)
    • Organized (41)
    • Other Pads (14)
    • Outdoor Living (12)
    • Scooter Fun (8)
    • Stairwell (20)
    • Sunroom (22)
    • Supporting Sponsors (43)
    • The Art Room (3)
    • Tools (43)
    • Uncategorizable (1)
    • Wedding (28)
    • Windows (14)
    • Work-pads (10)





  • a little bit of everything, friends, DIY, and inspiration

    • Dadand.com < My husband and his BFF
    • DIY Network
    • HGTV
  • Get Posts Via Email

  • Some Legal

    Merrypad incorporates the occasional affiliate link to Amazon.com and Minted; we link to many other websites and products, but if it is in context of a paid sponsorship, it is always noted as such. Please review the privacy policy and contact me if you have any additional questions.

    Theme customized by Pete Fazio Creative, the guy from dadand.com.


© Copyright Merrypad