Funny finding you here…..
Clay and I got started on our new estate sale yesterday and soon found out we were not alone. (Not the first time)
Clay was yanking stuff out of the attic and I’m staging and sorting as he is tossing it all down. Every time I go by one spot in the garage I smell that smell, the smell that tells you there use to be something living but no longer.
Finally a glance in the right direction with less shadows reveals our long gone visitor.
I squeal like a girl and run in the house. Clay is all like what!?!? I’m pointing and dancing in place from the kitchen doorway, “use your words” he says, I finally squeak out “under the box”.
What we can’t figure out is how he ended up folded over the rung of a ladder.
Clay, ever the dutiful Knight In Shining Armor disposed of the poor fellow and work continued sorting out treasures.
Never a dull moment for Honey Stop The Car, Beep Beep!
A Resolution…..Finally
There has finally been a breakthrough on a long standing stalemate between the Hubby and I!!!!
This door has been a pain in my backside for almost four years. When it should be opened it is closed, when it should be closed it is open. When you need in the pantry there it is blocking your entry. When you need to see out of the kitchen there it is blocking the view. I’m sure there was a valid reason to put a door here 50 years ago when our lovely mid-century ranch was built but I honestly have no clue what that reason is.
I took wonderful advice to heart years ago about living with what you don’t like for a little, you may find a reason to love it. This has come true several times over the last few years. But not this! We have had numerous conversations (arguments) about this door. It has been slammed more than any other door in my whole life.
Well today the subject came up again and after a few moments of tense discussion we avoided a death match and finally have a solution!!! 😀 While it won’t happen today or even next week, it will happen and the door will be gone!!!!
Oh for everything I love about our home, I can’t wait till it is gone!!!
The rewards we get from our work.
We enjoy what we do. We enjoy working together (most of the time), we meet great people, learn a little about a family’s history and get to hang out in some cool houses. That’s not to say it is all fun and games – it is a job, after all.
But now and then, we get to be a part of something really fulfilling. That is the case with our most recent sale. In addition to having a wonderful and appreciative client, we were reminded that good things come from finding a new home for a family’s possessions. 
This lovely lady got a great deal on a Baldwin piano. It won’t be going to her home though. She paid for it to be trucked to the VA hospital where her daughter will be playing it when she sings for the veterans staying there. This piano was once used for hours of practice and accompaniment of family carols at Christmas, it will now help to bring a little joy to hospitalized veterans. So much better than just letting a musical instrument gather dust in the corner.
These old baby clothes might not hold a lot of interest to anyone except a new mother or a grandmother. But to one shopper, the colors, textures and patterns of the clothes made them ideal to use to for quilting. We always look favorably on crafty shoppers that reuse or repurpose old items rather than letting them go to waste, but this instance was even more gratifying to us. This shopper’s mother will be creating beautiful quilts from the clothes for a charity. The charity will then give the quilts to families that are suffering through a serious illness or loss of a loved one. Comforters, indeed.
We really enjoy hearing how our shoppers intend to use the items we sell them – it makes our job even more rewarding.
Wrapping it all up.
It’s that time of year when the world falls in love.
Those lyrics are from “The Christmas Waltz,” a favorite here in the Godwin household. And it is that time of year, when we all need to pause our mad-dash Christmas shopping, cooking, cleaning and wrapping – to stop for some quiet reflection and appreciation of what is truly important. We have all been given a wonderful gift of life today – a gift filled with a new and exciting promise of tomorrow as well as a remembrance of the times we have spent with friends and loved ones.
It has been an exciting year for us. Diane got to hold a brand-new granddaughter in her arms last January, and in March the corporation I worked for decided it was time for me to venture into a new field. And what a great adventure the estate sale business has been! We have gotten to meet some fascinating clients and learn about their family. We’ve met devoted pickers and resellers that have shared their passions and knowledge.
It is certainly not a glamorous occupation we’ve chosen, too much dirt, dust, heavy lifting, and encounters with the occasional troublesome shopper for that, but we wouldn’t trade a moment of it. Well, on second thought, we could have done without the poisonous snakes!
I have to make special mention of the kindness shown by a couple of our colleagues in the business without who’s advice, encouragement, sympathy and referrals this year would not have been so joyous. Thank you.
Both of us at Honey Stop The Car Estate Sales want to thank all of you that have made this last year so memorable. We look forward to seeing you again in 2015. Until then…
Frosted window panes, candles gleaming inside.
Painted candy canes on the tree.
Santa’s on his way,
he’s filled his sleigh with things
Things for you and for me.
It’s that time of year when the world falls in love.
Every song you hear seems to say
“Merry Christmas,
may your New Year’s dreams come true.”
And this song of mine in three-quarter time
Wishes you and yours the same thing too.
PDQ Lake Highlands Sale
We all have weekends that are a blur – kids’ athletics, shopping, housekeeping, socializing and trying to mark an item or two off the honey-do list. We all have them.
This last sale qualified as a blur. We got a signed contract on Thursday, prepped the house on Friday (help from Deb and Gretchen made this possible) and opened the doors to waiting shoppers on Saturday morning.
The estate had some fantastic items – beautiful furniture and crystal, stuffed animals from the ’50s (including this Humpty Dumpty), some rarities like a Pete Rose approved Wiffle Ball and this French 19th-Century piece that will be used as a quilt holder by its new owner. 
This much prepping and selling compressed into a three-day period didn’t leave much time for anything else. We’re not complaining though, we had brisk sales, a great group of customers and one grateful client – it just all happened pretty dang quick.
Midlothian / Cedar Hill Estate Sale
UPDATE: There were a few obstacles to overcome with this sale. Aside from the usual, we faced a downpour (always welcome, but unexpected in August), road construction, weak phone signals, map apps and GPS devices that sent our customers on circuitous routes, and even a poisonous snake! But all that was trumped by the great clients, a beautiful rural setting, and the hordes of shoppers who had loads of goodies to pick through. Special thanks to Ted and Peggy, the wonderful neighbors, the customers that follow us, and the flag men on the road crew that directed drivers to the the sale!
A 40 year old estate of former flea market buyers and sellers. Full wood working shop and garage. Craft supplies of all kinds. Kitsch at every turn. Industrial and Junk in a shop overflowing with tools and more. The garage is the dumping ground for all their flea market finds. Every room of this three bedroom home, garage and shop is filled to the brim.
We have run out of tables, there is so much in this sale. Diggers paradise for sure.
http://www.estatesale.com/sales/view/33545.html
Richardson Estate Sale
UPDATE:
This sale turned out to be huge for us. We are so grateful for all the wonderful customers that helped us sell out a day early.
We have a new estate sale coming up this Friday thru Sunday, August 1st – 3rd. There will be a packed garage full of power and hand tools, some hardly used. Furniture pieces that need TLC and some that are ready for use as is or upcycle with some paint slappin.
We have been working hard all week cleaning and prepping this sale for a retiree who is ready to hit the open road.
Clay and I hope you will come visit us and find a treasure or two for your home.
For more pics please go to
http://www.estatesale.com/sales/view/33371.html
Learning Curve
Our first estate sale wasn’t a disaster but certainly wasn’t what we had hoped for our clients. We worked really hard at organizing and pricing every little item (one of my pet peeves when I shop a sale). There were lots of compliments at how the sale was set up but not a lot of buyers.
Too close to a holiday weekend? Does rain really keep estate shoppers away? Not enough advertising? Who knows what the perfect formula is for a good turnout with folks spending money.
With help from family and friends we made it through despite the rain and the low turnout and we appreciate the confidence our clients had in us to handle their loved ones treasures.
Stay tuned and follow along for our next adventure and thanks for being here.
http://www.estatesale.com/companies/view/3738/Honey-Stop-The-Car-Estate-Sales.html
Introducing Honey Stop The Car Estate Sales
http://instagram.com/honey_stop_the_car_estatesales
http://www.estatesale.com/companies/view/3738/Honey-Stop-The-Car-Estate-Sales.html
Clay and I are extremely excited (and maybe a bit out of our minds) to announce we are starting a new venture and jumping into the world of estate liquidation.
With 20 years of collecting, selling and estate sale shopping under our belts we can offer a client a great worry-free experience. We are abreast of the current trends and have a great following via social media. Clay and I have backgrounds in advertising (27 years) and accounting (20 years) which we believe adds to our abilities in marketing and conducting a successful sale.
We want our clients to be confident there will not be a single detail they will have to worry about. In addition to this husband and wife team, there will be trusted helpers, experienced housekeeping and security staff available as needed.
We are ready to take care of all your sale needs whether they be large or small, downsizing, relocation or total estate liquidation.
Honey Stop the Car Estate Sales, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX and surrounding areas
Diane Godwin 972-358-5467
Clay Godwin 972-358-7046
The Glamorous Life Of A Picker……..NOT!!!!
https://www.facebook.com/HoneyStopTheCarVintage
https://www.etsy.com/shop/HoneyStopTheCar
http://instagram.com/honeystopthecarvintage
Since we last visited, Clay and I have been pretty darn busy. We have had a few folks contact us to look at their treasures and we bought a few. Gloves, hats, clothes, linens and more! It has been so much fun for us to meet new people and I even got to help one lovely lady get started on setting up her own Etsy shop. FUN FUN FUN!
Then there was the manic flea we set up at last weekend. I will be honest, our flea selling experience has been limited and dismal. We tried our luck at f leas that once were THE places to sell at in this area, but sadly our experiences were much more trouble than they were worth. However, I was thrilled to be invited to sell at The Gypsy Wagon Swap and Flea — a flea I had shopped at many times in the past. I knew most of the vendors either personally or followed on social media. Still there was that inner panic and anxiety. If we don’t do better at this flea, this is it, I won’t do anymore.
The full week before our flea date at The Gypsy Wagon Swap and Flea was a roller coaster of weather forecasting. No rain, Yes rain — but just a small chance, rain all day — to the really ugly chance of severe weather. I was a nut case up until the powers that be finally decided the day before that the flea will go on as scheduled. OK, lets do this!
With one eye on the ever-changing forecast and the other on packing sorting and pricing, we got it done. Up early, we got the car packed, the truck packed and away we went.
Then I kid you not folks, within minutes of finishing our set up it came — the feared storms blew through and not just a little rain and wind, but hail, lightening, thunder, the whole shebang. QUICK, get it all under the canopy!!!!! Thank goodness Clay and I had good folks around us, we all helped move each other’s stuff and sat and waited and hoped we wouldn’t be swept away or sucked up into the clouds.
My anxiety meter went off the charts at this point and I was ready to pack it up to skulk back home. But Clay and all those around us convinced me to get through this and move on. So move we did, after that last drop fell we hauled it all back out. A few minutes later, the sun came out, the customers came and all was right with the world. We got to meet so many of the folks we love from social media, new folks and even an unexpected fellow classmate and workmate.
All in all, despite the hardship of the hottest day of the year — when it was time to pack up what was left, it was a huge success. Clay and I were exhausted and sunburned but exhilarated at the end of it all.
A huge thanks to Salvagenation for the reference and to the Gypsy Wagon for the invite to what turned out to be an awesome day for Honey Stop The Car Vintage.
Honey Stop The Car! Estate Liquidation 