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Monday, October 28, 2013

More and more!

Gleeful gloating goes on and on! 
September and October have been great months for yard sales. August was really slow but as soon as the temps came down people were inclined to set up and sell. Thank you Fall! I was really happy to have Johanna with me for most of those weekends and she came with me to Morehead for a second time at the begining of October. 
We learned of a big community wide sale at a subdivision in Morehead as well as a couple of other interesting sounding sales. So we left Friday night after work and drove to Morehead. We were up early to head across the bridge to Atlantic Beach to hit two sales there before heading to the community sale. All the places we went we found some great pieces and gifts for family members too (Christmas is getting closer!).
We learned at the community sale that older people there seem to value their stuff precious objects a great deal more than younger folks. We bought hardly anything from the retired sellers and much more from families with children. Go figure!
I picked up two of these new in the box converter boxes along with several other items at one sale for $10. I knew someone who wanted a box and I grabbed the other one because I knew I could probably sell it if my brother didn't need it. He didn't. So it sold very quickly for $25. This kind is only for the older model tv, not the new flat screen kind.

2 of these converters for approximately $4 each.

The palm sander was new and I bought it but came home and realized I had a perfectly good one already. Sigh. Impulse buy. I have it up for sale now. The Tonka "Chuck" truck and the house is for Nate when he's a little bit older. I chuckled when I saw the house, because my girls played with one exactly like it. The date on the back is 1984. Vintage! The shelf at the bottom is the one I showed you a couple of posts back. It was Pepto-bismol pink but only $1.50. So I lightly sanded it and painted it white. Sold it pretty quickly for $8. So not too bad.
Palm sander: $10. Truck and house were $2 each. Shelf was $1.50 original purchase. 

The soft leather Robeez shoes are for my little neice Julia. The  wood tool box will be one of Nate's Christmas presents. The earrings were for me but I didn't like the back of them; it is another long curve like the front. Kept scratching my neck. So I sold it for $12. The toiletries were each $1. I sold the Bed and Bath body sprays for $8 and kept the Este Lauder foundation and moisturizer as well as the Clinque moisturizer and Happy perfume.
Shoes: 50c, toiletries: $1 each, earrings: $1, Melissa and Doug tool box: $2

My sister Cee asked me to look for some more wood train stuff for her "Aunt Nee stash". The bag below was filled with Brio tracks and accessories. They should connect to the Thomas tracks I am letting her borrow.  Have fun Hugh and Aunt Nee!
I bought the wood shelf with towel rack for a buck. Took a while to sell and finally did but only for $5. Not much profit. 
Train track with accessories: $10. Wood shelf with towel rack: $1


I am always looking for yard tools for my nephew Jon. He has a landscaping business and goes through tools rather quickly. I purchased all of these for him and he was rather pleased Bought my first pick ax too.
The wood shape sorter goes to my almost 2 year old nephew, Beau. The magnetic puzzle at the bottom goes to my Grandma stash. Unfortunately my dog, Honey Bea, has a fondness for wood puzzle pieces and so now it is missing one at the bottom. Oh Honey Bea!



Wooden shape sorter: $2. Tools: $5 each. Puzzle: $1
I bought the easel below thinking I could use at my house for Nate. However, I decided it was too bulky for now in my small house. It cleaned up very well and I sold it quickly for $20.  


Easel: $5



Our neice Mary lives in New Orleans and started her first year of teaching in a new charter school. She has a class of second graders from a very poor area and they have a limited number of books. As you know, new books can be expensive especially for a new teacher. So I have been looking for books close to her grade level to send. I hit the mother lode! All the books below were $2 total! Initially they were asking 10 cents each but when I told them what I was going to do with them, the sellers said take as many as I want for $2! The stack of Junie B. Jones titles and the Magic Tree house paperbacks contain around 28 books. Good haul! I shipped them Media rate and with 20 lbs of books, it cost me aproximately $12 including tracking which was extra. Mary was delighted to recieve them and I am in the process of gathering another load I picked up last weekend and this past Saturday. 


Trunk shot of Johanna's car. I think we could have squeezed in more but we had enough! Oh, the red clock is mine. It replaced the black one I picked up a couple of months ago. So sad that one died. I really did like it. This one cost 75cents and it looks nice against my pale yellow wall. Fingers crossed it lasts a lot longer!




On Sunday morning Johanna, my brother Sonny, his son, Jon and I headed out at 0'dark thirty to go fishing. 
We caught a lot, threw back several and had a wonderful time. I did manage not to snag our lines on that buoy you see in the distance. Earlier, I got a little too close for comfort, forgetting about our troll lines. The ribbing continues!

Sun breaking the clouds early in the morning over Shackleford Banks


And here is my nephew, Jon, and my brother Sonny. I love fishing with these guys! Thanks Johanna for taking these pictures!

I managed to go to yard sales every weekend in September and October, well, maybe there was one I slept in! I am looking forward to this Saturday and the local Humane Society's rummage sale. Maybe I can find something fabulous for Honey Bea and Prudence the cat.  Rest assured, if I do, I will take pictures and fill you in on all the details!

Until next time, happy bargain hunting and have a great week!

Thrifty Christy

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Very O'dark Thirty

Yard sale at 5:30am!!! What? Yes, people occasionally will have a yard sale that early. And yes, Johanna and I have been known to check them out. Fortunately they are rare because we do like to "sleep in". This one proved to be worth our while and we hit the morning hard and early. Johanna's flashlight and my head lamp were needed as the sellers' were not adequately equipped for the dark.
Below is a trunk shot as we ended our morning. Lots of good stuff!


The truck is actually a ride on toy. It's for Nate, my grandson. The dump part can go back, allowing a child to sit on the blue part and ride, pushing. The handle in front can be used as well to push the truck around. Fun! There is also a Combi brand light weight stroller on top of the pile for my Grandma stash. It folds up easily. I like it.
Truck was $4 and stroller: $15

We love church sales. Period. No sentimental attachment to the items donated makes for bargain pricing. The church sale we hit this day was one where individual families had a space in the parking lot. So it was like going to 30 yard sales in one location. Oh yes! As soon as we arrived I spotted this "crab-pot" Christmas tree. Actually there were two. All lit up and looking wonderful. I asked the price and was shocked and happy with the answer of "$10 each" Whoohoo!!! I have been wanting one for several years. Johanna bought one and I bought the other. They fold up flat and fit in the back easily. Outside yard decoration for Christmas is good to go! I am ready for December.

2 of these 4ft. crab pot trees: $10 each

I picked up a couple of Willow Tree angels because I know my daughter Brenna likes them. I sold one and kept the other for her. There are lots of folks who collect this brand.

Willow tree angel: $3

My great nephew Hugh needed boots for the winter and I found all 3 of the footwear below for $1 each. The black and brown pair are Sperry brand and were in like new condition. Hugh got the black pair and the boots and I sold the brown Sperry's online. They were way too big for Hugh and his mom said she didn't want to have shoes on hold for a couple of years.

Shoes were $1 each and boots were $2

I picked up these two games for my sister Cee's "Auntie stash". I think Hugh will enjoy playing. Now if I can remember to give them to her! The items below were all bargains (of course!) The candles are for me, love the color) the mermaid bottle opener was $1 and made of cast iron. That sold easily! Pregnancy book goes to the free pile at the Pregnancy Center. The package on the top left contains clear acrylic corner protectors for tables. I put them on my coffee table to protect my grandson's head. My dog, Honey Bea promptly pulled each one off and chewed them. Nate has no protection and is on his own. And the last item is a set of furniture safety brackets to secure dressers or in my case a corner cabinet to the wall. Keeps little ones from pulling a piece of furniture on them when attempting to climb.
Games were $2 each, brackets: 50 cents, book: $1, 2 flashlights: $1 each, and mermaid bottle opener: $1

Brenna had asked me to look out for more wood puzzles and a box like the one below for Nate. The lacing beads are new and sealed in package and went to my friend Tere for her 3 year old granddaughter. The small 3 drawer plastic bin went to Brenna for classroom storage.

 Puzzles $1 each, tall wood lock/latch box $2. New wood bead kit, $3 and drawer storage $2
The wood blocks are for my grandma stash and are in mint condition. The pink rolling cart is for me to use when I hit more of these church yard sales and buy bulky stuff! I found it a grocery store in the clearance bin. and last is a close up of the furniture brackets I showed earlier.
Blocks were $3, Cart was $10 and Safety brackets were 50 cents

Lesson learned. I found this at the church sale for $3 and I snatched it up for Nate. It looked like a great, fun riding toy for him when he's a little older. I googled it when I came home and found out this particular model has been recalled. Children were tipping over the front and face planting, loosing teeth; not a good thing. So I had to get rid of it. I took to the dump after writing it was dangerous and had been recalled with a permanent marker. I don't want anyone pulling it.
That's it for now. More posts to come as I continue to play catch up from the past month!
Happy bargain hunting!

Thrifty Christy


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

September arrived

Gleeful Gloating begins...a little late!

So it has been a busy September and I did manage to hit the sales every Saturday of the month. The cooler temps took a little while to arrive but wow, what a difference lower humidity and a north wind make. I do love Fall! I hunted alone the first part of the month and then Johanna was back with me and we even were joined by my daughter, Brenna, one day. That was fun! Treasures were found and the pickings were pretty decent.
Below are a few things I found for resale. The Wedding frame was brand new and sold quickly. The Sun and Bug cover I will wait until Spring to sell.
Cover: $1 and frame: $1
The large planter below went to my sister Fran. I didn't have time to clean it before giving to her but she didn't seem to mind. She had asked me to look for large planters sooo..I do! The Dansko's were not my size or Brenna's but they were in top notch condition. Just a little dusty from being in the seller's closet. Sold those for $25 very quickly. The metal flipflop wall decor sold quickly as well for $10.

Planter: $5, Shoes: $1, Wall art/flip flops: $1

I ended up selling both of the items below again, very quickly. The wooden display shelf was in excellent condition. The canister set gave me pause, and truly I regret selling them. I made a good profit but I will keep my eyes peeled for this kind of cannister in the future. I will be replacing the ones I have with a locking lid. These are just easier to get in to. Sold the shelf for $10 and the cannisters for $8.
Shelf: $2, Canisters: 50cents each
I regret purchasing the shelf. It was only $1.50 and I know I can sell it, but really, the time spent painting is the issue. I will go with a glossy white. The dvds's will go to the Merriewold house in NY next summer. Love the movie Juno. The small book on the far left is hilarious!


Shelf: $1.50, dvds: $1 each, dog book: 50cents


I need another purse, mine seem to wear out quickly. So the red one (new) below is already "in service" My Grandma stash has needed updating, grandson Nate is growing! So the Melissa and Doug wooden toy is fun and for Nate. Comes with 4 cars that zoom from one level to the next by gravity. The clippers are already in Morehead City at my brother's house. I scalp trim his hair each time I come to visit Sonny. This one is new and has all the attachments the old one doesn't. Even has a beard trimmer! The box of lantern lights was an impulse buy. They are brand new and I was thinking of them hanging under a garden umbrella, the big kind. But we don't have a garden umbrellla. Well, actually we do, because I bought one quite a while ago to resell next summer! Maybe I will hang on to both. We shall see.

Lanterns: $1, purse: $5, Wahl clippers: $10, Wooden toy: $2



The toys at the bottom are more Grandma stash items. I am concentrating on wooden toys per Brenna's request. The tool box and the box of puzzles (zebra) are wooden. The faux hydrangeas are quite pretty and may either go to the graves in Morehead or just may decorate my house in the spring. Cuisnart coffee grinder was a bust. It grinds...ok but there is a loose place in the base of the blades and not doing the job it was cut out to do. The bag on the far right are disposable swimmer diapers. Unfortunately they are size 5 and will be too big for Beau or Nate next summer. Will take to Salvation Army along with a few other rejects.


Toy tool set: $2, puzzle: $1, Slinky: 25 cents, coffee grinder: $2. Swimmers pants: $1
After Johanna and I went yard saling mid September, we took off for Carteret County NC to go to Cape Lookout and then to visit my brother Sonny. The weather was beautiful and the breeze was lovely. We stopped on the way to check out a few yard sales and stopped in at this one. There was a lot of stuff there, I bought the purse pictured previously

Show us a yard sale sign, an arrow and throw in Humane Society and we will hit the brakes!

I also found one of these Rumble Rollers, new in the original plastic wrap with instuctions. Brenna took it home with her to try it out but says it is too hard on her back. So I am looking forward to its return and using it on my back! Suppose to help the fascia in the lower back as well as other areas.
$4

Here's a quick trunk shot of Johanna's car before we unloaded to head to the beach. As you can see, she bought a big planter as well.


We made it to the boat in time and spent 3 relaxing hours at one of our favorite spots. Maybe next time we'll bring our husbands along...maybe!


Next morning we were on my nephew's boat with my brother Sonny to go fishing. Getting ready to go at 6am is not a problem for us and our lines were in the water as the sun started to rise.


Johanna even took the wheel for a while.


Results were a few Spanish mackeral large enough to keep. We threw back several to catch when they've grown more. Was a perfect way to start a beautiful day.


That's it for that Saturday's haul. More to follow soon. Hope you have had some bargain hunting adventures too.

Thrifty Christy