For those of you who have been on the forum for a while - you know that one of my loves is garage sale season . . . . . . well - garage sale season is here!! Woohoo . . . I'm so happy - I love garage sale season. I haven't been to any sales yet - but, I see there are several listed in the local newspaper for this week.
Over the winter months of 2010, I used many of the items I purchased last year during garage sale season (tea-lights, votives, silk flowers, etc.).
I'm looking forward to seeing what I find this year. Even if I don't buy anything, it's fun to look.
Some of my favorite things to look for are: books, music, jewelry, decorations (vases, pictures, silk flowers, etc.), furniture and clothes. I've found some really good bargains over the years.
Anybody else a bargain hunter at a garage sale, tag sale, jumble sale, flea market, "junk" sale or whatever name it goes by in your area?? I just love, love, love 'em!! ;D ;D
Bucky
How can you stand to be in the sun? Do they have moon lite garage sales where you are?
Thank God! Pretty sure one half of my garage is hiding a missing Giraffe from the zoo! ;D
I love Garage/yard sales!!!! I am always on the hunt for kid's clothes, decorating items, furniture and the like! happy huting!-hootyhu
Woohoo . . . this morning I hit the garage sale trail and went to two sales. ;D There's something about this adrenalin rush of getting there and scoping out the entire sale and latching onto your "finds". Deep sigh . . . boy, I've missed you over the winter months!! :D
Today's finds: pr. of Clarks shoes - looks like they "maybe" were worn once or twice - $4, pr. of American Eagle flat shoes - again, no wear on them - $1.50, new Lancome tote bag - 25c, book - "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff with Your Family", 50c. Grand total: $6.25
The annual school sale and a subdivision sale should be coming up soon . . . can't wait!! ;D
Bucky
WOW. Some great buys, Bucky! :D I can't wait to have my garage cleaned out! (Poor hubby.)
Hey Bucky, you did good. Great buys and the season is only just beginning. ;D I stop at them sometimes but there aren't many out here in the boondocks, lol.
I bet it's nice that the weather is better up there and people can put their sale items out without worrying about them getting buried in snow. Hope all is good.
Hugs,
qt
Oh Bucky - this brings back so many great memories for me! ;D ;D ;D
When I was a kid my mom and her best friend and her daughter - my best friend - would go garage saling together on Saturday mornings and we would come up with so many treasures! At garage sales you knew you could ask your mom for just about anything and she wouldn't say no - because everything was a quarter or fifty cents! And if you were really lucky you'd find a garage sale where people were selling donuts and sodas or better yet HOTDOGS - woo-hoo!
I told my (now ex) husband that we used to get garage sale toys for Christmas (along with some new, of course) and he asked me if it bothered me that we got second-hand toys. I said, "Heck no! Because we used to get tons more stuff that way!" I mean we had EVERYTHING! And we got stuff for every single holiday. Seriously - even St. Patrick's Day! Besides, to us it wasn't second-hand toys...it was just...TOYS!!!
I sort of schedule my garage saling for the not so hot days. I like the early spring and Sept-Oct garage sales. Just depends on what is going on in town. When I drive up toe my sons I will stop at garage sales along the way if the weather isn't too hot.
I love garage sales also. I have picked up stainless steel dutch oven for 5$ and a pressure cooker and I love to buy big bags of paper back books. I don't buy clothes that I have to try on. My greatest pride and joy is the wicker wall shelf with 2 shelves. The old, old kind. I paid 1$ for it and brought it home and put many coats and colors of craft paint followed by some varnish and it hangs over the toilet. I hung a green Ivy vine over it and on each shelf there are momentos of each kids wedding. I dried the corsages and sprayed them with hairspray and have other little thingys. It is a family remembrance for me. Maybe I shouldn't have put it over the toilet. lol Oh well, I love it. Irish ;D
Hi everyone -
Well, this coming Saturday are THREE of my favorite sales!! ;D The only problem is - they are in three different directions. Eeny meeny miny moe . . . which one to go to first? :o
One sale is a subdivision sale that I love to go too. One sale is the annual fundraiser at the high school where I have found some good finds in the past. The other one is one I have gone to in the past - they are moving. IF you are a diehard garage sale fan - you know the earlier you get there, the good stuff goes quickly.
Decisions, decisions . . . which one do I go to first?!?
The subdivision sale "usually" has some garages open the day before (which would be tomorrow). I could go tomorrow and hope some are open and then I could skip this one on Saturday. Hmmmmmmm . . . . . .
It is not unusual for people holding garage sales to have "early-birds" show up for the sale. Some, come a day, or hours prior to the start of your sale. A couple years ago, I had this guy stop at the end of the driveway (we have a long driveway and I had put up a barrier to keep them out until I was ready for the sale - the sale wasn't until the afternoon, after I got off work) - he called the house (must have had a laptop or something and put in our address), asked if he could come check out my sale. I told him, "no - my sale didn't start until 2:00 p.m." - this was at 7:15 a.m.!!) It had rained a lot that week and he had pulled over on the side of the road and got stuck! He would have to call a tow truck to pull him out. He called again to tell me this - which I replied, "sorry - no". ::) He wasn't very happy - but, too bad, it's his own fault. My hours were clearly posted on my signs - in fact, I hadn't EVEN posted the sign at the end of our property yet, he had just followed the signs I had posted along the roadway.
Saturday is the only morning I can sleep in all week . . . hmmmm, do I give up my sleeping in and get up early and hit the garage sale trail, or sleep in?!? ;)
Anybody want to come with me? It will be fun! :D
Bucky
OK - looked at the newspaper again this morning and see that one of the sales that is this Saturday is also open TODAY! :D For $2.25 I got: A CD, Unforgettable Love songs of the Sixties; A CD Elvis 30 #1 Hits; and a book, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
I've already listened in the car to the Love songs of the Sixties - it's OK, but will probably go into my own sale next time around.
Went over to the neighborhood where the subdivision sale is tomorrow - only two garages open. :( For 50c I got a new greeting card organizer (box w/dividers). I have one just like this, but the other one is full and I've needed another one.
On the way back home, saw a couple more sales. For a $1, I got a necklace.
Total spent today: $3.75
Lots and lots of baby clothes at the sales. Once in a great while I will buy some new w/tags on and will re-sell them at my sale. When our son was little, I loved finding him lots of things at sales. Most brand new with the tags still on.
I doubt I will venture back out to the subdivision sale tomorrow. I "might" go to the sale at the school - I haven't made my mind up yet.
Anyone else go to any sales this week/weekend?
Now that I've had my garage sale "fix" for today - guess I better get some housework done before I have to go into work later this afternoon.
Bucky
How much did you spend on gas?
Way 2 go Bucky. I also love yard sales however, since we now live in a 5th wheel I had to put everything in storage soooo...this year I will be having a yard sale at my neices house storage is costly. I hope I do well with sales..
Colleen
What's a fith wheel?
Kathyx
When the churches have Rummage Sales here, they usually run Thurs, Friday and Saturday. Some of them on Saturday have $5 per bag either starting 8am or at 12 noon. I went to one Saturday and it was a $5 bag day and I made out like a bandit.
I got one of those wolven throws, 2 of those stone type hot plates with the handles on the side, several decorative old time style tins, 2 ceramic bowls "being donated", a couple funny coffee mugs, a couple of those steins w/water that you freeze, plus a 2 pillow shams and a quilt type bed cover.
I am just heading out to a neighborhood one they have twice a year only on a Sunday. Isn't is nice to go to a Sunday sale?
My uncle used to love yard sales. He would travel around town in his little pickup. My cousin would often get a call from his dad to come help with the loading. He would have two sales each year at his home (all that the city allowed). A lot of what he picked up he would donate to his church for those in need and the churches rummage sale fundraiser. Some things that he found were donated to Goodwill.
What do you do with your found treasures?
katybarstool, What is a 5th wheel???? Well, it is a pull behind trailer for camping that has a special type hitch that fits into the other half of the hitch that is attached to the bed of a pickup truck.
Now days these are so big and heavy that usually the pickup truck is a 3/4 ton or heavier duty truck. The 5th wheels are usually 32 to 38 feet in length and have a kitchen, bedroom and more room for sleeping plus a bathroom with tun and shower. Has a little living room plus a "slide out" that makes the 5th wheel trailer wider in several areas.
It is pretty contained but able to support longer term living. Irish ;D
I was looking at a 5th wheel on the weekend......all I could think of was "caravan on steroids" LOL
This particular one had more kitchen and bath gadgets than my home, and a really neat computer desk with monitor "pocket" that sinks down into the back of the desk and out of site, which also protects it for travel. The full bedroom upstairs (over the hitch and therefore over the bed of the pickup truck) had a queen sized bed, ensuite bathroom and tons of storage!
I don't think these people fully comprehend the concept of "roughing it".
Kathyx - here's a link to see what the inside of one looks like. Home away from home. :D
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t309/smileyface131/cherokeeinterior.jpg
No garage sales for me this weekend. I opted to sleep in on Saturday. ;D
Joe - the "rules" of garage saling are . . . . lunch and gas are write-offs for the adventure. ;)
The vast majority of the "finds" I bring home from garage sales goes into decorating my home. I can do this at a mere fraction of the cost buying them new from the store. Then, I can switch things out when I tire of them - putting them into my own garage sale and therefore, recycling them. ;D I just have to be careful they come from a smoke-free, pet-free home because of allergies.
If I walk into a sale and the person is sitting there smoking a cigarette, I look around quickly and leave.
Bucky
Thanks friends for the information. I want one!!!
I used to have a vision that I would buy a small motor home for myself and hubby and our little dog to travel aroud Europe in when I retired. I've reconsidered that over the past few years though - if I'm away from home, I want a hotel with all the trimmings, and wold probably have to travel by coach, as I can't drive very far without myhips complaining. Hubby doesn't drive. Perhaps I need to trae him in :)
Bucky, I hope your extra sleep time helped you.
Kathyx
Waaah! We have rain all day Saturday. With next weekend being the Memorial Day holiday, if I want my garage sale fix, I will have to go out and get wet this weekend. Sigh!
Awwww Pisces24 - garage sales in the rain. ::) Not the ideal situation - but it CAN be done!
I went to a few today on the way home from the grocery store. Found a nice retro three-strand pearl like necklace but it's so tiny - a true "choker" - so, I'll have to see if I can add an extension onto it to make it work. It's really cute. My 50c find for the day. :D
There are some town-wide sales tomorrow - and we too, are suppose to have rain. So, I'm planning on sleeping in and will probably just skip them this weekend.
Good luck if you venture out tomorrow Pisces 24.
Bucky
OK - so, I didn't end up sleeping in this morning. #1 I HAD to get up to take some medicine to keep it on schedule. #2 It wasn't raining out and Pisces24 put the garage sale bug in me! ;D
So, while my family slept, I took off for some garage sale therapy. ;D This was a town-wide sale - those kind are pretty good.
For $31 total I got:
Four brand new items - corner tool rack $5, Scentsy wax blocks $3, pr. of tights $1, pr. of Adidas shoes for $3.
Some books for hubby, son and one for myself - $6.75
A Pyrex bowl from the 50's (these are collectors items) that matches others that I have and brings back wonderful memories of all the Tollhouse cookies my Mom mixed up in this bowl - 50c.
Silver bracelet - $1
Box of plastic coffee stirrers - 25c
6 vases - $5.50 (I probably paid more for these than I normally would have, but this church was having a sale and nothing was marked, so you just give them what you think it's worth. Several of these vases are very heavy. I'm happy with the purchase, so I don't mind the $5.50.)
Girls 6-12 mo. clothes - three bags worth, some new with tags on, for 10c each!!! :o I added up the prices the lady had marked on the clothes before she priced everything 10c, and it would have come to $48! My total was $2.80 - I gave her $5. (After I got home and added everything up, I should have given her more - but . . . . she's the one who priced everything 10c, so I shouldn't feel so guilty. All these items are going into MY sale (and I'm charging more than 10c apiece!). There's some cute dresses, summer outfits, sweater, pr. shoes, sleepers, etc.
So, I am one happy camper - have a lot of good finds. Also, got in some walking exercise as I parked the car and would hit up 5-6 garages before moving the car again. I lost track of how many garages I went to, at least 20-25! :o And . . . it didn't rain!! ;D
Pisces24 - I hope the rain held off for your today so you could get some garage sale therapy in too. :D
Bucky
I am looking for a new male body in good shape and the equipment to transfer my consciousness into it. If you can find it cheap enough let me know. I will have to verify that every thing is in good working order before any transaction is completed.
Joe ;D
Mrs Bucky, if you do come across any new bodies, I'd like one please. Would like it to be taller than this one (5'0") and not quite as wrinkled :D
Kathyx
PS well done with your spoils. A good days work :D
I was able to hit a couple garage sales before it rained - so got my "fix" in.
My buy was for $3 a nice laptop carrying case for a refurbished laoptop I bought a week ago.. The garage sale fairies must have know I was looking for one. Usually it is when I STOP looking that I find what I was looking for. LOL
PS: I am getting a "pile" together in my finished basement of stuff I no longer want. So when my charity group, AniMeals has a garage sale, I'll have a bunch to add. I am still going through stuff but you know how it is - take out 4 and put back 3. LOL ;)
Last weekend was a town-wide sale. ;D I did a lot of walking!
Didn't find too many bargains - but . . . this may sound strange - but, there is a method to my madness! :D For $5, I bought a Guardian Aluminum Commode. It still has plastic wrap on parts of it. I looked this up (after I got home) and find they sell new between $60-$100. We do not NEED this right now . . . but, one never knows when something like this will come in handy. All I have to do is sanitize it and it's good to go! (Actually, one could use something like this if they are camping in tents. I'm also thinking if our power is off for an extended amount of time this might come in handy.)
I try and buy up medical supplies for future use. In years past, I have bought two aluminum walkers for $5 apiece - one brand new, with the price tag still on! We have used these walkers on several occasions when our Sciatica is acting up. We've even let friends borrow them.
I also bought a scarf for work, $1. Three organizing folders for 25c each. A No Boundaries binder (new) with paper inside for 25c for our son for school.
Last night, I went to a sub-division sale that started late in the afternoon. Now keep in mind - yesterday we were in the high 90's! Ugh! ::) I must have gone to 20 homes and then called it quits - it was just too hot. The only thing I bought was Oprah's 20th Anniversary Collection CD's (a 6 disc collection of 20 yrs. of memorable guests/shows) for $1.
Oh, by the way . . . I had my own 2-day sale last week. Did OK - $218. I still need to dismantle it all . . . it's just been too hot to work out there. Maybe this weekend or early next week. Anybody want to come help?
Happy sailing!! ;D
Bucky
Wow, Bucky, you did a great job for all that hot weather! I couldn't "hang" in the heat...
I love the city-wide yard sales. It's fun just to look around and watch people. We have just a few things now I could put out in a sale.
One thing I would dispose of is my husband's beloved old 80's stereo- the kind with the huge speakers. :P Our daughter told him it was the 21st century and needed to go, but he wouldn't hear of it, so I guess I continue to dust the monster.
Marriage is about comprismise, right? The old golf clubs are definately going...
Now that I'm sewing, I taught myself how to make fabric purses. Maybe I can make a few more and sell them?
It's been a while since y'all have shared any of your garage sale therapy stories. ;)
I hope you have found some real bargains this summer.
Tomorrow is a sub-division sale that I usually go to - so, I'll get up early and hit the garage sale trail. Garage sale season will be winding down here shortly, so I've got to get my fix now while I can. ;D
I'm having a two-day sale of my own two weeks from today. Anybody want to come and sit out there with me? We'll have fun! :)
When my younger brother came for a visit in July he bought my big tote of kids toys for his new grandson - so, I don't have any toys to sell this time. :( (I would buy them at sales for 25c-50c and mark them up for my sale.)
Last month at a sale, this lady had this old (probably from the 1930-40's) maple wardrobe with six vertical drawers down the middle and a closet on each side of the drawers. It really caught my eye. The sister of the person having the sale comes over and is talking to me and next thing I know, I'm telling her "sold"! :o
Long story short - I really like this wardrobe and want to put it in the bedroom, however, there is an entertainment center in there that holds a TV, plus it has lots of storage. It would be a major project to get rid of the entertainment center, TV, and find places to put all the stuff I have in the entertainment center. So, I'm going to try and sell the wardrobe at my sale.
Today, while in town, I stopped at the quaint antique shop on the square. The owner happened to be there and I showed her a picture of the wardrobe and asked her if she knew anybody who might be interested in it. She said she did have someone looking for one. She would call this person and then the shop owner would call me if the person was interested. So, we'll see what happens. My asking price is a little over twice what I paid for it (which I should have no problem getting) as this piece is old. So, I will end up making money on the deal and all I did was bring the piece home and turn around and resell it. :) (The ladies at the sale where I bought it said several people kept looking at the wardrobe even though it had a sold sign on it. I knew it wouldn't last long when I saw it.)
If any of you are having a fall sale and want to make some money - make popcorn hands. These have sold really well at my sale. You take the plastic gloves (these are disposable gloves and come in a package of 100 sold at the dollar store), put a candy corn in each finger (representing a fingernail) and then pop popcorn and fill the glove full - then take some curling ribbon (orange, yellow or black) and close the glove and curl the ribbon. I charged 50c and sold out each day.
Hoping to find some great bargains tomorrow - plus, I'll get a lot of walking in. ;D
Bucky
Good morning - got up and hit the garage sale trail this morning. I went to two sales at the sub-division sale and decided the sales were too far apart to walk them and I'd have to keep moving the car. In and out, in and out . . . tires me out.
So, I left there and headed to a school sale. Found an Ann Taylor Loft purse for $1.50 and a little monster truck (the kind that has big wheels and is jacked up) for 25c (which will go into my sale).
Went to a few more sales - bought nothing. Went to one last sale and got a stapler for work - 50c, and a brand new, unopened HP 92/93 combo printer ink for $2!! ;D I'm thrilled about the printer ink as I haven't had "colored" ink on my printer for years as I didn't want to spend the money on it. This combo pack would cost me $35 at the store. Woohoo . . . I'm a happy camper! :)
I ended up going to seven sales and spent a total of $3.75. Not bad and I will use everything I bought.
Bucky - who is now heading to the basement to start pricing and finding things for my own sale in two weeks.
Gosh would love to come to you sale and buy ahh help! ;)
Going to garage sales is cheap entertainment for me and good socialization. Lately I have been finding those old looking tins (I use for decoration) and funny mugs. My favorite one is a FarSide one the Institute of Stress Management where it shows a patient kicking the dr out the window with the caption "I feel better already!" LOL
I also pick up cheap pet things for my charity group AniMeals like collars, leashes, bowls, carriers, etc. A week ago a lady had a kitchen garbage bag full of old clean worn out towels, etc. for free hoping someone could use them. I got them and gave them to an animal shelter that is always looking for these. So you see I have some sort of excuse ;) to go to garage sales.
Now that the colder weather is here in Iowa, they are getting fewer. Gosh I will miss them!
Since summer has ended and the leaves are now falling . . . garage sale season is quickly coming to an end for 2011. :'(
Today, I finished up holding MY own last garage sale for the year. I usually have two sales a year - one in the spring, and one in the fall. I had a 2-day sale last weekend. Earlier this week my husband announced he was taking a vacation day off work on Friday if I wanted to hold my garage sale one more day. (I don't hold a sale at our house unless someone else is around so I'm not here by myself.) So, since everything was already set up in the garage - I said, "sure".
It was really windy here today and only in the high 40's to start the morning off. Brrrr I was glad when 2 o'clock rolled around and I could close up - I was wind whipped and cold. I kept coming inside the house between customers and had several cups of hot chocolate to try and warm up.
All told, we made $450 holding our own garage sales this year. Not bad. It takes time to set a sale up - but, you can't count your time. At least we've moved some stuff out of the house and they now have new homes with someone else - and we've made some money in the process. ;D
There's a one-day sale tomorrow for the Mom's group I used to belong too. They usually have a wide variety of stuff. At this point, I'm not sure if I will go to this or not. Maybe, maybe not.
I'm going to go into garage sale withdrawals during the winter. :(
Has anyone been to any good sales this summer?
Bucky
;D I got some garage sale therapy in today! ;D
I did end up going to the Mom's group sale. Last year, they didn't have a whole lot. This year, the room was full of stuff - tons of kids clothes, shoes, toys, highchairs, booster seats, etc. I don't need any of those items. They also had housewares, books, CD's, shoes, purses, framed pictures, holiday items, etc.
So, here's what I got for my $3.35: A cookbook, "The Diabetic Four Ingredient Cookbook", looks brand new, $1. My husband is a diabetic and I'm hoping to find some tasty meals in there that he will eat which will be healthy for him and our family. A red glass votive holder, 25c (red is one of my favorite colors, and I use red to decorate my dining room). A cloth tote, new, 10c. A boxed set of Pfaltzgraff Winterberry votive w/candle, set of 3, $2. This will match the dishes I have in that same pattern. :) It looks new and has a store sticker price of $40 on the box. Yay . . . I'm happy with my purchases.
I then went to another sale and got: a new kitty litter pan w/two feeding dishes, scoop and pan liners still in the plastic - $1, a Little Tikes Handle Hauler Moving Truck for 25c (giving this to my brother to keep at his house for his grandson). An office chair on wheels - 75c. (I'm taking this to work - as we need another chair in our small office without dragging in a huge, heavy, armed chair when someone needs to use the other computer). A heavy potted Mother-In-Law's plant, $1. I don't have a lot of plants in my house - I decorate a lot with silk flowers/wreaths. The lady said these are hardy plants that don't require a lot of care and grow quickly. She just re-potted this plant a month ago and it has several new shoots popping out of the soil. I also got a handmade vase w/silk flowers - 75c.
Some people get a shopping high from hitting the mall and shopping till they drop. For me, my shopping high comes from a good garage sale find. ;D As I've mentioned before, I find a lot of great buys - many times, brand new for pennies on the dollar. Can't beat it! It allows me to decorate our home with some nice pieces on a small budget. When I get tired of them, I put them in my sale and recycle it.
Ahhhh . . . . today's been a good day! ;D
Bucky
P.S. Joe - don't worry about the gasoline expense . . . these were on the way to the grocery store where I was going anyhow. ;)
Just when I thought garage sale season was over - since it IS December . . . I was driving to the grocery store yesterday and lo and behold I see a "Moving Sale" sign along the way. ;D
It wasn't going to be open for an hour or so, so I went ahead and got my errands done and stopped on the way back home (it was on my way).
I found these two oak bookcases made by Broyhill for $60. The one has a secretary in it, they both have a drawer and below the drawer two doors that open, and they both are lighted. Woohoo . . . we went and picked them up today. ;D
Now, I just have to clear out the spot where they are going. For now, they are sitting in the living room.
I'm sure this is the last of the sales I'll find until the Spring of 2012. :( It's gonna be a long winter. Sigh!
Bucky
Bucky, Sweet Bucky, Great find for a great gal!!! Please let us know whose room this finds its way to!!! hehe!!! :o
Newjoy - MY room, of course! ;D
My boys were quite impressed with my find!
Bucky
They sound like a wonderful find Bucky - enjoy them - and try not to lose things in them ;)
Kathyx