It’s been well documented on this blog that I like to stay up late and wake up late. So, it comes as a surprise to some people that I would occasionally wake up at 4:30 in the morning for anything. Actually it surprises me too.
I always wanted to be the kind of person who went to yard sales and found great deals, but I had no idea how to go about it. And, I probably never would have without my cousin Emily. Without her, my yard sale days would not exist.
Here’s why:
She’s prepared. She locates all the sales on a map, types out directions and organizes everything so we hit the ones that start first right away and follow a pattern to the next one.
Most of the time we get there before they are even officially open. Like we did for this sale. They were still putting things out as we were looking. I think it was just past 6 am.
The reason we have to get such an early start is we live over an hour away from the big city. There are sometimes 30 or more yard sales listed on the day we go. That makes it worth it. Getting up super early to go to 3 yard sales in my area, not so worth it.
There are so many sales and so little time that sometimes Emily puts us on a timer. Though she’s never had to force us away from a sale, we try to maximize our time by not lingering at sales that don’t offer what we want.
What do we want? Well, it depends. Sometimes I go with a list of specific items I’d like to find. Sometime I just stumble onto something I never thought I wanted until I found it for $3. I’m almost always on the lookout for good kid clothes and shoes.
I found this rug Saturday for $10. A rug was on my list. It won’t live in my kitchen since it’s already had pie turned upside down on it. I wanted it for my entry, but when we came in Saturday, this is where it landed and I liked it. Its days there are numbered though.
These Pier 1 chair cushions ($2 each) were not on my list, but they were so cute I couldn’t resist. Even though they were only selling 3 and I have 6 chairs. A few people will have padded seats to sit in Sunday.
I also bought the tackle box full of thread, needles and other sewing notions for $3.
Pillows seemed to lure me in this time too. I bought the two European pillows for $10 each. They are feather and came with the shams. When I got home I realized I had no idea how to make up a bed like a magazine cover, but that’s how I pictured they’d make my bed look when I bought them. I also bought the two little feather pillows. I have a thing for feather throw pillows now. I’ll probably make new slipcovers for them.
Some things that I didn’t get, but I really liked were the tandem bicycle ($100), the firetruck ($25) and the weight bench. Oh, just kidding about the weight bench.
Do you shop yard sales? What are some of your best finds?
