Yard sale season is in full swing, and you know that I have been enjoying my most favorite recreational activity…treasure hunting.
Not only do I thoroughly enjoy the thrill of the hunt, but it has enabled our household budget on everything from household decor to kitchen gadgets to various necessities to have been slashed 75% over the course of the last few years.
Upcoming posts will include the steps to become a Professional Yard Saler, and the best part is that ANYONE can achieve that title with a little perseverance and an Eagle Eye for the unknown.
Weekly, I have people request to go yard sale-ing with me, but honestly, you don’t need me. You can all have excellent success with finding your own personal treasures. (Granted, there are a select few of you who may live 200 miles from any sense of civilization…and then you can just leave your treasure hunting for vacations. 🙂 I live in the country and sometime drive a 30 mile radius for the right neighborhood yard sale.)
Here are just a few of my treasures over the last two weeks. I can’t believe I haven’t shared them before this.
(Yes, I just had a complete FASHION HAUL at the same sale where I picked up an entire Frugal Fashionista wardrobe last year…that is coming. 🙂
Antique wooden bird cage – $0.25 (soon to be whitewashed)
Jewel beaded bowl – $0.25 and blue canister (matches my kitchen perfectly) – $0.75
Blue Crystal vase (Poland) – $1, candle – quarter
(Cake Stand in the back ground – $2, decorative plates under pedestal – $0.50)
I love updating some of the things I own. Since I have gotten my Frigidaire appliances, I’ve wanted to switch out old items for stainless steel. My list of yard sale “wants” this year included a new tea pot since I’ve had mine for about a decade. If I didn’t find one with in a few weeks of searching, I would have purchased one new.
Guess what I found my first week out? Yep, I love how God looks out for the littlest of details because I would have bought this new.
Cuisinart stainless steel kettle – $1
I mourned the memories shared with my little white flower 1990’s kettle and then gave it to Goodwill. May it bring someone else as many special conversations.
Goodness knows if you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, I share my love of the rice cooker, and believe it’s a great investment (yes, even brand new – no gasping allowed.)
Years ago, I purchased a small rice cooker, which was serving my family just fine. The problem? It just served my family without any left over. I love to cook more than I need for just one meal so that I can use the extras another time.
Imagine how excited I was when I found a BRAND NEW, HUGE rice cooker/veggie steamer for only $5. And when I say brand new, I mean it was still in the box and had never been opened. (Yes, I took a picture of it in the brand new box, but then thought you can imagine what the box looks like and you trust me enough to know I am telling the truth…;))
Another telling sign of what I great deal this was…I didn’t even negotiate down one little penny. It was priced $5. I knew it was completely worth it, and would be really cheap to offer less, so I paid it.
For a quarter, I can spruce up with new candles (since you know we eat by candlelight every dinner), as well as some brand new cotton dish towels. I love finding necessities like this that I would have to buy new anyhow. Nothing exciting, but another reason why I yard sale.
I’m working on clearing out all of my 90’s decor from any kitchen cabinets and shelves. I found four antique, turquoise, Ball glass mason jars for my corner shelves. LOVE.THEM!
And here was my splurge for last week. I hit a designer yard sale.
Yes, that is how it was advertised. An interior decorator was selling things from her model homes and I was glad to find some eye candy. Her prices were a bit higher than the traditional “clear out the house” pricing mentality, but worth every penny. This is a NYC designer wool carpet. She had it priced for $25 and since I do not know designer prices, I, of course, asked how much she would take for it.
Taken back, she asked if I had ever heard of “XYZ” designer. Ahh…she didn’t know who she was talking to since that was definitely a negative.
She explained that she purchased this for $300 wholesale with her license and $25 was a steal. Considering that those are my favorite colors in the whole world, and I knew I would regret not purchasing it, I splurged.
Look at how perfectly it matches our chair. It was worth every penny and I now feel very designer-ish (even if it’s a bit small for the space). 🙂
I hope you’re having as much fun turning someone else’s trash into your treasure this yard sale season.
What has been your favorite find so far this month?
Posted at: Rhoda’s Thrifty Treasures
Girl, you did good!!!! Love your new rug. 🙂 I didn’t let myself go “saling” this weekend. I have too many things I need to organize/redo first, and we had a lot going on today. But I loved living vicariously through you. 😉
You are my hero. Where do you find out about yard sales out there? Newspapers just don’t seem to have much out here anymore (I’m in central CA). Craigslist?
GREAT FINDS! I am super jealous of your Ball Jars & The rice cooker!!
Ooooh! Best find 2ndhand shopping this month?
Well, we don’t have much in garage sales, but some of our thrift stores have garage-sale pricing.
Last week, I spent $5 on one trip through the little local thrift:
Almost-new condition VCR tapes of Oklahoma, Titanic, South Pacific, Gone With the Wind, Holiday Inn, and Casablanca.
2 stone boxes made-in-India, with openwork carved tops. They’re sitting on my dresser now.
a small cotton window drape (about 40″ x 60″) I have another use for it, but it was new with tags.
Well, it wasn’t exactly a steal, like some of the items you have listed, but I’m on cloud 9 just the same. My husband and I have been together about ten years and the entire time our mattress and box spring (two sets mind you) have lived on a plane old frame. Can you say college dorm?
I saw an acquaintance mention a moving sale on Facebook with a rice bed. Rather than wait for the sale, I began emailing her and we’re now the owners of an actual bed in the neighborhood of 1/4 the price of new.
Dare I admit that I sort of feel like a grown up?
My sister and I’s longtime pasttime is yardsaling. When were were little girls we would get packed up in the car on Sat. morning with my aunt and our cousin and cruise the area.
Now that we are grown, we meet up every Sat. that we are both available and spend up to 6 hours cruising around together. We scout out signs for a few days before hand just during our normal coming and going around town. Then we sit down with Craigslist and make a list of all the BIG ones in the area and then map them out to be most efficient with gas and time. We don’t always stick to the list because we all know sometimes a good sign can lure you in.
Yesterday I spent a total of about 17 dollars on the following:
2 Vera Bradley purses- $4
Vera Bradley wallet and checkbook cover to match- $1
Blue bookshelf- $3 ( matched perfectly with my bedroom!)
Pearl Necklace- $.50
Fall doormat and Wreath- $1.25
Decorative serving bowl- Blue and clear swirl- $2.50 ( still had tag with $20 price on it)
Doggie stairs ( I have a 10year old pekingese) $2.50 ( these are like 20 brand new!)
Decorative christmas card holder (snowflake)- $.50 (still have the $15 price tag on it)
Cast Iron Double Grill pan/Griddle – $2
I wish I had taken a picture of all the good stuff together but I was so excited I started putting things to use immediately.
Sarah….you definitely hit the jack pot with those Vera Bradley purses….WOW! And the cast iron pan? Jealous in a very nice sort of way. 🙂
Awesome on the rice cooker! c-:
We got a table with 2 leafs and 6 windsor chairs! I have been lusting over windsor chairs for years:)
I love yard saling but somehow find it kind of a lonely pasttime. Maybe because I usually have 3 kids, a husband and 2 dogs clamoring around me so I’m just not used to so much peace and quiet. Maybe because I always went garage saling with my mom and we now live 9 hours away. Gotta love it when you hit one of those perfect-for-you sales, though!
So look forward to all of your posts!!! You inspire me in so many ways!!
I love seeing what you find. You did really well this time. 🙂 I haven’t been out yard saleing that much lately. I don’t have much extra money. And it’s been raining it seems like every Friday and Saturday recently.
Oh I forgot to say that I have that same little birdcage except it’s a light grayish blue. I got it out of the free pile at a neighbor’s garage sale last year. I don’t think mine is an antique though. But who knows. I love it. It’s on my mantel.
I found 2 brand new wooden barstools for $10 each and he threw in a nautical lamp for $2. Woot woot!
We’ve been needing barstools, but just couldn’t afford them. They are the exact style I had been drooling over in magazines. I love it when the lord provides like that … it’s like the bow on top of the package!
Dear Jen – I am making an appeal to some of my favorite bloggers.
I am a finalist in a local photography contest and they just opened up the “peoples choice” category today – which means people can vote for their favorite image.
The image with the most votes wins $200!!
I was wondering if you would be so kind as to consider posting an appeal to your readers to real quickly vote on my picture?
All of the details are HERE but you are more than welcome to take the text and image and just post it on your blog without linking to mine if that is easier.
Thanks for considering it!!
It would mean so much to me to win the $200 cash prize!!
-Jessica
I haven’t done much yard saling this year, but I did find two pairs of maternity capris–Gap and Motherhood Secret Fit–for $3 apiece at a little thrift shop here. Felt like I struck gold!! ‘Cause really, who wants to pay retail for something you can only wear for 6 months at a time?
Love,
Jessie
My favorite Find of the month: two gorgeous topiaries with plant stands that now live on my porch. They were $20 each, but I was drooling over them. I asked her if she would take $30 for both, but she wouldn’t budge. I did make her smile when I said the bargain hunter in me wouldn’t let me leave with out at least asking. I also found today a gorgeous hand-made storage trunk for my son’s room – sanding it now and will spray paint during the week. You are my inspiration!
LOVE all of your scores, but that rug is KILLING me! I need it!! You can send it my way when you get sick of it!
In other news . . . I bought an afghan that is the same teal/robin’s egg blue color as you have in the rug for only 50¢, and a pair of Lucky brand jeans for $1. The gal wanted $5, but I had NO clue what Lucky brand jeans sold for, so I said, “no thanks!” She brought it down to $1!! I posted about the experience on my blog (scroll down for the story): http://kelleighratzlaff.com/life/pretty-frames-burlap-yum/
And then a friend emailed me saying, “I saw your blog post. What size are you, because I have a few pairs of Lucky jeans.” She’s going to bring them over and GIVE them to me!! Wahooo!!
Anyway. Yeah. OH, and you inspired me to take out the rice cooker again. Perhaps I should give it another chance . . .
I bought a really cute Longaberger basket complete with lid , liner and protector. The basket is also signed with 4 signatures! I also a pie plate and a heart shaped plate new and in the boxes. It cost me but I am sure I paid more than 1/2 the original. See what I got here: http://savincravin.blogspot.com/2010/05/longaberger-baskets-finds.html
Great finds, Jen! And yes, that rug was a steal at that price. So glad you got it. I’m using those colors in my Lovelady room redo.
Maybe I need to look for a rice cooker too, we eat a lot of brown rice. You always find such great things too.
I think my sister had the trump card:
This weekend she bought a car (1997 Honda Accord) at a garage sale.
My favorite item this month was actually my wedding invitations. My fiance and I are trying to plan a really nice, elegent wedding with about 125-150 guests on an insanely small budget. My mother and I went to yard sales this weekend, and came across 4 boxes (40 invites each!) of BRAND NEW, NEVER OPENED wedding invitations! They are simple and pretty, and though I wanted something fancier, my fiance liked these better than others I had been eyeing, which of course makes them perfect. The best part? They were $3 each! $12 for my wedding invitations!
great finds. Whenever I read posts on yard saleing , it inspires me to go treasure hunting.
Nice finds!!
I have way too much junk to do any more yard saling. I had a yard sale this weekend and what didn’t sell went to goodwill this morning. I like how much I can breathe and am in shock at how quickly all my tiny little gathering led to a house full of clutter. So I am taking the season off and just enjoying what I have. And living vicariously through my favorite thrifty bloggers 🙂
@Emily@remodelingthislife, Emily – I so understand about clearing out. That is a goal for this summer and yet, I still go out. BUT I am trying to be much more picky and only bring in if it’s an upgrade or if I am going to get rid of other stuff. Still….it’s STUFF!
I have been trying to avoid yard sales because my house is too full of clutter. However, last weekend I found myself in town unexpectedly so I decided to “window shop” and not buy. I did pretty good and only bought a few items I “just had to have” but when I hit my last yard sale I found a “great bargain”. A gently used Black and Decker toaster oven, priced at $10. I didn’t want to pay $10 so I offered $5 and the compromised was $7. I looked it up on line and the toaster oven sells for $100; I am so excited with my bargain!
Wow, it looks like you have a gift for finding treasures. The wool rug – no matter who designed it – looks wonderful.
My greatest find lately was not at a yard sale… but in the trash. In our neighborhood, people put their big items out on the street and everyone else goes looking. Guess what I found? A headboard for my full size guest bed. I have been looking for one for YEARS!!! And the best part? I saw one in Country Living magazine this month just like it for $1100!! I do have to paint it, but paint is cheap compared to having to pay full retail price.
@Patti, PS. Can’t wait to see more Frugal Fashionista!!!