Friday, July 16, 2010

Do You Yard Sale?


Years ago, my friend Ann from Lawrence introduced me to the joys of yard-saling. (It's not a word, I know!) I have been hooked ever since. No, really. I have a problem. My kids laugh at me as I turn into a neighborhood, relentlessly following signs, even though I have about 75 cents left. Just. One. More. Hey, 75 cents can buy a lot at a garage sale!

Today, Sam and I had some time to run around, and I found some great stuff (I think!).

  • Four like-new cute purses for $2 each. I plan on giving a couple to Mom.
  • A pair of rubber boots for Annes for 50 cents.
  • An oblong tin-tile planter for 50 cents.
  • The basket of hydrangeas for 50 cents. I plan on pulling out the dusty flowers and using the basket for the girls' crocheting stuff, 'cause I like the shape of it.
  • A Tommy Hilfiger shirt for Kevin for $1.
  • Some other clothes/books/odds and ends for a quarter to fifty cents.
  • My very favorite find: the kitschy old paint-by-numbers boat picture for the boys' room, which has a travel/sailing theme. This was my most expensive purchase today, at $4.

Here are my top rules for yard-saling:

1. Stop at every one you have time for. Even if, from the street, it looks like a bunch of junk, you should check it out anyway. You never know what little treasure is hiding in there. Case in point: The sale where I found the purses was almost entirely tools. There was one big box, though, of those great purses. The man even gave me a bit of a deal off the marked prices....his wife wasn't around. Hope I didn't cause any marital discord. :)

2. Don't be afraid to ask for a lower price. Almost every time I ask, I get a "sure"!

3. Don't give up! For every sale where I find something good, there are probably 3-4 that I don't.

I have found that giving the kids 50 cents or a dollar each to spend helps them understand the value of money. They have found some amazing toys at garage sales, and it really makes them think before they plunk down $14.99 for something similar at Wal-Mart. Also, I have recently encouraged them to get rid of something at home if they find something to buy. This helps to keep us from drowning in stuff. It also makes them really weigh if they like their goodie that much.

Happy yard-saling!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I give you a hearty Amen! I love Garage sales! that's what we call em' in NZ! I really should get going again before this baby is born, only nine weeks left!
The thing is, my hubby loves them just as much!! I used to not like him coming or the kids, but it works really well!! they 'grab' different things and 6 pairs of eyes is better than one LOL!
Sandra

cristina said...

I am there with you! I LOVE yard selling and the same, even if I have .75$ left I still stop. I LIVE for yard sells during the season. =)

Michelle said...

I am lazy about going but when I do I find some great stuff. My boys bought an Eiffel (sp) tower puzzle for $20 at a garage sale, put it together (it was a huge one that stood up), took pictures then sold it on ebay for $200. So they made $180 from that find. That was pretty cool to me. Plus I loved that they went in and did it all together and spent the time putting it together. FUN, FUN!! Glad you got some great stuff.