The Johnson clan had planned to go out of town last weekend but we learned Thursday evening there was a mix-up in dates and our trip was switched to June. And so we did what any normal, sane family would do: ransacked our house and had a garage sale 24 hours later.
OK, that would be abnormal and insane.
Now that we know we’re not having any additional children, I have had a nagging feeling we needed to finally sell all the baby items we’ve been holding onto. Storage space is limited at our house and what little we have was filled with boxes upon boxes of clothing and every piece of furniture and toy imaginable.
Think I’m joking? I invited some friends over to buy some clothes the Friday afternoon before the sale.
In case you couldn’t spot them, they’re over there in the corner.
Our friend Karl and his wife Connie dropped by to pick out some clothes for their baby. Something you should know about Karl–he lives in a small two-bedroom condo. When he walked into the eye of the hurricane on Friday, he looked around and queried, “How is this even possible?”
It was then that I taught him some very elementary math. The equation?
Grandma X 2.
In the early years, both grandmas showered Hadley in particular with the most darling outfits. I have not been nostalgic about getting rid of any of their toys or furniture but as I saw people walking off with her adorable clothes? There were some mama moments and I ended up saving some of my favorites to give to her when she becomes a mom.
And maybe, just maybe, I was offended when people overlooked some of her cuter selections. Did they not have any sense of taste?
A few things this mommy blogger learned at the garage sale:
1) Do not pull it together in 24 hours. Duh.
2) Do not advertise questionable materials on Craiglist. Case in point: Jamie posted some of his err…grow equipment. His clientele? Let’s just say when I saw these sketchy dudes coming toward us I knew they weren’t in the market for a pack ‘n play.
3)People do not tell the truth at garage sales. We sold our 9-person tent because, welp, it’s for 9 people and it was tough to find a campsite big enough for it. We plan to buy a smaller tent and reattempt camping with the kiddos. I say reattempt because every family camping trip we have had has been a disaster (case in point here).
That is why I had to chuckle at the sign Jamie made for the tent:
Liar.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 