Need to Ebay & Yard Sale - Totally Unmotivated :(

[enchantedpixiedust]

Hi Everyone

I've gotten the resort/passes and majority of food paid for with vouchers. Pretty much everything from now on out except a few misc things is spending money. (and we love to shop)

I don't know what's wrong with me - I have a ton of stuff I need to get on Ebay plus enough junk to qualify for a 5 family garage sale, but I have NO motivation to get to doing it. Ugh. The garage sale is SO overwhelming. There's a million boxes/bags of stuff that needs to be sorted, priced, etc and I'm just not able to get myself to do it after work or on the weekend. (plus it's hot & all piled in the garage) I also have sale stuff all over the house my sisters have given me, I can't keep up. Same thing w/ Ebay.

There's only like 50 some odd days left till we're leaving and all of a sudden I just feel burnt out. I KNOW I need to do it, I KNOW I need the $$ for the trip, I just can't kick myself in gear. Is anyone else like this? I'm excited as anything about the trip so what's wrong with my motivation!?! UGH.

Now that I've vented...any tips, ideas, etc would be great. I need to figure out a manageable way to work myself through the heaps and piles of "treasures".

Thanks...

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Well you said the magic word "WE" love to shop. Just who exactly is the "we", I am sure "we" wouldnt mind giving you a hand pricing stuff for a garage sale if they knew it would be their shopping money at disney. I know what you mean about it being hot in texas. We are coming there in 2 weeks, we must be nuts, but we love watching the ball games in arlington. Why dont you just bring the stuff inside to price in the nice a/c and take it back out into the garage when you are done. Maybe other members of the 5 familys for the garage sale can give you a hand. Maybe reward yourself with a pizza for dinner after all your hard work etc. I don't know about the e bay stuff.

 

[erinch]

make yourself come home from work and put 1/2 hour in? Work on listing stuff which would bring a nice return and not to difficult to list or pack?

If after the 1/2 hour you're not motivated, end for the night. If you get an energy spurt give thanks and keep going?

I know that for me when there's so much pressure and piles I "shut down", but if I can do the next thing, with less pressure, then sometimes I magically am "with" the ebay program.

 

[maggiew]

I've never had a garage sale so can't help much, but ...
Depending on what you have, I have read of people on the boards saying, "Anything you can put in the bag is $5." Or something like that so you don't have to spend so much time pricing. Or maybe get those little stickers with the price already on them?? I know Current had some of these.
Or maybe if you have kids clothes, just take them to a consignment shop like Once Upon a Child and get it all taken care of in one trip with little effort.

To get motivated, maybe think of something that you really want to buy and then tell yourself that in order to get this you need to get busy with the garage sale.

As far as eBay, just make a deal with yourself to get 5 things listed every night, or whatever. Also remember with eBay you need to really have everything listed at least 2 weeks before you go to allow time for payment to be received, etc. So get on it!

Think about all the Mickey bars and Dole whips you can eat with some garage sale money. That would get me motivated!!

Maggie

 

[pumpkinfish]

I don't know if you are like me, but I know that I ALWAYS need a mini vacation BEFORE and AFTER my REAL vacation. If you have been busy with work, and trying to get all these things done at once, maybe you should just try and relax for a few days. My DH and I are kinda in the same boat. We have been spazzing out trying to get things accomplished little by little for our trip. We know that it is all worth it, but have been feeling burnt out recently. We decided to go away for the weekend. Just a small getaway, and well worth it. I am back and feeling HIGHLY refreshed and ready to get back on target. Go for the gold! Good luck!!

 

[soccerchick]

I am soooo with you. We are getting ready to move and I know I have things that will sell well on ebay, but I too am unmotivated. I thought about having a yard sale, but at this point I'm really only motivated to put stuff in bags and take it to the Salvation Army drop off and take the tax write-off. Right now I'm trying to pack 5 boxes a night.

 

[disneymom3]

Okay, look at your ebay stuff and choose three things to list. Put them on there. Trust me, it is easier to get motivated when you start to see some money rolling in.

DON'T let your sisters give stuff to you for your garage sale!!!! No, no no. Anyone who does not come the night before the garage sale to price and set up does not get to participate. You do not need that added headache. Tell them they need to take care of their own stuff or you are going to donate it.

I second what the above poster said, if you have kids' clothes take them to a consignment shop and anything they don't want, donate and take the tax write off. I just don't think kids clothes are worth the hassle at a garage sale anymore. If I can't find someone I know to give them to, I follow the above plan. It has two benefits--I feel good because the stuff is out of my house AND I feel good because I did something nice for people in need. (I don't take stuff to goodwill, I take it to our local food shelf where they just give it to people.)

 

[enchantedpixiedust]

I wanted to say thank you to everyone for their posts!!!! You guys always help so much with things, it's like therapy.

I worked about 2 hours tonight on garage sale stuff - and let me tell you I feel MUCH better. Things aren't LOOKING any better, but now I know there's stuff organized & priced in boxes instead of just chunked in boxes.

I pulled several items out to try on Ebay, going to try what maggiew suggested and just try for 5 items a night to get listed.

disneymom3 - thankfully they're just "donating" their stuff for me to sell for $$$. No way would I be getting their stuff ready to sale, I can't keep up with my own junk. I'm grateful, they've given me a lot of great clothes & household stuff that I think will do great on ebay and in the garage sale.

Anyway, I wanted to say thanks again for the great tips. Maybe it'll help others too who are procrastinating!

 

[Kristi1357]

I am in the same boat as you! We have a 3 bedroom ranch with a full unfinished basement and the basement is FULL of junk I need to get rid of. And we are so not motivated to get going!

I am bound & determined to have a yard sale after Labor Day. I also have things I want to list on eBay. Until I get a better handle on the basement from you-know-where, the eBay things are going in a rubbermaid bin. I have several boxes of yard sale things separated now, although you'd never know we did do some sorting already!

They sell the yard sale pricing stickers at Target. I bought more last night while I was there. They were $2.xx for a pack, but worth it for less hassle, imo.

Kristi

 

[pygmymom]

Hey, I thought I had the basement from you know where! LOL

Yard sales are a alot of work. I have a round of two every year, spring and late summer. If I have a plan, it seems to work better. Getting the garage cleaned out and set up is the big one. I do that at least a week ahead of time and then I'm able to sort things out and set it up.

If you have name brand kids clothes in good shape, you may have good luck with Once Upon a Child. A lot of mine, although in good physical shape, were "out of date". They are very particular about what they accept.

Good luck with your efforts. If you're working, or with the kids all day and then have to do garage sale work, it's tough. You never know how you're going to do. I always use my Disney World fanny pack for motivation during the sale.