(We are not really here; we're leaving for vacation, but the posts continue. Sneaky, huh?)
I threw a swap party the other week and, of course, me being me, I didn't even think of taking pictures! But whether we have photographic evidence of the fun or not, I think everyone enjoyed themselves and walked away with some new-to-them treasures. I ended up with two shirts, a dress (that I may end up wearing as tunic, since I seem to be enthralled with those lately--it's something about the heat and all the abayas and saris I see around me, I swear; the style is contagious!), a bunch of felt panels, some colored tissue paper (a rare commodity here), some church pictures (an entire Gospel Picture Art kit, actually, plus extras), and a package of colored pencils. Quite the haul! And I was able to divest myself of a bin full of t-shirts and skirts and sweaters and the like that were just going to continue sitting in my closet and mocking me, as well as some silverware the husband picked up during his solo sojourn here that I really didn't love very much, so getting rid of all that made me happy as well.
We "limited" ourselves this time around to women's clothing and accessories and house wares, but I think we will do another one soon for kids' clothes and toys. Maybe in November so we can clean out and/or get ready for Christmas? I love doing these, particularly here in Qatar since garage sales are few and far between and thrift stores are non-existent. There are some Craigslist-y type boards, the biggest of which is Qatar Living; the most useful of which has been the members-only classifieds section at Doha Mums. There are also several fairly active buy/sell/trade Facebook groups here and the women from church also put things on offer fairly regularly on our little Facebook page as well, but I'm still not entirely satisfied with all this online thrifting. I miss the tactility of the experience; I like to get my hands on the merchandise, people!
I think I've mentioned this before, but the boys and I have been to just a few garage sales since we got here (maybe three or four?), and every one has been entertaining in its own unexpected way. One woman told us "karma was in effect" at her sale and we were to pay what we thought everything was worth, then she let us loose in the top and bottom levels of her house. Another had a crazy assortment of craft supplies we were happy to take off her hands, even though I actually kind of loathed the crafts she had used the supplies to make! Another man was selling all sorts of boy toys for negligible prices because his grandsons had moved away, apparently never to return, and he simply couldn't keep the toys around any longer, but he was very happy to go through them piece by piece with my boys in intricate detail (that was our first foray into Pokemon). Like all expat gatherings, you learn much more about the sellers at these events much more quickly than you most likely would at your average garage or yard sale stateside. We don't do idle chit-chat around here much; we don't have time because we never know when we might be leaving! And most folks who are having these sales are usually in a really good mood because they are leaving the country, so they are even chattier than usual. And feeling very generous, an added bonus.
So to satiate my thrift jones, I'll keep scouring the classifieds for deals (this week I got a little trampoline for the boys--score!), try to find the infrequent but highly worthwhile garage sales that don't take place on Fridays (church day, you see), do my best to track down the (in)famous "boot sales" that some of the UK schools host (where they sell things out of the backs of cars in parking lots, apparently--sounds like a blast!), and organize my own swap party every once in a while. Qatar isn't really a country where thrift is a virtue, but I will find it just the same. You wait!
I threw a swap party the other week and, of course, me being me, I didn't even think of taking pictures! But whether we have photographic evidence of the fun or not, I think everyone enjoyed themselves and walked away with some new-to-them treasures. I ended up with two shirts, a dress (that I may end up wearing as tunic, since I seem to be enthralled with those lately--it's something about the heat and all the abayas and saris I see around me, I swear; the style is contagious!), a bunch of felt panels, some colored tissue paper (a rare commodity here), some church pictures (an entire Gospel Picture Art kit, actually, plus extras), and a package of colored pencils. Quite the haul! And I was able to divest myself of a bin full of t-shirts and skirts and sweaters and the like that were just going to continue sitting in my closet and mocking me, as well as some silverware the husband picked up during his solo sojourn here that I really didn't love very much, so getting rid of all that made me happy as well.
We "limited" ourselves this time around to women's clothing and accessories and house wares, but I think we will do another one soon for kids' clothes and toys. Maybe in November so we can clean out and/or get ready for Christmas? I love doing these, particularly here in Qatar since garage sales are few and far between and thrift stores are non-existent. There are some Craigslist-y type boards, the biggest of which is Qatar Living; the most useful of which has been the members-only classifieds section at Doha Mums. There are also several fairly active buy/sell/trade Facebook groups here and the women from church also put things on offer fairly regularly on our little Facebook page as well, but I'm still not entirely satisfied with all this online thrifting. I miss the tactility of the experience; I like to get my hands on the merchandise, people!
I think I've mentioned this before, but the boys and I have been to just a few garage sales since we got here (maybe three or four?), and every one has been entertaining in its own unexpected way. One woman told us "karma was in effect" at her sale and we were to pay what we thought everything was worth, then she let us loose in the top and bottom levels of her house. Another had a crazy assortment of craft supplies we were happy to take off her hands, even though I actually kind of loathed the crafts she had used the supplies to make! Another man was selling all sorts of boy toys for negligible prices because his grandsons had moved away, apparently never to return, and he simply couldn't keep the toys around any longer, but he was very happy to go through them piece by piece with my boys in intricate detail (that was our first foray into Pokemon). Like all expat gatherings, you learn much more about the sellers at these events much more quickly than you most likely would at your average garage or yard sale stateside. We don't do idle chit-chat around here much; we don't have time because we never know when we might be leaving! And most folks who are having these sales are usually in a really good mood because they are leaving the country, so they are even chattier than usual. And feeling very generous, an added bonus.
So to satiate my thrift jones, I'll keep scouring the classifieds for deals (this week I got a little trampoline for the boys--score!), try to find the infrequent but highly worthwhile garage sales that don't take place on Fridays (church day, you see), do my best to track down the (in)famous "boot sales" that some of the UK schools host (where they sell things out of the backs of cars in parking lots, apparently--sounds like a blast!), and organize my own swap party every once in a while. Qatar isn't really a country where thrift is a virtue, but I will find it just the same. You wait!
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