Racing at 0'dark thirty

Sooo, you really have no idea how much fun one can have at 5:45am. Only people who scramble out of bed at the ringing of an alarm clock on a cold, dark Saturday morning to find bargains and treasures know the thrill of finding that special deal or exactly what they've been looking for. 
Yesterday morning I found myself "racing" beside Crissie to a church yard sale that started at 6am. No one on the road but we two crazy women pretending to speed down the highway to get there before the other. And I let Crissie win. We have way too much fun. I was hoping it would be indoors: lights and heat are much appreciated on these extra early sales, but alas, it was in the parking lot with little light. Was I happy to have my head lamp! First thing I spotted was the  storage bin organizer pictured below. The most of the bins were filled with small toys and I wasn't interested in those. The price for the unit was a good but I had to take the toys too. And I did. Later I went through and picked out matchbox cars I will save for our grandson Nate and the rest I am giving to the local Salvation Army. I bought it to resell thinking I could get about $25 for it. Later however, I realized it was missing about 4 bins and so decided to settle for $20. And that is what it went for. Already sold

$10

I also found the two nesting baskets, the 3 Scentsy cubes, and a dog bed shown below at the early sale. Baskets and Scentsy cubes have already sold as well. The dog bed will be sold too, I think. Our new adoptee dog, Honey, arrives in April and I may hang on to the bed for her. I have one that Ellie gave me that is fuller but this one being more flat, might work well for traveling in the car and when visiting. The bedding was very nice and I like pink toile material. Pretty fancy for our new girl!

Baskets: $1, Scenty cubes: 25 cents each. Dog bed: $2

I thought the math development game below was going to be a good find for my daughter Brenna's kindergarten classroom. Wrong. More for adult to child instead of larger group. It's a well made game and comes with instructions to play at different levels. Called Jelly Beans. Trying to sell it on the FB yard sale site with no takers yet. Sigh. Quality game, made in the USA and no one is interested! Agh!

Game: $1

Yes, another booster seat. Yeah, I know, you are all probably tired of me showing pictures of kid's seats but, hey, it was put on my family want list, I found one and so it is blog worthy. This one goes to Lindsey for my great nephew Beau to use at my brother's house. Beau has a place at the counter now with this seat.

$5

More for Beau, my one year old great nephew. Hats for the summer, which will be here before we know it. All the hats below are by Wee Swim and provide protection as well as under the chin straps and quick drying. The wooden train is for grandson Nate. Wooden toys are on his mom's want list and this fits the bill. Sorting train by Ever Earth. Well made, quality toy.

Hats: 50 cents each. Train: $3

Yes, more rollers!! These have already sold on the FB Yardsale group page. And now Brenna wants me to sell the ones my find last week replaced. Gotta keep these ladies curly, I suppose.

Rollers: $2

The clothes I am going to have to sell since they are too small for Nate. Someone is already asking about the Ralph Lauren pants. I am going to wait to sell the shortalls until summer gets a little closer. I couldn't resist the cute outfits. For the price! The kick mats are something I wish we had when our children were growing up. I have already sold those. I offered the car seat shade to Brenna but she declined. Will try selling again, closer to summer. Of course when the weather heats up, Brenna might change her mind.

All clothes were 50cents each. Sunshade: $1. Kick mats: $1

I again was finding things I could sell. So I picked  up the item below as soon as I saw it was real wood and in excellent condition. It is shelf unit with knobs as clothes hooks. Already sold.

Shelf: $1

I love this game and hope to pass it on to someone else who wants a fun, family game. Great condition with all the pieces.

Game: $1

This little lawn mower goes to Beau is walking and wants to imitate Dad. It doesn't do a great job of cutting but it will keep Beau occupied and entertained and that's important too.

Lawn Mower $5

And last week I neglected to take a picture of this 5 lb Kettle ball. There was a $3 sticker on it but I did ask if the seller would take $2. Yes, was the response and then she added there was an instructional dvd that went with it. She ran back inside and came out with the dvd. Nice!! I sold it this week. I was tempted to keep it but since I have back issues, decided to pass it on to someone else.

Tone Fitness ball with instructional dvd: $2

Last but not least is the tale of woe. Brenna had asked me to keep a lookout for a travel high chair for Nate. And lo and behold, I found one yesterday for $3!!! Just what she wanted!! Hooray.....I thought. Brenna tested it out so happy to have this only to find it was broken; broken in an unrepairable way. Important piece had been snapped off. AGGGHHH!!! On one hand, I am glad I didn't spend more than $3. But to come so close to getting something wished for is so disappointing. Oh well. The search continues unless they find one elsewhere. At least I know now to thoroughly test it out if I do ever come across another.

This is the box the seat came in but the seat is not the one pictured. The seating area was cloth,  not  rigid, and the table stabilizers were much longer and secure.
$3 but worthless because it was broken.

Johanna caught up with me around 7:30am and we "hit" around 5 more sales. I didn't get a photo of her finds but she did get some goodies. As usual, we ended our morning together with coffee (well, I had coffee) and breakfast and of course news of the week.

And so readers and virtual Yard Sale tagalongs, I will end now. As you can tell I am having fun finding items for myself and family but now really keeping an eye out for items to resell. At some point I will get to selling on Ebay but for now, keeping it local and not paying Ebay fees and dealing with shipping is keeping this gal simple. 

Happy bargain hunting and have a great week. And if you celebrate it, Happy Easter!!

Thrifty Christy

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Gobble Gobble.

The saying "you never know what you'll find at a yard sale" is absolutely true. Did I see this fully mounted tom turkey and buy him at a yard sale? NO!!! But I had to ask the person who did buy him to stop and let me take a picture. I was walking up the driveway (actually I was cutting across the lawn to the driveway) and spotted a lady leaving the sale carrying the tom turkey. "Please stop" I shouted, " I have to take a picture"! She complied, I took the shot, and we parted ways. Did I think to ask how much she paid? No. So anyone who wants to know what a tom turkey goes for at a yard sale will have to go out and look their own selves. But I will tell you, it wasn't first thing in the morning! That tom sat there waiting a few hours to find an appreciative owner. Or at least I hope an appreciative owner. Who knows what plans the buyer has for this stud muffin!

Price unknown

Turkeys weren't the only thing that was mounted and for sale. Below are 3 mounted deer heads. Another first. Again, did I inquire pricing? No. I suppose because I had no interest in purchasing taxidermy I had no curiosity...until hours later when I am thinking of the blog. Too late to make the inquiries.

Price unknown

I captured another inventive way to display clothing keeping it off the ground, on tarps or blankets thus making it easier for your customers to look at and hopefully buy your goods. Use whatever you have available to elevate wares.

This "new in box" bird feeder is for my sister, Fran, aka, Rosebud.

$5

I have noticed hair roller sets are selling well on the local Facebook yard sale group so I bought these to resell. However, one of my daughters spotted it later in the day and asked for them. Apparently I choose well. They are being tested at her home and if they pass inspection, she will buy them from me. At the family discount price.

$5. Conaire Ion shine rollers 

Okay, funny story on the bookcase below. I asked the price and after one of the sellers looked carefully (she knew they had put a sticker somewhere on it) we found $10 on the bottom of the top shelf. I said I want it and still needed to continue to shop so please make sure no one else buys it. I finish up, pay up and start taking my purchases to the car, planning on coming back to load the bookcase. I see my fellow "picker" Crissie as I head back for the bookcase and she enthusiastically informs me she is buying the bookcase for $5! Apparently she asked another seller at the sale, a clueless guy who was there mainly to help load stuff and help out who knew nothing of my purchase or the asking price. Too bad for Crissie and I am kicking myself I didn't ask for a lower price.  I did resell it in one day for $20. Next time, I will ask for lower price. Maybe. I am just glad I saw her before she loaded it in her trunk.

$10

At another sale, I purchased a bunch of very nice wooden puzzles and some games for $1 each. 14 in total. I resold all of them immediately. The 4 puzzles below have the prices I sold them for. They were all bought by a single buyer. Good turnover and a quick sale. Just the way I like it!

The  one below I saved for my grandson, Nate. Just had to keep it.

$1

Below are some of the educational games and one large floor puzzle also purchased for $1 each. All in mint condition. All sold except for the lacing cards. Brenna would like them for her kindergarten class.

$1 each

The sound puzzle by Melissa and Doug was brand new in shrink wrap. Part of the lot of 14. It sold for $8. That will be in a little boy's Easter basket.

 The fairy puzzle had slightly chewed piece I missed seeing when I purchased all those puzzles. I couldn't resell that one but I offered it to Crissie for her 5 year old daughter. It's going to a sweet little girl who will love it.

$1 each

Crissie and I went to a church sale on Friday night waaay out in the boonies because, well, we hoped it would be worth the drive. All clothing was 25 cents. I found 2 pairs of men's new Adidas athletic pants for my son in law (hoping they would fit and he would want. When you are only spending 50 cents, 

you take "chances" like that.

I am glad I did. Robbie needed them and was again surprised I bought 2 pairs of new pants that retail for $30-$40 for 50 cents. 

That's why "I brake for yard sales". At the same sale, I spotted this birthday hat for Nate. He celebrates his first birthday in a few months. New with tags, I was compelled to buy it. My husband's reaction was "you went too far". Nate's mother's reaction was "Nice"!! I am going with "Nice".

$1

For Kelley, my niece, I bought a flotation device for soon to be 3 year old Hugh. She had asked me a few months ago to keep an eye out for a specific kind. Found one like the one below but the color was yellow. This one is a stock photo since I neglected to take a picture of Hugh's. She was so happy when I pulled it out of my trunk the next day.

$1

This little sheep is a battery operated crib sleep machine. Plays 4 different sounds, ocean, rain, forest, and, get this...whale! I have wanted one to have when Nate spends the night but even used on Ebay they run about $15. Put in new batteries and good to go. Thank goodness for yard sales.

$3

Johanna joined me later on in the morning and found lots of treasures as well. Everything pictured below totaled around $25. All the spray paint as well as the cans of paint were new and full. There are lots of things in bags you can't see, sorry, we were running out of time and I didn't make her pull it all out. Just a brief "trunk shot. We called it a day and headed for our weekly breakfast catch up time. Coffee and conversation is the best way to end your yard sale experience. At least in my opinion.

That's it for this time. Note, I didn't post  last week. Just got too busy. So I am working on this week's post and will have it up shortly. Hope you have a great week and happy bargain hunting!

Thrifty Christy

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We need a bigger vehicle

I was driving around town Saturday afternoon and found myself behind a truck hauling a open caged trailer and thought, oh the trouble Johanna and I could get into with an attachment like that! I don't think our fellow yard sale buyers would appreciate maneuvering around us on some of the tight streets but for a moment; I dreamed.

Reality check. I drive a Civic. Enough said. I make do, I put the back seat down and hold my breath sometimes and always appreciate riding with Johanna in her CRV. My friend Crissie's arrangement for buying large items is to pay for them and then her step father comes along later with his truck and picks ups her purchases. Nice.

So early morning yesterday with one sale listed at 6am. Crissie beat me to it and reported "over priced and not much". Hmm I thought and checked it out for my ownself. I guess it just depends on what you are looking for and what you see when you scrounge rummage through boxes. There I found the items below at rock bottom prices. The baby sling and the Willow Tree ornament I have already sold. My niece Kelley gets the baby bottle drop-ins for my new niece Julia. I sold the ornament and the sling as soon as I posted the pictures and descriptions. Very fast turnover, just the way I like it! The Willow Tree ornament and sling both sold for $7 each. Their new owners are already enjoying.

Playtex drop-ins 25 cents each. Ornament 50 cents and new sling, $1.50

Close up of the Willow Tree figurine. I will keep my eyes peeled from now on for these! The tag was an added bonus.

At another sale I picked up the Easter "grass", the new onesie (for Nate "from" my daughter Ellie), and an infant life preserver for Nate to use this summer.

"grass" 25 cent each, onesie was  $1 and the life preserver, $1

Found these 8 oz Tervis tumblers with our local East Carolina University emblem and have also sold them. Unfortunately I could have asked double but someone got a great deal and I made a profit. All good.

$2 for all

Remember this pretty mirror? A nice size: 19 inch square. I paid $5 for it last week at the rummage sale. Price tag of $105.99 still attached. When I put it up for sale today, my niece Kelley spotted it and bought it. She received the "family" discount. Going to look lovely in Miss Julia's room. And I get to see it when I visit.

I picked up these large metal pots for Babs who couldn't be with us on Saturday. They are about 12 inches high, nice and big. I love them and hope she doesn't paint them. I like the color and patina.

25 cents each!!!

I picked up the ricer shown below at one of the last sales of the morning. I have a nice one (picked up at a yard sale, of course) but it has parts that make cleaning a pain and the stuff oozes up around the press. So I bought this because it is all one piece. No separate parts. Nice weight, I could tell it was a really nice one. I checked out the name Kull printed on the side and found a new one for sale on Amazon for $69.50. This one is a little tarnished but shined up nicely with silver polish. The one listed on Amazon said was aluminum with plastic coating. Not sure about this one. But I have already made egg salad and it works great and the barest of "oozing". And yes, clean up is ever so much easier! Also learned it is a Spaetzle-Schwob Press made in Germany. So if I ever want to make spaetzle, I can with ease!

The shawl was definitely an impulse buy. I just loved the colors. So vibrant. I have absolutely nothing to wear with it so it just might have to find a home with one of my dear sisters who attend concerts and artistic events. One of them is sure to appreciate it. I hope!

Spaetzle/Ricer, $3 and scarf/shawl, $2

I need a bathing suit cover up for the summer and this fits the bill. Summer and ocean; I am ready.

The tie below is cool, new with tag and my husband loves it. Just has to wait almost a year to wear it! The wooden box shape sorter is brand new. Birthday gift for Nate? Hmmm, could be! And the Hallmark Christmas couple, I couldn't resist. Really, I tried. But I couldn't. Not after seeing Hugh dance along with the my other ones at Christmas. They sing I Wish You a Merry Christmas and sway back and forth. Out of curiosity, I checked this out on Ebay to see what they're selling for. Average listing that has sold runs around $35.00. Retired and fun. I guess I am not the only one who appreciates them!

New Rock and Roll Christmas tie: $3. New in box shape sorter: $2. Animated Hallmark couple: $1

Enjoy the video and feel free to bob up and down as Hugh did!

I checked out this armoire and considered buying it to replace my husband's dresser. He had expressed a thought an armoire would solve his closet and space issue. Don't ask. But that was a while ago. Apparently the thought of moving heavy furniture that day was not in the cards so he said vehemently "NO" when I callded. Once I told Johanna I wasn't getting it, she jumped on the negotiating table. I had walked away and didn't know. Next thing I know she's backing the car up and two guys are loading it in!

So fortunately Johanna bought the armoire below at the tail end of our morning. Thank God! It took every bit of space behind the front seats with no knee space for us in the front. She paid $55 dollars for it, a nearly new massage cushion, and a wooden display shelf with small glass bottles. 

Johanna plans to sell the armoire. She's already buffed it up and it is ready to list. I made the double picture with my Photo grid app which has a text feature. Makes posting and describing easier on the Facebook group page. I wish her luck. My children and husband were not impressed with the style of the piece and I agree, it would not have fit in with our bedroom furniture. But painted? Hmmm. I can see possibilities there. Will be interesting to see how much Johanna can get for it as is. 

Here's her massage cushion. We certainly are finding these lately. This one is not the Shiatsu kind I have been buying. She plans on selling it too; after "testing" it her own self!

We had Crissie take a picture of our tight quarters with the armoire loaded in the back. We all were at the same yard sale, last one for Johanna and I, and of course Johanna had to buy the biggest planter ever for Babs. And the only room left in the car was my lap.

See how close Johanna is to the steering wheel? We drove very carefully home.

Trunk shot! Johanna appreciated the wheels at the bottom of the armoire when she and her husband unloaded it on their carport. We need a bigger vehicle!

Speaking of Crissie, she is quite the wheeler dealer of furniture. Example: she bought this dresser for $15 (yes, no typo. $15) at a yard sale last week. In fact, I arrived before she did and had already checked it out. Since I was driving a Civic and had no room, no place to store it, I didn't buy it.Now I am kicking myself learning my own daughter has been wanting one for her hallway. Sigh. I will be ready next time. And maybe there will be.

Crissies's deal for $15. 

Oooh! One more thing before I end this post. I purchased a loupe recently from Amazon. Love it! Not only does it magnify but also has a light so I will be ready on those "0'dark thirty" mornings when I want to checkjewelry for silver or gold markings. I feel so professional!

I completely forgot to post these a couple of weeks ago. The Saturday before last totally was a bust. Rain was forcasted and it did rain. There were some sales but not much. So then on Sunday morning, I saw a sale listed and checked it out. Picked up a new beach umbrella, the new and huge lighted Christmas star, and the very large grapevine ball. I am going to try wrapping string lights around the ball for Christmas decoration next year. I think it will be pretty. The star? Well, I will either sell it next year or see if my sister Fran would like it. She likes to decorated her yard for the holidays.

New beach umbrella: $5. Large lighted star: $10. Large grapevine ball: $3(basketball size)

And that completes this week's and last week's and the week before that of my finds. Hope you found some deals too. Happy bargain hunting!

Thrifty Christy

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Roaring in like a lion

March is here and the begining of the yard sale season has sprung. Thank goodness! It has been a long dry/cold spell and though I have enjoyed a few Saturday mornings sleeping in (especially on those frosty morns), I am ready for more sales to start filling up my saturdays.

I spent the week helping out with a huge rummage sale at a private local school as a "consultant" since my addiction  enthusiasm for yard sales is becoming well known in my circle of friends. My employer requested my services for this endeavor (she is on the board of trustees). The gym was filled by the end of the week with so much stuff, and, I might add, really nice stuff. The local Humane Society had bags of donated items in their storage building but didn't have the time to go through it all. Since they were recipients of some of the proceeds of the sale, I helped sort through the bins and bags and then transported it all out to the gym. It was amazing what folks gave and some were obviously from pet stores since one whole bin was all new with tags items. It was a lot of work but totally worth it. 

As always there were a lot of clothes donated and they were nicely displayed on the stage with clothes racks. Makes looking at clothes much easier than rummaging through boxes and a great way to sell. More work for the set up team but worth it.

The photos above are a view from the stage looking at the gym as well as random pictures of other areas. As you can see, there was a "gracious plenty" as my grandmother would say. You would think I would have been going crazy with all these goodies at my fingertips but alas, when you work every day with "stuff" you really don't need, it isn't at all appealing after awhile. So I limited myself to a few basic items. Here are some shown below.

All 3 of  these children's clothes I bought for $2. They are now for sale on the Facebook yardsale group. The plaid smocked jumper with chicks already sold for $10. Rest pending.


I bought the gates for Nate since he will be crawling soon. Baby gates that swing open are much easier so the price of $5 each was good. May need to purchase or order additional hardware...we shall see. Since I wasn't sure what hardware to look for, I might have been too hasty with these. Fingers crossed it still is a bargain. The mirror I picked up to give to Brenna for Nate's room or to sell. In my effort to give it a quick clean, I rubbed some of the blue paint off the side. Agh! Now I have to find or mix paint to patch that up. When will I learn?! The books were cute and you know I can't pass up great books. Not for 50 cents for hardbacks. And the coverlet is for our bed. I love the pattern, the colors and it will be perfect in the spring and summer. Washed it yesterday and it looks fabulous!

Above items I purchased at the rummage sale prior to Sat. 2 baby gates, $5 each, books:
paperbacks 25 cents ea. and hardbacks 50 cents each. Queen size coverlet $3. The mirror I bought when I went to the sale at 10:30 Sat. morning. 19 inch square. Marked down to $5. I will be selling that! Nice heavy wooden frame with an original price on it for $105.99

First sale of the day for me started at 6am with plans to meet Johanna and her mom later in the morning. They were going to the school rummage sale at 6am. We met around 7 at a sale around the corner from the church. There were a couple in the neighborhood so I checked them out while waiting for Johanna and Babs to arrive. Below are some of the items I found at the church sale. Note cards go to my sister Vickie, books are for Brenna's kindergarten class as well as glue sticks. The coffee pot was practically brand new and I bought it to replace the 4 cup one I have now. This one is 5 cups and perfect for my morning brews. The white one will find a home elsewhere. I already know who I am giving it to.

Above: Wooden book with magnet puzzle pieces, 50 cents. Note card packs ranged from 10 cents to 50 cents (they dropped the price when I  bought several), paperbacks for Brenna, 50 cents each. Coffee maker, $4, hat: 50 cents. New glue sticks: 25 cents ea. the coffee filters came with the coffee pot (new in plastic packaging and the little bunny was 50 cents. She is my Easter decoration.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

The mirror below I am either going to sell or put in my living room. It is large, 23 inches square and the sides which you can't see are covered with a thin embossed metal which is coming away from the particle board underlay. I picked up some epoxy glue and will have to do a little work. Sigh. Cost went from $10 to $14 quickly. If I keep it, I may paint. Not sure yet. I need to get my husband to hold it up and let me look at it in the living room. In the meantime I have to keep it faced to the wall since my cat Pru keeps walking up to it and pawing her reflection!

My daughter Brenna is getting the massage cushion. Back issues have been bothering her and just last week she asked to borrow my massager. So when I saw this one I couldn't believe only paying $5. And the plastic wrap is still on the controller.  Baby clothes are for Nate. I was happy to find the East Carolina University onesie new with $19.95 tag still attached. Perfect for the ECU baseball games and or football in the early fall. 

Mirror: $10. Massage cushion: $5. Baby clothes 50 cents each

Below are Johanna's finds. The costumes were found at the school rummage sale and the others at other sales. I love the stackable turtle measuring cups! I didn't know what they were and picked them up trying to figure out the purpose. Johanna knew immediately what they were and wanted them. No problem. Her daughter Brianne loves turtles and someday they will be grace her kitchen...when she graduates from college! The extension cords are really nice, heavy duty and will go on the summer Mission Trip. Great price! Easter Barbie goes to her granddaughter. How sweet is that!

Johnanna's haul! Costumes $2 each. Pier One stacking ceramic turtle measuring cups $1. Outdoor extension cords $1 each (3 total) Easter Barbie in orginal box $3. 

Below are more of my finds. The child's sweater dress and white sweater are for Julia, my new niece for next year. The Ariel light up shoes are from the Disney Store, brand new still in original plastic wrap. Already sold them for $10. Nate gets the clothes and formula and I have picked the Estee Lauder items I want, so has Brenna and just waiting for Ellie to get home to take what she wants. The remaining items I will donate to the local homeless shelter. The green dress I will sell, hopefully!

All clothing was 50 cents each. New baby formula can $1 and 3 bags of Estee Lauder sample makeup (new)$1.50 for all. New Ariel light-up shoes $1

And that is all for this week folks! It was wonderful to "hunt" with Johanna and Babs and yes, Sophie the schnauzer was with us too. Breakfast at Cubbies made the morning complete as we caught up with our lives and compared notes on our finds. Life is good. 

Take care and happy bargain shopping everyone!

Thrifty Christy

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