So, here is the story of our 1st Yard Sale Experience!
Who knew yard sales were SO much work?!? With this being our first yard sale EVER, we definitely underestimated the hours of preparation that would be needed.
Our first step was collecting items to sell. We began in April advertising that we needed yard sale items and it wasn't a day later that we began receiving calls about donations! Ask and you shall receive, right?
We ended up with thousands of donated items from friends, family, coworkers, and even people we didn't know.
{God was working}
Side Note: We had planned originally for our 1st yard sale to be in September, but when our building began filling up so quickly, we knew we had to move our yard sale date up to June! Here is a picture of the "mountain of donations" that we accumulated in just 1 month!
Once donations started rolling in, we began sorting, pricing, and boxing everything to get it organized and off the floor! This was the fun part, getting to see everyone's "junk" that would soon be someone else's "treasure"! We had some really cute things donated and I was even able to go ahead and sell some of the larger furniture items on Facebook so they wouldn't be taking up space in the building.
Side Note: There are too many little experiences to share on how we saw God working, but we sure did see Him...a lot!
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| Here is my BFF, Courtney, helping me sort and price items! |
The week of the sale arrived and we were busy making signs, putting out flyers, posting ads online, gathering tables, and lining up volunteers. More stuff kept rolling in that week, so we were quickly pricing everything. It was fun to get to spend time with family & friends who came over to help get things ready! {Thanks to Courtney, Mom, Mimi, Papa, Mommio, Stef, Jessica, Caitlin, Chad, & Jayme for all your hard work that week}
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| Working on our signs for the road! |
Friday, the day before the sale, we started setting up tables, unpacking boxes, and filling the tables with stuff. We had several people who let us borrow their folding tables which was a BIG help! {Thanks Jay, Matt, Gregg, Kenn, Mom, Dad, Jill, Phil, Louise, Chuck, Judy, and Jayme!}
I had some awesome ladies who took on the job of organizing all of the clothes by age, size, and gender. This was a huge advantage on the sale day because it made it so much easier for people to find what they were looking for! {Thank you Ashley, Maddie, Stef, Nancy, Jennifer, & Jill for doing this tedious task}
By the end of Friday night, we had most everything out except for the big items. We covered everything with plastic and tried to get some rest for our early morning the next day!
The morning of the sale came quick and we were scheduled to start at 8am. We moved all the tables out by 7:00am and shoppers were already showing up. It was a good thing that we had already put most of things out onto tables. We dragged the big stuff out and by 8am we were amazed that we already had a yard full of people!
Our friends and family came early to help and were there assisting people, moving big items, and collecting money! It was awesome to see everyone come together to help for this special cause! {Thank you Mom, Dad, Mimi, Papa, Nancy, Keivin, Stef, Jeff, Jess, Jayme, Chad, Shane, Summer, Christian, Joash, Seth, Taylor, Courtney, Tiffany, Chuck, Judy, Jill, Jennifer, Sarah, Ashley, Maddie, Ryan, Matt, & Brad}
Here are a few pictures from the day!
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| Our yard getting filled with stuff! |
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| The checkout table |
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| All of the categorized clothing |
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| My wonderful friend Jess who helped set up! |
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| Chad, Shane, & Jayme bringing out more stuff! |
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| Steffie leading the pack & getting things organized! |
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| Lots of goodies! |
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| Our yummy doughnut stand ran by Christian & Joash! |
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| Gloria, Nancy, and I taking money |
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| Pretty aunt Jill! |
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| The future grandmas! |
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| Tiffany & Taylor pricing items! |
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| Maddie organizing kids toys! |
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| Baby clothes were the HOT item! |
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| The men hanging out! |
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| The Best Friends Ever! |
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| Chuck & Judy were a big help! |
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| Our first Yard Sale Fundraiser was AWESOME! |
Thank you to anyone reading, that came out to the sale and shopped and to those who helped in any way, we are so appreciative!
Side Note: Can you believe we did not have a single rain drop on Friday while we were setting up or on Saturday during the sale! :)
We saw God present in so many ways during this first fundraiser and we just can't wait to tell our children one day about all of the "miracles" we experienced and about all of the people that came together to help get them here!
Please continue to pray for us as we go through this process and as we continue to do fundraising events!
Ryan & Megan
Here is the flyer for our next yard sale- SAVE THE DATE!
Awesome story! Can't wait for the big day when you bring your children home! Love Mimi
ReplyDeleteKudos to both of you for the successful first fundraiser! I love reading about your journey of love of adopting. You're full of hope for the future and it's good that you've got tons of friends and family, who are there to contribute. Believe and it will happen, that's what I always say. I'm with all your supporters in praying that everything goes well! :)
ReplyDeleteNorman Watkins @ Giving Works
I was one of those "dissenting" votes at first. I thought, "why not adopt little children here in our own country?" But after reading the blog, I truly believe you are God-led to do this and I am supporting your effort. I may not donate for the yard sale (and I may) but I will surely try to be there and purchase.
ReplyDelete