Take My Clothes, Not My Sanity: Part 1/2

I previously embarked on the difficult task of cleaning up my wardrobe in an attempt to declutter and simplify my life.

I quickly found myself tormented over clothing items I no longer wanted but items I couldn’t brave to freely donate and part ways with. Talk about attachment issues…

Instead, I compromised and decided to hold what I believed would be the MOTHER OF ALL clothing garage sales.

Now, one of my best traits is that whenever I do something, I commit wholeheartedly and this garage sale was to be no different. I designed pink posters with Ryan Gosling cutouts, ironed and pressed my clothes and advertised on multiple social media groups to create hype before the ‘big event.’

To say the day itself was disappointing would be an understatement. Further embarrassment was felt through the regular appearances of family members who sarcastically asked how sales were tracking, knowing very well they were at a standstill.

Total profits from my 6 hours of manning the house and being on neighbourhood watch?

A lousy $23.

Yep, an amount considered almost illegal it’s that far below minimum wage.

What’s worse is that the entire day’s earnings came through a heartfelt donation from my neighbour who only purchased something because she clearly felt extremely sorry watching me sit in the heat, anticipating hopeful buyers who never ended up visiting.

I’m not one to graciously accept defeat and I was still motivated to end my love-hate relationship with the three boxes which sat in the corner of my room, along with putting an end to my family's remarks about what I now planned to do with the clothes.

After researching other ways to sell my perfectly well-kept garments, I discovered several local markets who allow individuals (aka normal people like you and I) to sell at their weekly Sunday morning events for a small fee of $10-15.

So that's exactly what I did.

I arose early the next two Sundays and set out in pursuit of polishing up my saleswoman skills to sell my clothes. I'm not going to lie and say it was easy. My efforts this time were however rewarded and I not only walked away with a more spacious and decluttered wardrobe, a new life for my old clothes and a fat wallet but also a look of shock by my sisters who were indeed surprised to see empty coat hangers upon my arrival home.

Stay tuned for my next blog where I’ll let you in on just how much I made from running my own clothing market stall and provide the most important advice to ensure success when selling at your own, local market.

P.S. I did in fact have two other people who visited my original garage sale. A pair of Ryan Gosling fans who stopped by to compliment and pose with my hot pink signs. I learnt a valuable lesson that day, charge per photo if your posters are that good.