We made $400 for $100,000 worth of stuff.
And $500,000 worth of EFFORT.
Let me say, for the record, I will never, ever, EVER have a garage sale again.
Never.
Ever.
No, I mean it!
After the garage sale was over (and yes, it ENDED. FINALLY. ) William asked how much money HE made.
And I should back up here and tell you that, while I was purging our belongings in preparation for the (GAWDAWFUL) garage sale, I culled many of the children's toys. Toys they never play with. Toys that were broken. Or missing vital pieces. Or were meant for teeny tiny newborn babies.
And every single time I put a toy (any toy. ANY toy) William would moan and whine and proclaim it was his favoritetoyofalltime. Ever. His total Fav. O. RITE toy.
I felt like the Wicked Witch of the East.
Like a bad bad toy-takin' momma.
And in a effort to explain the purpose (and JOY!) of purging, I told William how great it would be when he sold all these toys and got the money. Then he could buy something new. NEW! Something he'd really love.
Something age appropriate.
Something NOT broken.
This promise of future money (and therefore purchases) seemed to stem the tide of clean out complaints.
And you can bet that, the very MINUTE we closed down the garage sale, William was standing before me, palm open, asking for his "cut" of our "take".
And do you think I kept track? During the sale? Do you think I meticulously recorded each and every kid toy purchase so that I could accurately track William's old-toy sales?
PLEASE. Of course I didn't.
Instead, I consulted a fake list, added up fake numbers in my calculator and gave William a fake total.
Twelve dollars.
He was THRILLED! Twelve. Whole. Dollars.
He immediately began begging to go to the store. Any store. Anywhere. "I MUST SPEND MY MONEY!". Now!
Instead, Dave and I encouraged him to hold on to his money. To think for a few days about what he might like to buy.
And then I suggested he might like to do a few extra chores around the house in order to earn some more money. Money he could add to his Garage Sale Fortune.
And that is how "allowance" was born in our house today.
William helped me haul all of the un-sold garage sale merchandise out to our driveway to be picked up by a charity tomorrow morning.
(That's 1/10th of the crap we started with!)
The entire time, William repeatedly exclaimed "I'm working! For money! Also? I'm STRONG!".
He lifted this light fixture all by himself. (While grunting, and exclaiming his strength).
In the end, I paid him two dollars.
(What's 12+2, Momma?)
And he immediately began asking to go to the store again.
And then he suggested we have another garage sale.
And then I think I vomited at the very thought.
Posts
This is too funny, because half an hour ago I was out at the bus stop talking to my neighbor about how much we both need to get rid of baby/toddler gear etc. but how we both shudder to consider having a garage sale. Neither of us has even an ounce of motivation to have one. And now I come in and read this and it seals it for me! Never! ;)
ReplyDeleteI've had ONE garage sale and vowed never again. However, my girlfriend is having one and I'm bring over three bins of junk--oh, I mean stuff I hope someone buys. I'm not labeling one single thing, I'm putting a dollar amount sign on each bin. If nobody buys said junk then it's going straight to our church where they welcome it with open arms. :)
ReplyDeleteGarage sales do suck, but doesn't it feel good to be rid of all of that stuff? Was this part of the Happiness Project?
ReplyDeleteAlso, we do allowance at our house. Started it with B in kindergarten. He has to do a few chores to "earn" his money. We decided to do it that way because that's the way it works in the real world. We've also been strict about it--no chores, no allowance. He has to make his bed, keep his room clean, put dirty clothes in the hamper, and feed the dogs. It's been great--he's learned a lot about responsibility, and saving for something he really wants.
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