Monday, May 25, 2009

Looking back



Garage sales are always exciting to go to (for us, anyway) and exhausting to organize. We had so many volunteers who were enthusiastic about pricing, setting up and selling. Finding the clean up help is not too hard either. But it is pretty heavy work. Especially the books. This year, we only made one trip home with boxes of leftover books. It doesn't seem to matter how many books you have or how many you sell, there will always be leftovers. This year we only took the hardcovers and almost 90% will be donated to the local Rotary Club who dispose of them in various charitable ways. The paperbacks all went to the Salvation Army. So that's a good result.


I seem to be Superwoman here: setting up and making coffee at the same time. I did spend a lot of money on plants, though. Half a dozen geraniums, some of which will be neon purple. I can't wait to see those! They're planted in an old wooden wheelbarrow in the front garden.



And I won a basket of herbs in a silent auction. Mine's the one in front. There are about 10 plants here. When I got it home, I moved them all to other garden locations to give them more room to grow. And, I'll fill the planter with nasturtiums. I crave nasturtiums this year.

As a fundraiser, garage sales use a lot of volunteers relative to the money they generate. But who can put a dollar value on getting people working together? And we accomplished more than making money (which was also successful) - we had a great time on a beautiful day. Visitors walked through our garden and bought plants. They ate hot dogs at the BBQ and took home baked goodies. Then, they bought a book to read in the summery sun. What could be better?

2 comments:

Rudee said...

There is something wonderful about a community of people who get together to help others. It gives us a sense of belonging and worth that lasts long after the event.

Nice score with the plants.

Joanna said...

Sounds like you've earned a day off in the sun yourself. Good work both of you. I know how much goes into an event like that, but it's always worthwhile in many ways.

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