Oh, The Weather Outside Is Frightful.... So sign up early!

Do you have any idea how cold 43F is, at 8:40am, on a Thursday morning, outside, with the wind blowing??

 It’s very cold. 

It’s “why are we standing out here?” cold. 

It’s “do we really want go to an estate sale….ever again?” cold.

 Now remember, the ladies are in Texas ~ South Central Texas at that.

The sale was scheduled for 9:00, and if we had paid any attention, we might have made it in the door near that time. But it was time for the ladies to learn another lesson. 

There really should be an easier way.

Let’s discuss sign up lists.  Many estate sales have them, especially on the first day. If you aren’t sure, here’s what to do: get your lazy self out of your warm car, walk up to the porch and check.  Alternately, you can send your partner. (Work with what you have, I pled age and family position. After all, I am the mother). This simple act would have saved us a lot of discomfort.  But NO ~ We had to learn by signing up at 12 minutes til, and waiting until 9:35 to get in the door. Oh, if you are wondering, the Middle One secured us numbers 41 & 42, each person has to have their own number. People were taken in three to five at a time. And by the way, they police that door. In fact, at this sale they closed it … in the face of the next person in line.  

A few sales have sign up lists online.  That’s quite nice, but if you put your name on the list, a word of advice. Be there when the doors open. Not being present does not entitle you to stroll up to the porch 40 minutes after opening, nod to those you know, and nonchalantly enter ahead of the patiently waiting crowd. That buyer found the door closed, and when the next group was allowed in, he was informed he should sign in... at the bottom of the list.  

The Ladies can learn from the mistakes of others, too!

As to the reason for sign up lists ~ the first day of the sale can be extremely busy. The dealers, especially, are trying to beat each other to the very best items.  Not the things you bargain for, the treasures that are more rare, more valuable, more sellable. Frequently the estate sale management companies have a limited number of attendants. It's their job to assist either in each room or on each floor... sometimes both. Controlling the initial flow in the door keeps them from being overwhelmed. And no, in general you do not want them to bring more people.  'Estate' is a funny word. In this case it does not refer to a large manor-like property, but more often to a small house filled to the brim with nick-nacks and the bric-a-brac of someone's daily life.  There's not enough space for all the shoppers and a hoard of attendants. The fewer attendants = more shoppers = less time standing in the cold (or heat, as the case may be)  Everyone involved should practice patience...let me repeat that;

Everyone involved should practice patience!

We also learned how to dress for the weather. Granted, we should have known this ahead of time. I did raise the girls better.  My cute unstructured cardigan over a long sleeve v-neck shirt was quite stylish, however, it was not warm. Not even with one of my beloved pashmina's around my neck (more on those another time).  The Middle One was much closer to the right idea, but could also have used another layer. 

But at least, when we ventured out at 8:40 on Saturday morning to hit the last day of that sale, and it was only 40F and raining, we were prepared. Not only that, we were successful at the sale. If nothing else, the ladies are teachable!