Cardboard sign says GARAGE SALE

Garage sales have a very funny quality about them.  Stuff that once held great value is relegated to a small piece of real estate in a small one-car garage as strangers mill through trying to find a treasure.  We get overrun with stuff as the years pile on and these therapeutic purges are necessary and very much a part of Canadian culture.

The item that has received the most attention so far has been our cedar strip canoe.  It had been hanging in the rafters of the garage, unused for two or three years.  Hand built by Heather's mom and dad, it has been used sparingly over the years, including an epic trip my brother and I took paddling from way up the Clearwater River back to Fort McMurray.  It sold almost immediately, before the garage sale even began.  That unfortunately sparked great disappointment from a number of other people who were intrigued.

I have placed into the sale two significant tools: a Canwood drill press, which was essential when we built our raised garden 10 years ago but seldom used since; and a Delta 12" planer, which I put to good use when I went through my carpentry phase.  Frankly, I saw the opportunity to make some room in my shop which has become my studio.  Some day I may break down and sell my contractor table saw, too.  That would create even more space.

We have piles of records, CDs, DVDs, books and assorted games.  It's so interesting to reflect on how the value of these things changes over time.  I remember when you'd buy CDs for $10 at a garage sale and thought you were getting a bargain.  We'll be selling them for 25-cents, happy to brighten someone's day.

Heather has a full table and clothes rack of brand new yoga clothes and myriad pieces of yoga gear.  She has slowly been selling off her retail stock and this is a chance to get a fantastic bargain.

I will be going out to put up the signs that Ben made in about an hour.  Then I'll be setting up to do some live painting while the sale goes on.  In that way, I'll have something constructive to do while people are checking things out.

The garage sale has already been a financial success, as a number of items have pre-sold, but the success that makes this worth doing doesn't come from the big ticket items, it comes from the small little treasures that people find and we trade a few coins for a moment of joyful discovery.

GARAGE SALE

114 DEMERS DRIVE

8 AM - 12 PM (NOON)