MOVE IT, GIRLS!

The rummage sale went well. We made $2,000 to support our projects and everyone feels good about it. It's just that it's a lot of work and many of us don't work like we used to. Well, that's what I thought anyway.

Friday morning we set out the stuff we had gathered in the big multi-purpose room of a local church. Many of us were already complaining of exhaustion as we headed home in the early afternoon, satisfied that all was in readiness for the sale early Saturday morning. I've already written about my wonderful "Friday finds."

Saturday found me on my way to the sale before 7:30 a.m. By the time I arrived, extra rummage had already been laid out and a line was gathering at the door. Daisy the Clown (one of our members) was in make-up and costume, ready to greet customers.

Despite the rain – and now and then it rained hard – we had a good crowd for the sale. We sold on a "per item" basis until 1:00. Then paper grocery sacks were handed to customers and selling continued at "all you can fit in the bag" for $3.00 for the last hour or so. As you can imagine, morning customers returned in the afternoon in hopes of finding items they want still available for the bag sale.

As the sale ended, we were left with an abundance of stuff that didn't sell – mostly clothing and low-end household items like mugs and plastics. It's our responsibility to clear the stuff away and everyone wants it done quickly so that we can go home. As the working members began to fill large garbage sacks with stuff, our chairman called out:

"Opportunities Unlimited is on the way to pick up the stuff. They will stay just 20 minutes." For a long moment the room was silent as workers digested the implications of the information.

I don't know what possessed me, but I called out, "We can do it!" And you never saw "gray power" work so fast! (These ladies are mostly old enough to be my mother, and some battle physical difficulties.) But bless their hearts! They packed those garbage sacks in double time. We were moving! The guys from Opportunities Unlimited loaded what they could and then returned for another load. "It's a lotta stuff," one said to me. "A lotta stuff.

Before the bag sale began, I picked up a few more items – more pillowcases, more books, a naked Barbie doll, a purple Beanie Baby, pretty garden boots, one of those Yankee Candles with Christmas shade (I've always wanted one of those), and a Sunbeam waffle maker (a big one). I am unapologetic for the fact that I continued to be a good customer through the sale, though the best finds were the "Friday finds."

It's always interesting to me to see what sells and what doesn't. The Christmas ornaments sold, but not the wrapping paper, bags or bows. The Beanie Babies didn't sell at 50 cents; four sold immediately when the price dropped to 25 cents; the rest – at least a dozen – didn't sell. Toys and stuffed animals didn't sell. The books didn't sell. Action figures from 30 years ago didn't sell. The VHS tapes sold last year but not this. Beautiful decorator items didn't sell. You know – pretty much nothing sold, but we made $2,000. Go figure.

[The pictures are just more from our day around town last week.] KW