Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Is it possible to be addicted to......

yard sales?

Stop laughing. 

No really....I'm serious!  I used to think my mother-in-law was crazy to want to get up at 6a.m. on a Saturday morning to go rummage through someone else's "junk"....but I gotta' tell ya'....I'm gettin' it now. 

And I sure wish she were here to go yard sale-ing with us.  Sigh.

You see....that became one of my kids' fondest memories with Grandma Mable.  She would let them spend the night on a Friday, and then wake them up at the crack of dawn on Saturday with the sound of cast iron skillets clanging around to make them breakfast.  (I still don't get that part....)

After she passed away, Jack would repeatedly say how much he missed doing that with her....and I realize that it was more about "spending time with her" than the yard sales themselves, but it was a memory they made, and after hearing it from all of my kids....I decided one weekend that we would load up and go.

And now I'm hooked. 

And you wouldn't believe how fast they all jump out of the bed on a Saturday morning, because they're afraid "we're missin' out on some good deals!"  (Ha!!  I love it!!)

So I decided to share some of my recent purchases with you....because truthfully....I've impressed myself.

And I probably shouldn't tell on myself here....but instead of rushing around this past Friday and Saturday morning preparing for the possible storm Isaac we are all still waiting for now.....I was out yard sale-ing!!!  

Yep...every once in a while someone will hold it Friday and Saturday and so Karissa and I decided we would just see what was out there....and boy did we score.  

How do ya' like this addition to my living room??  

 Yep...I'm talkin' about the chair....the one that fills a spot I have been wanting a chair in for 7 years, and the one that matches the color scheme in here perfectly. 

Wanna' know how much I spent on it?
$10. 

Nope....not even kidding.  Didn't have to even talk him down on it, and no...there is nothing wrong with it. 

The family was moving....and needed to get rid of a LOT of stuff.  It wasn't even out "in" the yard sale.  It was sitting in his garage and when I asked him about something else he pointed to it and said...."You need that chair right there??  You can have it for $10." 

What????  Ummm.....yes....please load that in the back of my van....NOW.  We will make it fit. 

And that doesn't include the name brand clothing that we scored for 50cents a piece at the same yard sale.
And I know you can't see the tags because I didn't use my good camera....so I will help you see a little closer that these are name brand.  

 

And let me just stop right here and say this. 

Yes...I think we scored big on name brand items for 50cents a piece, but let's remember it's a yard sale.  What does that mean??  That means that I am not going to pay $4 for their used clothing items....  A yard sale is a yard sale, and if they wanted to get a consignment shop price for it, then perhaps that's what they should do with it.

Sorry...didn't mean to be ugly, but sometimes, you walk up the driveway only to see the prices on their "stuff" and you just have to turn right around and go back to the car, because there are other yard sales waitin' that know how to price their "stuff". 

I said all of that to say...his prices were fair.  Very fair. 

But as I said....typically there aren't very many yard sales on Friday in my area....and the boys were in school, so we pretty much called it a day and decided to go again the next morning. 

And boy did we score.....


Auburn jacket?  $1

Everything else.....

Stuff a bag for $3.....(and let me just say right here that mama knows how to "stuff a bag for $3".)   I do the stuffing while good ole' Karissa (who might I add is like taking Grandma Mable along on a yard sale because she trained her right), digs through the piles to find the good stuff. 

Yep...look a little closer at what was in that bag.....
That would be Chaps, Nautica, and Nike. 

My "stuffing-a-bag" techniques scored those items for what ended up being 30cents a piece.



Now I realize that this next item is not an "antique", but I liked it....and felt like the price was fair.
$7...and in excellent condition.









And last but not least....just a few other items that were added to my collection for the day...

  • New holiday hand towels....that's what washers and dryers are for. 
  • Two Pampered Chef spin-around-hold-your-kitchen-utensils thingies. 
  •  Two nut crackers 
  • Unopened package of elastic...for the sewing projects I will one day get to...give me a break.
  • Graph paper...sure it was partially used...who cares???
And can I just say that when it came time for school to start this year....I didn't have to go and buy those expensive plastic dividers with pockets or sheet protectors.  I had scored all of those for 25cents an unopened pack at a yard sale in St. Louis over the summer!!!

How do I do it??
  1. Stop at the store and grab something cheap so I can get cash back....only $20. 
  2. Make sure they give me ones and fives....I don't want a $20 bill because I have to have small change for bargaining later. ;)
  3. Hit the road and start watching for signs....believe me....get some boys anxious to find fishin' gear in the van, and they will find any and all signs pointing to a yard sale. 
  4. Then at a moment's notice they will holler out, "MOM....there's a sign!" and then I will be accused of being a "fast & furious" driver because they startle me and I turn quickly. 
  5. We all pile out of the van like clowns in a circus, and begin the hunt.....and then I hear Jack's voice say, "Ummm....sir, you have $2 on here, but will you take $1?
And I love it!!  Grandma Mable taught him well....he never pays the price they have on anything. 

I think she would be right proud of him...and the rest of us for that matter.

I'm just sayin'. 

2 comments:

  1. Looks like you did great! Makes me wanna go yard saling this weekend!
    Mary

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  2. I only met your mother-in-law one time and it was when we had a yard sale in Fairhope. She looked around a bit and went back to sit in the vehicle while her friend kept shopping. We made a LOT of money off of them both. While your mother
    -in-law sat in the vehicle resting I went to talk to her and she kept asking "Do you have any of ______? As she asked I went in the house and found whatever it was she was asking about and sold it to her for a dollar. After awhile she honked the horn for her friend because she was out of money. She was our best customer ever.

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