From 10/08/08: My favorite sale

Those of you that know me well know how excited I get about this children's consignment sale we have twice a year here called Mommy and Me. Last spring I wrote a blog about my excitement over this sale and my strategies to get the best deals. This year was a much less hyped situation for me. Last year, I was a regular volunteer which meant I could shop at 3p, a whole hour after those damn super volunteers got to shop. Well, let me just say that in the weeks after last spring's sale, the HEAD HONCHO over the whole sale emailed me PERSONALLY (oh yeah) to ask if I wanted to be a super volunteer. That is right. I impressed them so much during my four hours as a regular volunteer, that they wanted me back. I was quite worried that they would not let me back in the first place because I turned some people away when I volunteered because they did not have hangers on their items. I was worried that because I was super bitch and caused the sale to lose that business- that they would not let me come back as a volunteer. Well, I know that my attention to detail (yeah right), my great customer service (ehh, maybe), my sweet disposition (total BS), my love of others (hmmm), my need to commune with other mommies (yeah, not so much) was surely the reason they wanted me. So this year as a super volunteer I had to volunteer a total 12 hours to get back 75% of what I sold and to get to shop at 2pm. That was why I was so much less hyped this year. I knew that there were a limited of super volunteers so there would be a lot less people I would have to mow over in my pursuit of the perfect deal. I roped Ray into taking 4 hours of my shifts. He agreed. He never knew when I started this 3 years ago that it would turn into such an obsession. He asked me if I was going to get rid of the things that did not sell this time around. I said "Hell NO! I will keep it and sell it at the next one." He wondered about the things that would be rejected by the inspectors. Hell No! If it is a stain and I can get it out, I will sell it next time! What is wrong with him? This is a lifestyle choice of frugality. If he is not with me, then he is against me. He does not understand the incredible deals that I yearn for. He does not appreciate that I can get a complete Gymboree pants and shirt outfit for $4 dollars! Where else on Earth can you find that? This is a little piece of Heaven for me, right in Palmer Auditorium. Yes, it means that I have totes and totes full of clothes in my garage. It means that I have to inspect every detail of these clothes for stains, tears, and wear before I can sell them (those inspectors are brutal!). It means that I will spend at least a week (or more) of my time preparing my items for sale. It means that I actually have to iron the clothes to make them presentable for the sale. It means that I have to spend HOURS cleaning every piece of baby equipment to sell (I spent 1.5 hours cleaning every nook and cranny of my stroller travel system). Yes, it means I have to volunteer with these other hard core mommies. Yes, it means I have to sort, organize, and arrange things (and my close friends know how unorganized I am). This lifestyle is not for the faint of heart, but they payoff is great. While I do not know how much I made, yet, (will give an update on that later) here is the breakdown of what I got. I spent a total of $240. $18 of that was taxes. For my daughter, I got 37 items. Most of which were complete outfits (pants and shirts), one Halloween costume ($6), and one purse ($2) and I spent a total of $110 on her. For my son, I got a total of 15 items and spent $68 on him. My daughter needed much more. I also bought him about 8 books, a puzzle, a lacing game, a Thomas something or other, and probably some other things for about $40. As you can see, I got a lot for my money. Hopefully I will make back at least half of that on what I sell. This obsession of mine will continue. For at least the next 4 years, I think my garage will be packed full of crap that I will eventually sell. Sorry Ray.