What is a monkeybox?

When I was a little girl, we had a pet monkey named Amanda. My Dad worked in the produce business, so each night he brought home that days culls in a big box - spotty cucumbers, pithy apples, limp celery, moldy oranges and the like. We called it a monkeybox. It was really just trash, but my Mom would take each piece of fruit and trim it, pare it and cut it up to make a beautiful fruit platter for Amanda. Even though it was deemed trash by one, it still had life left in it and was good for the purpose we needed it. That's how I live my life - thrifting, yard saling, looking for another's trash to be my treasure.

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Garage Fail

Saturday Lara and I along with another vintage loving friend had our Garage Sale.  As you might have already guessed from my title - it was a big old FAIL.   

We did everything right.  Clean items?  Check!  Useful items? Check?  Clothes hung up? Check? Items Priced?  Check!  (You knew that though) Ads in the newspaper and Craigslist?  Check!  Signs on the corners?  Check!  Customers? Nope.  I can only guess that it was the crushing heat and humidity that was once again on the docket.  By 6:30 am, I was a wringing wet mess as we were setting up.  We had our first customer at 6:20 (our opening time was 7:00 and I do not like early birds, but we were nice and let them shop) so we thought we were off to a good start. But, the customers just trickled in all day, there was no rush or crowd ever.

This sale on the hill has always been known as the "Hilltop Sale" and for as long as I can remember, people have flocked to the Hilltop Sale in droves to shop.  In the past there were fifty sales or more up there.  Yesterday I took a drive around and only found four other sales in addition to ours and Lara's neighbors.  Who (good for them) all but sold out and shut down about noon.  We had decided to stay out for the afternoon "rush", but in never came, so we all sorted out donations and things to keep and then loaded up the cars.  

We did sell things - just not the mad rush we were expecting.  I honestly thought I would have one box to pack up to take to Goodwill.  I ended up with four suitcases full plus a couple boxes.  I did keep about three tote bags full of things that are still booth worthy (Pyrex and some vintage stuff) and the vintage Bassinette.  

Photo time!

Lara put out so many cute things.  And at really, really great prices.  Like CHEAP.  That frame held a tiny dress with wee little kitties embroidered on it.  SO CUTE.  A girl bought it, thank goodness, or I would have had to have rescued it.  Darling.  


Oh, the dickering.  I hate the dickering.  That wicker hamper was $2.00.  Dude offers $1.00.  Lara says she's set on the $2.00 (this was after far too many low ball offers).  The guitar was $3.00.  A guy offered $2.00.  Really people?  I had an old primitive stool priced $15.00 because I expected a little dickering (Would you take $10?  How about $12?  Deal and then we would hug and jump up and down in circles while they shouted in glee over their new fabulous primitive stool) but not the $5.00 offer thirty minutes before we were even scheduled to be open.  (Grumps).


I loved all these old wooden crates and boxes.  I think she ended up keeping them for the Junk Ranch. In case you haven't heard - about a week before the Junk Ranch, Lara and her little family came home and found a SNAKE barreling at them in the house.  IN THE HOUSE.  Since then, she has vowed to practically live in an empty house to keep the snakes away.  A pest guy told her that the snake probably came in looking for mice so that really drove home the whole - GET RID OF ALL THE THINGS idea.  Which, is really quite understandable if you think about it.  


The tin dollhouse wass mine.  I brought it back home, set it on a table in the front yard and put birdseed in the rooms.  I have been entertained all day watching the birds in there.  So, good thing it didn't sell. (That's what she tells herself, anyway).  I may have sequestered that Irmi lamp and a few other cute things at the sale.


Miscellaneous stuff from each of us.  Those safety pin baskets are the thorn in my side.  I will sell those things,  DAMMIT.


Cute view from the street.


Everything here went to Goodwill, I think?



I sold a good amount of vintage linens to one lady that was thrilled to find them.  That was a bright spot.  I had them priced stupid cheap though.


Lara's twins spotted their bicycles at the curb from inside the house and, boy, they were NOT HAPPY about it.  Lucky for them they didn't sell.  But, I think they might have gone to Goodwill.  Shhhhh.



In sales, we flopped.  But it's always a nice day spending time with Lara and hanging out with her kiddos.  One of our favorite IG friends came to visit and shop so that was a fun part of the day.  We also escaped to a few sales on our own and together where I found some pretty good stuff. I did make some money and I cleared out a good amount of junk.  So it wasn't a total fail.  But, DUDE.  That heat.  UGH.  

I have vowed not to break a sweat for the next three days.  I have been sweating for three weeks and I am OVER IT.  Plus, I am still sick so that has not been fun.  Tomorrow has been declared an INSIDE Air Conditioning day with lots of cough syrup and maybe some cookie baking. Just what the doctor ordered.  

Dr. Shara, that is!

12 comments:

  1. Dang heat! You had great stuff for a yard sale. I would have been fighting that woman for the linens. I did a flea market Saturday and same thing, where were the customers? Most shoppers bought something, just not enough shoppers. Waiting til fall now.

    Enjoy your A/C! :)

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  2. Man, I did a yard sale route through Kentucky this weekend and by golly there were SO many sales, but they were all clothes. BABY clothes. I would have been ecstatic to happen upon your sale. And at those prices your quoted, I would not have even haggled!

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  3. Well this is just the craziest story! Guess there were no real junkers out that day. A little heat and humidity wouldn't have kept me away from all that good junk!

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  4. Yeah, the heat kept me in too. But as you know I have quite a fw years on you. I too would have loved to run across those linens.
    Enjoy a couple days off and the A.C.

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  5. The heat has been brutal here also but lucky for me the hospital and now my home is well air conditioned! HA!! I love that pink lamp oh tell me someone took that! I can only dream of finding one like that at a yard sale. Feeling much better today but still resting and taking it easy. Wishing you A/C, cookies and lots of rest!!

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  6. Love the Merry & Bright sign - tell me someone bought that! That heat must have fried people's brains cuz you definitely had some good junk!

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  7. People DO NOT know what they were missing by skipping your garage sale. Fools I tell ya. I'm sorry it didn't go better. The heat has been horrific so thats probably a big factor. I gave up on garage sales years ago. I was afraid I might punch someone in the throat for trying to offer me 5 cents on a quarter item so I decided it just wasn't worth it. Better to donate than go to jail is my motto :)

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  8. I think the oppressive heat everywhere is killing yard sales. I'm still trying one next week, so we'll see how it goes. Anyone who lowballs that much before the sale is even open so clearly doesn't know what they're doing and deserves to be derisively mocked to their face. I would have done it.

    If I were only closer. I see a Mazda load from your sale alone! Make some brownies too. They're renowned for their healing properties.

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  9. yardsales wane here in Massachusetts in the dead of the summer, but not because there aren't any buyers. It's the sellers we don't have. The buyers are game, sellers, not so much. You had some great stuff... Sorry it was a bust. You need to rest and please head to an actual Doctor if you don't Get better soon. Eddie is right, brownies have extraordinary healing powers.

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  10. This heat is awful. We had thunderstorms yesterday that knocked the heat down to a balmy 88 degrees. Of course, it also knocked out our power for about 6 hours.Now, it is beautiful outside and back to being hot, hot, hot. The Fourth is going to be brutal(I've been deep cleaning the house this week because I know everybody is going to want to eat inside that night).Blech-I'm ready for cooler temps.
    I don't know why those safety pin baskets didn't sell-I love 'em.
    Sorry you're still sick. Sitting in front of the AC and eating chocolate sounds like the perfect remedy.

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  11. Well I guess I should be glad we only hit the mid 80s for my garage sale and had hoards of customers. I'm lucky as it is an annual event and it never disappoints. Too much work to go to and not make some $$$. Dang. Sorry. Yours. Was. A. Fail. ( I finally gave my safety pin baskets to goodwill years ago...no takers for those)

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  12. Why the heck do people haggle over a buck or two? You spend more at McDonald's for a happy meal! And thanks for the snake in the house story, because that is my nightmare!!! Every single time I go the bathroom in the middle of the night I half expect to see a snake in the toilet. It's from a news story I read years ago, but now it's always in my mind. And now I have the snake in the house story to haunt me whenever I come in from shopping now!

    BTW, I have been looking for a dumpy tin house to use as a birdhouse too!!! Great minds think alike!

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