Miss Moneypennypincher | The Cost of Garage Sales and Legos

I have collected a lot of garbage treasures over the years.  The worst part, is that even when I try and get rid of it, I think, "I could make money off some of this!  I need to have a garage sale and sell it!"  Then it goes in the garage, in a box, where I forget about it, until the next time I clean out my house and find more junk treasures that I collected.  I am sure this stuff could be useful to someone, but the thought of the time and planning that goes into a garage sale is overwhelming to me.  And really, is it always worth it?  

I love sitting in front of my house selling boxes and tires! So fun!

Let's say I have a two-day garage sale,  I make $500 in profit.  I spent the day before planning and pricing all my items, and putting up signs or promoting, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.  I also paid my kid $50 to help me.  I open my garage sale at 8 a.m. (ignoring all the crazy garage sale fanatics who showed up at 6 a.m. and knocked on my door) and close at 2 p.m.  So, how much did I really make?  $25 an hour (18 hours of work).  That's pretty good, but I also have to factor in with the cost all the fun things I could have been doing - going to the park, spending quality time with my husband and family, reading a great book, learning a new skill, or just recharging for the busy week ahead.  Those are all important things too!  

I'm not saying garage sales aren't great.  I'm not saying you shouldn't have one. What I am saying, is that sometimes, it's worth it to just donate the items to charity. If you itemize your taxes, you might get quite a bit of that money back - and you hardly had to do anything!  Lots of places could use your stuff.  Teachers need good books, and crayons, and paper.  The Homeless Shelter is always looking for a range of things to use in the shelter or sell in the thrift store.  

And the library is looking for Legos.  WHAT?  Legos?  I mean books right? Well, yes we still need books, but we also really need Legos!  .

If you happen to have a box of Legos in your garage, and you planned on selling them, consider donating them to the library for the Ripon Branch's Lego Club (you don't have to come to Ripon to drop them off, we can send them from your favorite branch).  Why a Lego Club you might ask? This club - for tots through teens - is a great way to encourage fine motor skills, inspire the next great engineer or architect, promote books AND learn through the power of play!  So come on in, and donate your clutter Legos!