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The signs are everywhere. Brightly colored pieces of paper beckon at every intersection. They are screaming out for us to stop in for great bargains. I usually don't listen. I'm not against garage sales or anything- but it just isn't my thing. Well, today I decided to really see what was out there. To find out why people get up early on Saturday morning to look through other people's junk. I put $40 in my pocket, and headed out the door in search of....well, I didn't really know what I was searching for, but I hoped I would find it. A lost treasure hidden among the trash. I started following the signs and going to each garage sale I could find.
At 6:30 in the morning I headed out to the first garage sale of the day. I saw the bright pink signs right near my house and I let them lead me to the sale. It was about an hour before they were schedule to start, but they were already setting up. I met two people there- Araceli (in the picture) and her husband Rudy. Rudy didn't want his picture taken, "Look at my hair!" he said. Right away Araceli told me was that this was her 'very first garage sale.' It was her mom who had suggested she have the sale. Rudy said he didn't believe in garage sales. "If it were up to me, we would just throw it away- or donate everything." Why are you having this sale? "I'm hoping to make $100-$200. But I really just want to get rid of that frickin' furniture. It's just collecting dust out here in the garage." Araceli was very nice, and seemed excited about her first garage sale. I hope she did well. Araceli and Rudy have three kids, I asked her what the kids had for breakfast. "Donuts and milk, for a treat."
This is Patrick. He and his wife Ryann are having a moving sale. They are headed out of Woodland, going to Boston. Patrick didn't want to sell any of the stuff, they had to clear their house out to show it. So, they had a garage sale. How much money are you hoping to make? "Anything over $100 and we'll be happy." Was there anything you felt bad about putting out here? Ryann said the hardest thing for her to sell was a wicker picnic basket. It was a gift from her parents, but something they probably won't be using anymore. I saw a skateboard in the garage, and asked Patrick, So, you're keeping the skateboard? He said he just couldn't part with that one- he used to ride half-pipes on it. Well, maybe at the next sale Ryann will convince him. As I was leaving Patrick said, "The worst part of moving is leaving Woodland. We like it here."
Christy and Wendy are the two adults in this picture. Of all the people I talked to, they had the biggest goals for their sale - $400 for each of them. Christy owns Yolo County Pool Supply, and Wendy works for her. They decided to have the sale at Wendy's house because as Wendy said: "I live on a busier street." Why are you having a sale? Christy said: "We have too much stuff. This is cleansing really, kind of like therapy." What are you going to do with the money? Wendy said: "pay bills." Do the kids get to keep any money? (The young girls were in charge of selling soda and water.) "They're saving up money for 'Twin Bratz.'" Too bad it has to be Bratz, because I know where you can get some Barbies really cheap.
This is Gina and Scott - they were just sitting in the garage chilling out after helping a couple of customers. They had a lot of stuff out on the driveway. Including a weight set, phones, and all types of other non-descript garage sale stuff. How much money are you hoping to make? "At least $100." How long are you going to stay open? "Well, by 10:00 all the serious people are gone. Hopefully everything is gone by then, but 12:00 at the latest." What will you do with the money? "Go to the movies and see Batman. And if we make enough maybe Mr. and Mrs. Smith too." (That was Gina, I didn't hear Scott chime in on that second movie- if I had to guess I would say he wasn't too excited by the idea.) Is there anything you sold that was difficult to let go? Scott said: "I had some H.O. trains; some cars, an engine and a caboose. I wish I could have kept them." Then Gina slapped Scott on the leg, and gave him a "shhhh."(I'm not sure if she didn't want him to tell me, or if she didn't want their kids to overhear what happened to their trains.) What stuff has sold the best? "Knick-knacks...surprisingly. And Christmas ornaments." Gina seemed very happy to be sitting out in her garage with the sale going on. "I love garage sales- have you heard of the Longest Garage Sale?" She went on to explain that the sale is miles and miles long along a highway somewhere in Alabama...I started to think that she really loves garage sales. What did your kids have for breakfast? Donuts...
This was the most crowded sale I saw. I talked to the lady in charge (red shirt, far left), and found out that it was the 'Woodland Bible Church Rummage Sale'. The church was having 3 sales at different locations- she said they were hoping to make $800 between all of the sales. Because this sale was so busy I couldn't really ask too many questions, so I just looked around.
And if you have a guilty conscience afterward, you can find Jesus for only a quarter.
This is Mike. He and his mom (?) were having a sale. They hoped to raise $500 to be spent on remodeling a bathroom. They had some antiques out there, and a few pieces of fairly expensive furniture, so they might make the goal. Why are you having this sale? Mike's mom replies: "I have a small house, and I look around and wonder, Why do I have all this stuff? Americans are very acquisitive- see, look at all the people on my driveway acquiring things right now." Is there anything you feel bad about selling? "Hmmm...my mother's sewing machine. I learned to sew on that, and it's as old as I am (don't ask). But I got a new sewing machine and I never use that one anymore." Mike was the best salesman I saw all day. He was trying to sell two lamps to a woman, and I overheard this: "Oh see, those lamps are square. Very contemporary. And see these dealie-bobbies? Those are also nice."
This is Lori, (on the left) and her mom Connie. Lori claims to be a 'garage-sale-a-holic.' She goes to garage sales about two times each month. "it's just fun." Then she quickly adds, "It's better without kids." She tries to keep to a $20 budget each time she goes out- but her mom said that they do make a lot of extra stops at the ATM. What is the best thing you've ever gotten at a garage sale? Connie says: "I got a great table." Lori: "I found a coffee table that was perfect. It matched just the way I wanted. But the best things to buy are kids clothes and toys. The kids aren't in them very long, so when you buy them they are almost like brand-new." Lori went on to tell me: "And you know what the worst thing about garage sales is? Women are bad drivers- they start driving by a garage sale, and they are looking at all the stuff and don't pay attention to where they're going. You really need to avoid them, it's dangerous!" What did your daughter have for breakfast? Chocolate milk and a donut.
This sale was run by three women. They had "An abundance of items to sell." But they would be happy just making $100. I asked if they enjoyed it: "We have a great time- but we always have a great time." The only item they were sad about selling was the baby clothes, I guess it was probably just the end of an era they really liked. Which is odd, because women are always happy to sell their Ex-husband's golf clubs. What did the kids have for breakfast? "Donuts...and
Green-apple Orange Juice."
This is Patrick and Ryann's sale again. I came back to this sale later in the day to see how they were doing. "Most people came by 9:30 and hit hard," they said. I asked them if they made their goal of $100. "Oh, we certainly met that goal." I noticed that they had also put up flyers to sell their house, and put 'For Sale' signs on their car. This had gone from a $100 sale, to a half-million dollar extravaganza. I asked Patrick what the best part of having a garage sale was. "Interacting with the people is the best part. All the people were nice, and it was just a reflection of the community as a whole."
I went to two other sales- but the people did not want their pictures taken. One woman was already irate when I got there. She took a few seconds away from what she was doing (screaming at her kids) to tell me that she doesn't "want pictures taken of my home." She then went right back to screaming at her kids who were completely ignoring her. I'm guessing her kids had donuts for breakfast. I think the woman probably had Froot Loops. The other person who declined said that she had heard "Perverts are on the Internet." I told her that yes, there *were* perverts on the Internet, but there were only two of them and they had been arrested- so no more perverts. She said, "Oh, that's good. I'll go see if it's okay with my husband." I didn't want to get her husband involved in a discussion about perverts on the Internet, so I told her that it was okay, I didn't need to take her picture. Then I left.
I'll say that I did find the treasure that I was looking for- because it was great to meet all of these people and talk to them. I'll take that over a (gently) used exercise bike anyday. But if you're driving around Woodland on a Saturday morning, and you see a sign like this- go ahead and stop in. Take a look around and see what people have to sell. Watch the kids all hopped up on donuts...and be careful of the women drivers- I heard they're dangerous.
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