Yard sale season has sprung, and over the last few weeks, I’ve been itching to get out thrifting, so I was having to compensate by going to the thrift stores. Of course, I love a good thrift store, but there’s nothing like the feel of finding true treasures hunting the garage and yard sales.  Those are the best deals to be found, especially when people are truly clearing out for the sake of cleaning out. So, I’m excited to be starting up with my weekly Thrifty treasures posts. For me, it truly is a lifestyle, so I try to think ahead and buy things that I will use through out the year.

Since I recently got a smart phone, I have been sharing pictures and updates on my Facebook wall. The photo caption I shared this morning, in the middle of my yard saling, said, “So many treasures, so little room left to put them in my home until I clean out some more. Trying to be very strategic, which is so hard with cash in hand.”

Yes, that is my downfall, so I really am trying to be more strategic, and have been doing a lot of clearing out. I will splurge on a few things that I don’t necessarily have a place for, but only if it’s truly something I would regret later.

The first sale I stopped at ended up being a friend of mine. She had a ton of cute things that I truly wanted, including some great furniture pieces, but of course, I vowed I would paint some of the ones I bought last season first. So, I snatched up this beautiful round mirror for $8. Since it was a friend, I felt I couldn’t bargain it down at all, so I paid what she asked, which is always just a tad painful.

It’s a large sized mirror in perfect condition, and since a re-do of our great room is on the agenda, this will be perfect over our mantel.

I may antique it white, but I will determine that after I finally decide on a wall paint color. My “sample” spots have been painted for two months, and that’s as far as I have gotten in the decision making process.

This was such a fun find for me, since I LOVE decorative pillows. They can completely change the feel of a room and these pillows, originally from Pier 1, were certainly a pretty penny when originally purchased, so I do not mind paying 2/$5. I LOVE them.

Buying up glass canning jars has become my newest obsession. Last week, I purchased 12 brand new in the box at a thrift store. I am finding so many really fun uses for them (and of course, a post will follow.) Since I love giving yummy,  homemade jar gifts, I won’t pass up this new Ball layered mix kit. It was $3 but came with gift jar cookbooks and many more accessories, which were already put away with the huge craft box I bought that was filled with miscellaneous goodies.

SAT book : because this is my reality for the next decade (and no, I don’t jest at this number.)

Since my experimentation of recipes for my new Ten Minute Dinners site is starting to ramp up, I can always use more cookbook inspiration. Have you seen my cookbook shelf?

If not, we all had fun in the comments when I asked, “What’s your Favorite Cookbook?” It’s always great to know someone else shares our obsession with cookbooks. My shelf has only gotten worse since that post and I have to think where I will put these or my shelf might break. All of these ranged from $0.25 – $1 and worth every penny.

This is mindless, fluff, Beach type of reading. Hardback book for $0.50? I filled my bag, yes, I did, and when I am done, I will sell them to our used book store, so in essence I will “make” money on them. I have been reading a lot these last few weeks. I had forgotten how much I missed it.

And because I am all talk about the many DIY projects that are going to get started, I thought I would fill my magazine basket just a bit more with all of these great resources – for free. The lady had about 100 more, but I limited myself. 😉

And now, all you girl mommas may want to sit down. Don’t hate me for my thrifty finds, just get excited because they are out there. American Girl Doll – Josephina and this swing. I am not even going to tell you how much, but know that one tiny outfit costs more than what I paid for both.

So have you found any fun thrifty treasures lately?

They don’t have to be from yard sales. It could be from a thrift store, outlet or even just a great deal.

We’d love to hear about it so that we can celebrate with you. It’s always so fun to see what other people found.