Garage Sale?

I am not a fan of garage sales. I was visiting with a friend recently who was taking two days off work to organize and run a garage sale at her home.

I was astonished – Not only was she going to have a garage sale, she was going to use precious vacation time to get it together, too!

My disdain for garage sales can be explained by three simple reasons (not necessarily in order of importance):

• The sorting, tagging, cleaning, pricing, advertising, displaying and selling of your old stuff is hardly worth the time spent on all these steps.

• I am not a patient man – the thought of wasting a Saturday on the principle that someone might buy some of my unneeded items sends a shiver up my spine.

• Stewardship – anything we no longer need we feel privileged to donate to someone that can use it.

And today it is easier than ever to donate items to charities. St. Vincent de Paul Society, Amvets and others come right to your door and pick up whatever you might have.

On the other hand, some people (such as my friend) actually enjoy the art of garage-saling. And it does provide a valuable service for those in need to purchase items at a fraction of what they would cost new.

So, in a spirit of cooperation I won’t be going to any garage sales – I don’t want to take up the good parking spots for those who enjoy it.