Well it’s about time!

Finally, you guys….YARD SALE SEASON.  I could have cried with joy this morning going over all of the yard sale listings in the newspaper.   And three of my favorite words?  “Rain or shine”.

While I love couponing and being able to stockpile (looking at you, Swiffer, Dr. Scholl’s and Chef Boyardee this week at Target) goods..yard sales have it all over shopping for me.  You’re outside, meeting great people, getting great stuff for not much moola, it’s a blast.  Today we hit several and while they didn’t have a whole lot of what I was looking for (kid’s clothes) I did find some great stuff.

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Royal blue comforter with matching bed skirt and pillow sham, $6.  The whole set looks brand new and the comforter has one side lined with super soft chenille.  Niiiiiice.

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Fruit and veggie chopper thing!  4 different blades!  $2!  It’s really heavy duty, too!  Very sturdy for potatoes, carrots, etc.  Niiiiiice.

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Nursing cover-up, $1.  One of Mark’s grown-up children is due any MINUTE with a new baby girl, and another due in the fall with a boy!  Babies all over!

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Baby bits..25 cents for all.  Yard sales are the only way to go for baby clothes.  The baby is in them for what seems like a minute before they’re outgrown, why pay retail when you can stock up at yard sales?  I’ll be going all summer looking for winter outfits, snowsuits, etc. while they’re a quarter or so each.

Often you can ask the seller what she’d take for the whole lot if she has nice, clean items.  Say all baby clothes are 25 cents.  Do a quick count in your head.  Estimate the number of items she has out and make an offer.  Maybe I estimate she has 40 items.  Offer $8 to take them all.  Chances are she’d jump at the (fair) offer to get rid of it all in one fell swoop.  Girlfriend obviously has at least one baby in the house and no doubt has better things to do than stand outside and watch people paw thru her stuff.  Win for you, win for her.

And for the record…my yard sale pet peeve?  Clothes dumped onto the ground from a garbage bag.  I don’t care if they’re free at that point.  The wrinkled, mildewed mess that some people put out for sale blows my mind.  I’ve put tons out on the ground, but clean, folded nicely and on a tarp or sheets.  Never on the bare ground and never in a wrinkled, unsorted pile.   Visual is everything for me.  It has to look nice and be presented well or I won’t even pull over.

When we moved into this house last summer, I found so, so much at yard sales that we needed.  What was your best yard sale score?  Do you like having them yourself or do you like to shop?  I like making the money, but boy do I hate having them!  Hard, dirty, hot work!

 

Allyson Sorenson

About Allyson Sorenson

Bangor mom. BDN blogger. Volvo lover. Coffee drinker.