Hannah's Heartstrings

To my future children, and the currently growing up generation of kids and teenagers,

Welcome.

You are taking your first steps into the world of adulthood, where you will ultimately spend most of your life, if you live long enough. It can be scary here. There are huge responsibilities, bills that are due, people that are mean and don’t care about you, a government that desires to drain the life out of you, super early mornings, and no excuses. You will probably hate it some days, but I can bet not as much as you think you hate your childhood and teenage years.

Childhood is fun. There are so many things you can get away with as a kid that you can’t as an adult. You have fewer responsibilities, more imagination, and the chance to make a really good start in life. You have friends to play with, all your basic necessities like food and clothing just appear, you don’t have to worry about money, and you have no idea that your parents are bending over backwards to give you a good life.

But sometimes all you can think about is that fact that your parents won’t get off your back. They never leave you alone, always wonder what you’re doing, who you’re with, where you’re going, what your grades are like, why you didn’t take out the trash, and making rules you just can’t help but groan about. Can’t they ever just give you a break?

Here is a little message from someone who has been-there-done-that: I hope they don’t.


I hope you remember your childhood and teen years as the most awkward, uncomfortable stage of your life.

I hope your parents are seemingly on you about *everything*, and make you earn your spot in the land of maturity and responsibility.

I hope you know the feeling of wanting to crawl in a hole because your mom embarrasses you in front your friends.

I hope your parents don’t give you the iPod you asked for, and instead make you go outside and play in the dirt like a normal, healthy ten-year-old should.

I hope you get a package of underwear for Christmas, and blush seven different shades of red  when you open it.

I hope your mom takes pictures of you running through the house as a naked toddler, and of the first time you pooped in the toilet while being potty trained. And then shows them to prospective love interests.

I hope your dad calls you out of  group of friends to admonish you about something you are doing, and then makes you sit on the sidelines or, even worse, go tell your friends you aren’t allowed to participate in said activity.

I hope you get spanked.

I hope your parents make you wait till certain ages/milestones to do certain things. Like, you can do this when you are this age or reach this goal. You can have a phone when you have a job. You can go out with your friends when you have a car that you pay for. You can date when you’re a hundred.

I hope that, when your mom or dad sit down to talk to you about relationships, sex and your changing body, you squirm and blush and pray for it to be over soon, but I also hope you take a second to realize that they are as uncomfortable as you are.

I hope you are nervous about the way you look, nervous about your first day of school or work, nervous about talking to your crush, nervous about an important test, nervous about telling your parents something important to you. I hope your heart pounds in your ears and that you break out into a cold sweat. I hope that you stayed up late the night before thinking. I hope you know what that’s like.

I hope someone teases you. Like, really makes fun of you, because that will give you chance like no other to learn the meaning of grace and forgiveness.

I hope your parents instill in you a love of books. Real books. Not Kindles or ebooks. Not even audio books.  Real paper books. I hope they take you to the library and let you check out a couple dozen and that you finish them before they are due back.

I hope you have to eat things you don’t like, and are made to do every menial household task possible. I hope your chores include cleaning toilets, doing laundry, mopping floors, dusting and vacuuming, mowing the yard, pulling weeds and babysitting your younger siblings. And what’s more, I hope there are consequences for neglecting those chores…ones that you really hate.

I hope you have to sit through parental lectures that you will never appreciate until you get older. I hope you sit there, just slightly angry, not wanting to listen but paying attention enough to answer questions if needed. I hope you are hugged and sent to your room after, and that you sit there in the quiet thinking about every word.

I hope your parents make you do awkward things that absolutely kill you, like say hello to people, shake the hand of an adult, apologize to people of all ages when you do something wrong, answer questions when you are asked. I hope they teach you how to hold up a conversation with anyone, and how to be polite.

I hope you have disappointments and learn how to deal with them. I hope that the party you were looking forward to gets canceled because someone gets sick, and that your family has to leave your favorite restaurant because your little brother is misbehaving.

I hope you are forced to make do with what you have even when your friends seem to have everything. I  hope  you know what its like to have a limited amount of money and I really hope you learn to appreciate hand-me-down clothing.

I hope you have lots of uncomfortable moments, because those are what shape you.

Life is hard. People are mean. You will be hurt, disappointed, let down, broken hearted, disrespected, misunderstood, shamed and hated, especially if you live a life drenched in God’s Word and glorifying to Him.

We can’t grow up in a world where everything is fine and goes our way only to enter an adult world where it doesn’t. We have to learn that we can’t just pitch a fit and turn up the drama when life hits us hard. Those awkward, uncomfortable moments are what will ultimately teach you patience, contentment and grace. You won’t understand it until you get older, and until you are able to see your younger years from an outside point of view. Everything looks miserable when you are smack dab in the middle of it,  but take a look from another perspective and you can see how good it really is. Or maybe it isn’t good, but somehow, its useful. You can use it somewhere in your life. If nothing else, you will learn how to avoid uncomfortable situations in the future…or at least get out of them gracefully!

So yes, my wish for you in life is that you are given such opportunities. Wishing that life will be easy and comfortable for you is the most unrealistic thing ever. And besides, that wouldn’t be fair to every other person in the world that has ever made it to adulthood.


{Yes, those are pictures of my childhood. :) }

Ok. So, I am very much a tightwad, so things like yard sales and thrift stores absolutely thrill me. I mean, where else can you find such treasure for such amazing prices? Its like Christmas for adults!

I’ve learned a lot of tricks for maximizing yard sale potential over the past few years. My mom and I have developed quite the extensive theory about the best yard sale hunting. We amused my in-laws one day by going through our whole process, which made for quite the interesting conversation.

I realize that yard sale season will be over soon, and there aren’t too many really good weeks left for it. But this is pretty good information and I’m excited to share it with you!

Now, you may be thinking, “What’s so in depth about yard sale?” Its not really that it in depth. But there are just some things to make the whole buying and selling experience better.

So here goes.

Sellers

-Advertise well. Put your signs up for several miles in various directions, pointing from major roads and with clear direction to where your sale is. The further out and more well advertised your sale is, the more likely I am to show up. Don’t be afraid to use Craigslist to get the word out too. Most of the best sales I’ve found have been because of Craigslist. Good advertising makes me believe that you have something worth me coming to look at.

-Price your items! This is crucial. If I go to a sale and nothing has prices on it, I’ll leave. The worst thing you can say to me is “Nothing has prices, so just make me an offer.” Uh-uh, you don’t want me to do that. Cause you apparently think your stuff is priceless (pun intended), and all I see is junk. I’ll make you an offer, but you likely will be offended. Unless I see some thing really amazing that I really want, I won’t suggest a price cause its just not worth it to me.
So get some stickers or pieces of masking tape and think up some prices. If you have big ticket items, be open to negotiation. But at least give your customers something to work with.

-Price reasonably. I’ve been known to turn around and leave sales that are priced ridiculously. Take into consideration that your stuff is second hand, and unless you are selling brand spanking new stuff, don’t expect to make a huge profit.
Clothing is the biggest one. T-shirts and tank tops should be $.25-50, no higher than $.75 for ones in top condition. Button-up tops, skirts, dresses and jeans in excellent condition should be no more than $1, but if they are new with tags, no more than $3.
VHS tapes, books, cassettes, coloring books, notebooks, and toys should be $.25 or under, and no more than $.50 for ones in excellent condition.
With other random household items, consider how much they have been used, how old they are, if they are out of date, missing pieces, dusty, smell bad or just look weird, and then price wisely. It does not matter to your customers who got it for you, how cool you think it is, if you think its an antique, or especially how much you paid for it. All they care about is the fact that its not new anymore, and whether or not they can get good use out of it.
Bedding, blankets, towels and pillows are tough, because I personally would never buy them second hand unless they were new with tags. So if you are brave enough to try selling your old ones, good luck. Just price them cheap.
Furniture. Eh, that’s a tough one. If you’re going to sell it, please make sure its in good condition. And don’t charge too much for it. Sure if its brand new, go ahead and try to get $50-60 for that loveseat or dresser. But if its old, faded, got scratches or just…old…please keep it more like $10-20 depending on the size of the item. And be open to negotiation.

It’s second hand, people.

-Don’t “sell”. You are not a sales person. I do not want to hear how great your item is. If its that great, I will buy it. Guilt tripping me is not going to work. If you talk to me too much, other than passing remarks about the weather, odds are I will leave without buying anything.
Even more important: DO NOT follow me around. If I want to look at it I will look at it, and I would prefer to do it without you hovering over me.

-Take your signs down! When you are done with your sale, BE DONE. don’t keep advertising a sale that ended last summer just cause you’re lazy. And for heaven’s sake…if you absolutely must leave them up after your sale is over, PLEASE put a date on your sign so I don’t go following your breadcrumb trail to a sale that doesn’t exist anymore.

Now. Buyers. Your turn!

-Be prepared. Especially if you are making this an all day thing. Bottle of water, a snack, and most importantly a map or GPS. Unless you know the area really well, you’ll find places a lot easier if you have a little help. Carry with you a decent amount of change and small bills. Odds are you will go to ten different sales and pay for $1 worth of stuff at each, rather than one sale and pay for $10 worth of stuff immediately.

-Go early. If you want to see everything, start as soon as you can.

-Go late. Things may be more picked over, but a lot of times, people are more willing to discount their stuff on the Saturday of their sale than on the Thursday or Friday. If they are doing a multiple day sale, by the time that last day rolls around, their attitude has likely changed from “I have wonderful things
! Come buy them all and pay me lots of money!” to “Ohmygoodness I don’t care just take it!!”

-The Art of the Drive-by. You don’t have to stop at every sale. Some of them you can know if they are good or not just by driving by. I tend to look for tables with piles of clothes, small pieces of furniture, shoes and books, and if I don’t see anything like that, I generally won’t stop.
Most of the time I won’t stop if the sale is inside a house, either, but that’s just personal preference. I really don’t like walking through some stranger’s home. I did break that rule just recently because their sale was really well advertised and inviting, and I managed to score a bookshelf out of it, so sometimes it is worth it.

-Working the area. This goes with the Art of the Drive-by. Not to sound prejudiced or anything, but the area that you shop determines the quality of the stuff. The best places to go are subdivisions or nicer suburban or semi rural areas. If their house and yard are well kept, then odds are their items are too. Once you get more into the city and the cost of living goes down, the quality of the sales greatly lessens.

-Have a plan…and deviate. If you plan on making a day of it, search Craigslist or your local newspaper for some sales in your area. Try to map it out so you make somewhat of a loop, and then hit the road! Above all don’t be afraid to deviate. If you are on your way to a sale and see a sign for another one on the side of the road, go for it!

-Enough is enough. As with any shopping trip, know when you are done. Whether its by having spent your allotted amount of money, or simply by being tired and hungry, stop when you’re done. Don’t get too tired or else you’ll end up hating the experience.


Forgive me if I sound completely insane. I had a lot of fun writing this. And honestly, everything about it is exactly what I do when I go on a yard sale hunt!

So whether buying or selling, I hope you enjoy your next yard sale adventure. And hey…if you ever need a hunting buddy, call me up!!