Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Storage wars


    
With fifteen around the table Sunday, some good stories were bound to be told.  Some were. 

After flipping through the characters of several reality shows we found a common thread in Storage Wars.  One of us told the story of a son who realized a year later that the remaining household goods in a storage shed were “just things.”  He told his buddy to cut off the lock, sell it all and keep the proceeds.

And from the other end of the table we got the story of the day.  Another friend is a builder and his wife has the unenviable task of keeping track of and updating the furniture staged in model homes.

They do own a storage unit her husband built and operates, and she uses a unit or two to store the excess.  Of course they had their share of abandoned units, and the occasional auction of the contents.  As Storage Wars, the television series, became more popular Jeane saw a definite uptick in the attendance at an auction and the amount of money they realized.  When she noticed a regular bidder responding with a “Yeep”, she knew the time had come; there was opportunity for a sharp contractor’s wife to turn her inventory, too.

Jeane added a unit of her own to the next several auctions, nicely staged.  She was tempted, but did not put a cardboard box up front labeled Grandma’s China.  The results were as anticipated:  all the unwanted furniture was gone.

As Jeane said, at her last garage sale her son’s lemonade stand made thirty dollars, more than she had taken in.  She didn’t have to tag anything, put it on her driveway for a long hot afternoon, and, last of all, collect back up what didn’t sell.

Tom and his son, Tommy T, last Sunday.  Every notice how little boys walk like their father walks.  They grow up and lean over deck rails the same way, too.


And finallly, visit my sister’s blog, Janice loves to quilt. She just finished a customer’s art quilt destined for a national quilt show.  Stunning, and now I don’t have to tell you about it.



24 comments:

  1. I've never tried staging a yard sale because it just seems like too much work. At my last location, there was a used furniture store, where we bought a couple things and sold our old dining room table. Pretty painless, and i'd be willing to do that again.

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  2. Love those storage wars shows...even if they are fake.

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  3. I am addicted to that show even though I know much of it is "fixed."

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  4. I enjoy Storage Wars also, but I don't think I'd ever want to sort through someone elses junk; it's hard enough to keep track of my own!

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  5. We don't get that show here but there are lots of garage sales been to a few but I have never had one. I would be putting things out to sell and the beer fairy would be putting it back inside saying that might come in handy some day.
    Merle......

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  6. She was smart to do that. I think the show is staged as well.

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  7. I have never watched Storage Wars... but the idea sounds great.

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  8. I do not go to garage sales because I have too much of my own junk. I will let my children do that after I am gone. I suggest they tag it Estate Sale. It sounds more upscale and they might get more money for all the useless stuff that I once had to have.

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  9. Love the dad and son photo. So true.

    Great idea to avoid a garage sale. I have seen the 'YEEEP' guy too many times.

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  10. Great stories! Sounds like you had a good time story-telling. That Jeane is one smart lady :)

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  11. I walk like my father, one side strides longer than the other. He had polio as a child and one side was smaller than the other. I have to consciously walk the opposite way sometimes to keep it balanced.

    Janice quilts the already pieced quilt or she pieces it and quilts it? Either way, it's impressive. I wish she had included a picture of the back with the quilting.

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  12. My partner loves Storage Wars. And auctions. Me? Not so much. Off to check out Janice's blog now.

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  13. Jess & I used to giggle when we realised Joe was walking just like his Dad !
    Storage wars sounds great !

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  14. A lemonade stand! No wonder garage sales out here don't do well. I might suggest it...
    I have my own storage wars going on. Stuff vs. Space, it's a battle to the death.
    I noticed last summer that my grand daughter now aged 19, walks exactly as her mother does.

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  15. i don't think i have seen the storage show--i probably should watch it--love your pic :)

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  16. What a beautiful quilt! Really outstanding.

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  17. We should definitely be getting rid of stuff. Trouble is we have a big Victorian house and friends always think of us when they want to get rid of stuff. But now our place is full, full, full and it's mostly from other people! Love the picture! Now I'm off to check out your sib!

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  18. Enjoyed that story. I'm very into the low hassle transaction. At the estate sale of my parents stuff I was too easy. I just wanted the stuff to move.

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  19. Nice picture. Like father, like son.

    I admire the restraint in not labeling a box "Grandma's China". :-)

    Pearl

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  20. Oh, I thought that was 'Janice loves to quit'. Never mind.

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  21. Dear Joanne, I'll visit your sister's blog and quilt, but before going there I wanted to tell you that you've opened a new world for me. I didn't know that people bid on storage lockers! Wow, is the world passing me by or what?????? Peace.

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  22. Hi Joanne, what a story! I absolutely love your header photo.

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  23. Those storage locker shows are really a big hit! Sound like your friend is pretty savvy to cash in like that!

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