Rainy Day Garage Sale

 

When I take a look at the toys in this picture, I can easily tell you when they all entered our house, and that is when Luke was around age 1. I was a stay at home mom(the first time around), and when the days were long and I needed Luke to be distracted by something, an easy fix was to get a new toy. So, whether it be Target, Craigslist, or Berkeley Parents Network Marketplace, I would seek out a diversion. At the time, it worked perfectly. Now, it is just too much. The clutter of toys in every corner is something I cannot handle, so a few months ago I started a "neglected toy" box out in the garage. I must admit too that some of those "neglected toys" were actually annoying toys. The toys that have too many pieces or that are too noisy or that just plain old generate fighting or a sassy attitude were sent to this box. And you know what? We didn't miss any of them. Occasionally I'd pull one or two out for the boys to play with when things got dull, but once again, after a few minutes, the toy would be abandoned again for something else. So off it went back in the box. 

So recently, Luke became fixated on wanting some new toys. He knew exactly what he wanted and I knew that I definitely didn't feel like springing for new toys just days after Christmas. So I told him that if he wanted something new, he had to sell the old. He was ok with this, so we started the big cleanout. The best part about it was that the rain came and there was nothing to do outdoors, so we worked on our rainy day garage sale. We photographed all of the toys one by one, posted them online in a photo album and waited for buyers. The photo above is of the "store" that Luke set up on the first day that someone came to pick up what they requested. Luke demonstrated how everything worked, took the money and put it in his wallet, and remembered to say "Thank You" as we said goodbye.  It was a lot of work, but a worthwhile rainy day activity. Let the lessons in money begin!