Jammin' !

I didn't search for yardsales last weekend on our trip to DC, just focused on sightseeing and spending time with my husband. Married 29 years on Monday, the 15th. The weather in DC was just beautiful; the same as the weekend we were married. Fall is a great time for a wedding!

This Saturday I was flying solo and with only one sale listed at 6am, "I slept in" until 6:15. Glad I did. They had a nice set up, using the wrap around porch to display their items and since it was still dark out, the lights on the porch helped. Not much for me which is why I am glad I waited to come later. I found a box of children's books, picking up the American Girl paperbacks below. All were in very good condition, and for 50 cents each, I purchased them all. I plan to resell these. Later that morning, I looked more closely and found a couple had stains on the covers. Some had pencil markings as well. Those came out with a gentle scrub with the Magic Eraser. The ones with stains, not so much. I will sell as a lot. There is one Meet Kirsten, 4 of the Josefina series, and 5 of the Samantha series. None of the sets are complete but hopefully will still sell.

Headed on down the road to a church sale. Lots of things to peruse. This lamp caught my eye and I picked it up just before another buyer was walking toward me. Yes, she wanted it too. None of the items were priced so I found a worker to inquire price for it. $2! Hello!! I am not keeping it, my lamp/shade addiction problem is somwhat under control. It is not my style but I do know it will appeal to someone. Heck, the shade still has the plastic wrap and a sticker price of $14.95. I will pause here and admit when I plugged it in later I discovered 1) it works, 2) the knob that turns it on and off is missing. No problem, I thought. I went around the house unscrewing other knobs from my lamps but alas, not one would screw in. Agh! This means I will have to buy a new socket kit ($4) because I can't buy just a knob. Changing out a socket isn't that hard to do but I had hoped to post this quickly and sell it. Quick turn around not happening. Sigh. 

After finding a portable cd player for my brother, Sonny, I realized I need one too. Have been keeping an eye out to no avail. But lo and behold, I found one at the church sale for $1.50. Works just fine. 

Portable cd player $1.50

You may be scratching your head wondering why I would purchase this oversized paperback book. Brenna, my kindergarten teaching daughter has picked up lots of Dick and Jane books at yard sales and so have I to add to her collection. So this one called to me. Excellent condition still containing the cut out dolls unperforated inside the back cover pocket as well as a small paperback collection of stories. It gives background information about the history of the books, as well as discriptions of the era they were published. Not sure she is thrilled about it but, hey, I just couldn't pass by.

50 cents

 Not sure if you remember that I buy pregnancy and the first year books to donate to the local pregnance center. They have a free box where these go. A couple of weeks ago I neglected to photograph 4 pregnacy books I found for 10 cents each. I dropped those off last week and now have these two to deliver.

50 cents each

Bought these books also at the church sale except for the puzzle set. That was found at a later sale. The books go to  my neice Lindsey except for the 2 copies of Junie B Jones series. I am sending them to a public school where my son-in-law teaches. He passes them on to any teacher who is building her library or has a "take home a book" basket. Love to encourage children to read!

25 cents each except for puzzle. $2 for the puzzle set.

 These stay at my house for the "Grandma stash"

25 cents each

Moving on from the church sale I checked out a nicer subdivision where 3 sales were listed. I appreciate not having to drive around alot. Gas is still pretty pricey. The goods at the first sale were very nice but very pricey. And the ladies were not willing to come down. But I have found when you get small ticket items, folks are more willing to give your the bargain. 

I needed a wreath hanger for my fall wreath (yes, I did purchase one last year at a yard sale but can I find it? No! This one was new in the package with the original $2.99 price tag. I can always use tissue paper and gift bags. These were better quality than Dollar Tree.  

All for $2

Now I can tell you the story of my title to this post. My husband has a desire to set up a stereo system so he can listen to his old records. I promised to look out for his wish list items: turntable, reciever, and speakers when I was out at the sales. I have seen these items frequently at sales so I know they can be found for ridiculously cheap prices. There was a big  sale Saturday, inside a downtown  church. I just knew that would be a great place to look since they get tonage of electronic items and dirt cheap prices. However, to get a good selection I would have to go at the start of the sale. This I refuse to do. The area is relatively small where the sale is held and the crowd is huge. Not a good combination. People are given boxes when they walk in and the combination of the close quarters, boxes bumping into you as you try to walk past  narrow rows of tables is something I just can't handle. And I am not searching for anything that would warrent putting up with that kind of experience. But Steve, on the other hand, does have great desire for his music system. 

So I told him to go early and see what he could find. And to text me if he found what he wanted so I wouldn't purchase anything he no longer needed. And he did. Did he take my advise and go early, get in line before the opening of the doors. No. He arrived at 7:15 and missed buying a complete setup including a glass enclosed stereo cabinet for $30. Everything he wanted was in that cabinet. So he settled for  a cheaper all in one system for $10. 

I will cut this story short by telling you at the next sale I went to I found this pair of Aiwa subwoofer speakers for $5 and the JVC digital synchronizer reciever for $10. Sadly, no turntable. I sent these pictures to Steve on my cell phone (yay for technology!) and he said BUY THEM!! So I did. Amazing sound at our home now. He will hang on to the cheap system until we can locate a turntable. At least he can listen to the albums. But when he gets a turntable...the neighbors may be complaining! Jammin!

Aiwa speakers pair for $5

The receiver had the all the paper work with it. Manual, receipt and warranty. Amazing!

JVC receiver $1

Here is a brief shot of the church sale where Steve was too late to find his mega deal. I went much later in the morning when the crowds had died down. Still had an incredible amount of stuff. This is just one section  of the "big" area.

I may have been later but deal were still to be found. These are 180 ear warmers. 

10 cents

I know, these shoes/sandles look sketchy, right? That's what I thought when I first pulled them out. But, when I looked closely I realized they were very similiar to a pair I found this spring that are so comfortable and looked fabulous on my feet. The silver tones look much better in the light and on your feet. I love them!

 I checked out the Rebels brand when I came home and this is a very good one. Bargain. 

What caught my attention was they had never been worn! Absolutely no wear on the soles!

 This stool had a $9 price sticker on it. I wasn't willing to pay that much that late in the morning. So I asked a worker if the prices were lower to move merchandise out. "Yes" was the reply.

 The nieces and Brenna like "longalls" and "shortalls" for the boys. Not sure if any of them want this one and if not I can sell it on the FB online yardsale group. It is a 2T and I may wait until spring to sell.

Also bought but didn't photograph were some baby/toddler socks and t-shirts. These are for the dog training group at the Humane Society. I have written about them in earlier posts, but will refresh your memory. This group of teens under the direction of a veterinarian (I work for her) meets on Wednesdays at the Humane Society and trains dogs and puppies to help make them more adoptable. They use the kids clothes on the puppies to help the pups get used to being handled. 

I also picked up an open package of disposable diapers for Nate. Missing maybe 10 from the package. 

So my total at the last church sale and final sale of the day was $9. That included the shoes, the stool (which I have used already: love it!), the outfit, some books I didn't photograph, the children's socks and shirts, the "shortfall outfit, diapers,  and the ear warmers. I was happy.

I spent part of Sunday posting and selling the American Girl books. Success! I bought the books for $4 and sold them all for $14. The lamp project hit a bump when I couldn't find my wire stripper. So I am borrowing one from Johanna and hope to finish that on Weds. I hope to sell that quickly too.

I have decided to donate the profits of my transactions to Half the Sky projects. I was so impressed with the documentary and look forward to reading the book. Please take tim to check out the incredible work going on around the world for women in need. http://www.halftheskymovement.org

Although I was on my own, which is never my preference, I still enjoyed the beautiful morning, the nice people I met and dealt with and of course the deals I found. I love Fall!! I hope you too found some deals or enjoyed the weekend too. Have a great week.

Thrifty Christy

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