I wait all year for the sun to come out in Portland, Oregon. Not because I can finally hike, bike and rock climb, but because with the sun comes Garage Sale Season. Driving my son to go hang out with a friends, I passed dozen of signs for garage sales which set my heart aflutter. However, I already have a house full of stuff, so I have to be judicious in my quest to find more, more, more.
I had seen on Facebook that my friend Darcy (who I like to call “Mr. Darcy” ) was hosting a garage sale, so I decided to swing past her house for a shop and a chat. It was towards the end of the day, so business was light and we got to catch up on each other’s lives.
What did I buy? A single square Rubbermaid container for $1 that’s exactly like the one my husband uses on a daily basis for his work lunches. (I figured it would be nice to have a backup one.) And when I was leaving, I noticed a neighbor’s free pile from which I plucked two throw pillows to use on my patio loveseat which sits on my front porch.
Ahh . . . garage sale season.
It’s the best!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t allow myself to go to garage sales anymore. It’s just too tempting to buy a bunch of crap that I don’t really need!
That’s why I held myself to one. 🙂
Katy
Wise woman, you!
I have to tell myself, “Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean I have to buy it,” and its corollary: “Leave it to bless someone else.” I grew up seeing my mom’s good negative example.
yay!! for free pillows. This is my first year of really enjoying garage sales– kids are finally old enough to stay home by themselves. I think I am falling into the trap of buying because it’s cheap–I will have be more purposeful in my shopping.
Nice finds! I held my first ever garage sale last weekend and made over $400! So right now I’m all for people going crazy at garage sales if it means that I get money! 🙂
I drove slowly through a neighborhood that held an all-weekend garage sale this evening and picked up a big box of free books, which I will take to sell.
This is how *I* garage sale these days.
Katy
we don’t really have garage sales in Denmark – perhaps I should feel lucky.. At least I can’t use money there then;)
After hours on garage sale day (end of day, all the leftovers piled up in “free” piles), is the very best way to get cheap exercise equipment. I see loads of the stuff each summer. I think it just moves from one garage to another, with good intentions left in the dust!
I *love* garage sales! I’m usually tied down by my young kids though. I’ve taken them a few times, and I’d love to take them more often… it’s such a great learning experience! But like you, I try to be very judicious about what I bring home, and people hosting garage sales tend to enjoy pushing free stuff on my kids. On so many occasions, my daughter has asked to buy something, and I’ve said no, only to have the seller say, “It’s okay. You can have it!” *So* not the point for me.
That happened to me last weekend!!! I tried so hard to leave a yard sale that I hadn’t found anything to buy…but she insisted on cleaning and giving me a toy that I had said reminded me of something I used to have. Oops. I couldn’t manage to extract myself politely, so I just took the stuff and made a mental note to put the stuff in my donation bag when we got home.
A few times we’ve brought things home because I wasn’t sure how to politely decline. Sadly, some of the items ended up in the garbage because they broke shortly after bringing them home, and most others were donated when the kids weren’t looking. I did have one instance, though, where an older Italian lady (whose hearing was going and who very much just wanted to make my daughter happy) kept insisting that she could have a fast food restaurant watch for free. I told my daughter no a few times, and said “No, thank you” several times, but it still involved tears from my daughter, and intervention by the lady’s grandchildren who were helping with the sale. They clearly understood my intent, but this lovely Nona just wanted to prevent tears. Sweet, but a challenge for me!
We limit ourselves to one sale a year, a big neighborhood one, and give ourselves a budget of $40. We have a list of useful things we look for, but will buy something fabulous if we see it and can use it, and the price is right. Most of all we have fun just walking around and looking at everything. We are trying to get rid of stuff though, not bring more in, and will be having our own big sale this summer.
Other than the pushy giver, I had a GREAT yard sale trip last weekend. I found a fabulous pair of shoes and a nice dress that will be perfect for a trip that I have coming up for $5 each! The shoes will actually be one of two pairs that I take with me for the week-long trip. They will go with three different dresses and one other outfit that I am going to wear. 🙂 Woot!
I love “cherry-picking” a garage sale if I get the chance. I did one with a friend a couple summers ago a d we ended up “trading” a bunch of stuff. But now I find myself mostly in ” get rid of stuff” mode so I am not stopping to even look. I am getting so much pleasure in donating and consigning stuff and keeping only what I truly love and wear.
I’d love someone to come clear out our loft and host a sale for us….I’m definitely in the GET RID OF IT mood.
Now I want a friend named Darcy. I laughed out loud for that one!