I love the idea of a garage sale....getting awesome things for really cheap gets me excited! However, it is a lot more work that you'd think. In an ideal world, houses would be where you think they are going to be and items would be neatly organized and priced. Y'all, it is SO not like that. My friend and I ventured out this morning at the bright old time of 8:30 to find all the supplies I would need to cheaply stock our new (to us) Winnebago. The kids were going to have so much fun playing quietly in their seats while we negotiated great deals. NOT! We learned a few things today that might help you out in the future if you decide that garage saling is for you.
1 - 8:30 isn't early. Our other friend joked that "all the good crap would be gone by 8:30" and it turns out she wasn't joking. These people are serious and apparently take naps to make up for getting up before dawn to get a pool with a hole in it for a quarter.
2 - People are selling this stuff on their lawn for a reason...it is crap. If you want nice new things, your best bet is to go to a...what do they call those...oh yeah, to a STORE.
3 - Kids only play nicely in the car when there are bribes involved...namely sweets. However giving them said sweets can result in them bouncing off the car walls until it wears off. But you should be able to get through 4 or 5 sales before you need to reload them so it is totally worth it.
4 - While you might not find the treasures you were searching for, the surprise treasures make the trip totally worth it. Seriously, this was $1 - sweet! Honey, you don't need to worry about this year's Halloween costume. I've got ya covered! Surprisingly, this thing was never worn!
PS. I broke up with Mr. Farmers via his secretary who took it rather well. Phew, glad that is behind us!
I love garage saling - the key is to go to the affluent neighborhoods. :-) They sell less "crap" and more treasures. But you also have to be there early. And often. If you really want to get the deals you have to go faithfully. Oh, and don't skip the less affluent neighborhoods just because they have less money - you just might find a great chest freezer for $50 because a vengeful ex-wife wants to "stick it to" her ex-husband. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! We went out this morning at 7am and I got a pan (which I spent all morning yesterday looking for!). I only had a few minutes before I had to get home so T could go to work or I bet I could find more. And LOL at the ex...I'll keep that in mind ;)
ReplyDeleteI don't joke about garage sales. ;)
ReplyDeleteThere's this neat store called the Dollar Tree. Everything in it is $1. ;) I went to the Dollar Tree today and got some water balls, water frisbees, water squirters, and some stuff for when we get our new to us popup camper in a couple of weeks. :)
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