When You’re Garage Saling, Stay Focused!
Or you may end up with knick-knacks and paddy-whacks, like me...
So the last couple of weeks have been freakin’ fantastic around here when it comes to garage saling. Luckily for me, I live in the quasi-boonies but still close in enough to take advantage of sales in some pretty classy suburban neighborhoods.
In fact, these neighborhoods think highly enough of themselves that I have a feeling their Home Owners Associations prevent individual families from staging sales at will, and only allow the garage doors to be opened and the stuff hauled out onto the driveway on one week-end per year.
Yes, I am the beneficiary of multitudes of Neighborhood Garage Sales, where you can literally park your car once and visit four or five sales before moving on down the road. I am learning, though, that the blessings of so many sales assaulting my sensibilities all at once can easily be mitigated by some devious drawbacks.
Last week, for example, I dragged my hubby with me for an hour of pennies-on-the-dollar enjoyment and we happened upon this gentleman who collected antique glass dishes, plates, vases, etc. He had it all displayed in china cupboards and on handsome bookcases in his garage, which looked almost like a permanent installation now that I think back on it.
He spoke so lovingly of each piece as we ooohed and aaahed over it, that we started to feel a bit guilty, since we both realized that we had no intention of buying anything at all. The last thing we need is another piece of Depression glass, as much as I love it and cherish the items I already have.
We’re looking for preps, people! Tools! Non-electric small appliances! Coleman camping lanterns, still in the box! And yes, books. Always books. No girlvivalist is perfect, you know.
But here was this fellow who’d obviously fallen on hard enough times that he had no choice but to begin liquidating the collection he still clearly loved. And he was taking the time to bring us up to speed on the nuanced differences in color between the blue glass pressed in the fifties and the new-fangled items made in the sixties. He invested in us!
And so what did I do? I fell in love with a etched glass vanity dish, topped with a plated silver lid. And then my husband, who tends to buy me everything I sigh over if I don’t bodily prevent him, pulled out his wallet and handed over the cash.
All the way to the car I mumbled, “Why did I buy this? Do I need any more do-dads for the rest of my born days?”
Then, of course, we had no choice but to keep scavenging through the neighborhood until we found items which we really DID need, or which we could repurpose into something truly useful to us. In other words, I had to spend more money in order to “average down” the money I’d just spent! Sheesh.
Well, it turned out OK, after all. We discovered a bunch of hardback books marked 50 cents and when the lady saw us shuffling through them, she said, “Let’s say a quarter each. I do NOT want to take them back in the house.” We now have reading material (both fiction and non) ahead for a year if not longer, and have spent a total of about $15 on 40 or so hardbacks—-all of which we can sell at Half Price Books or donate and take the tax deduction.
I got a blouse with a $26 price tag still hanging from it for $1. I got a set of shower curtain rings, still in their box, for free, and two large pillar candles for 25 cents each.
And finally, the piece de resistance: We found a fantastically durable wrought iron table base (with no top) for FREE. Next spring, we’ll use this base to hold several large rectangular planters full of veggies. Waist-high gardening is our thing!
Every once in a while, I flub up and buy something silly at a garage sale. But even then, if I persevere, I end up coming home with some truly wonderful finds for little to no money. And if I stay focused on items that will improve our situation long-term or bring some genuine joy to our lives in the short run (like novels!), garage saling often turns out to be a worthy venture.
Any good garage sales in your area this spring? I will gladly share bragging rights with you! And a silver-lidded glass jar, too, if you need one.
