Garage Sales (One)

Years ago, long before I was married, I used to enjoy a good garage-sale-filled Saturday. I had a few girlfriends who enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, and we would go out now and then in search of treasures.

But then, you know, we got married, and that was the last either of us saw of any kind of free time. And now it's almost five years later!

You might remember that a couple of years ago, we hosted a garage sale, and it was a huge success! (Those adventures told here, here, and here.) But this year, I decided I would put aside some time occasionally - not every weekend - to visit a few sales and see what treasures I could find!

This past Friday was the first chance I had to go in search of sales, and I was kind of sad, because I had my heart set on the Swayzee rummages (a small town about a half hour from us, if you're not from around here) but I was so busy on Friday I did not have time to be on the road for an hour AND shop. One or the other, but not both. So I stayed local.

I thought the whole day might be a bust, but I finally found a street with a string of sales all right in a row. I parked the car at a far end where it looked like it would be safe from dings and nicks, and set out in search of treasures!

I thought I'd show you what I got and why I love them! (PSA: not my best photography. But you'll get the point!)

The first house I went to could have cost me a lot more money, honestly. The lady had a bunch of clothes for sale that were all about my size, and most of them looked brand new. Nothing smelled funny, the garage was clean, and I felt perfectly safe shopping her clothes. (I'm very picky about buying clothes at rummages because I don't want to bring home anything that's smoky or potentially harmful in any way.)

But I reminded myself of my capsule rules and just came home with two workout shirts - a tank and a short-sleeved wicking shirt, and each cost fifty cents.

This lady also had a tween girl who was getting rid of some toys she'd outgrown, and I found a plastic bag full of wooden magnetic "paper dolls." I say it in quotes because there's actually no paper involved, but that's the concept. Cute, unique, QUIET, creative, and therefore a candidate for my when-the-kids-visit toybox. That was a dollar.

Two bucks down, I left the sale and went across the street. I couldn't stay long because that house was pretty saturated with smoke and I started to get a headache! But I did notice as I zoomed through the garage, the thing that became my find of the day. And you can know I bought it and just let it air out in the garage, because no way was I passing this up!

I didn't even know this existed!

A Gaither music board game! It's actually a trivia game (and not an easy one at that) about the early Gaither Homecoming videos. The game was made in 1995, so it only covers the oldest videos. But oh my word. I had to. I just had to! Two bucks? You better believe it! Do I need it? Nope. But it was a fun buy.

And that took me to the last house I visited. It was a big sale and all the proceeds were going toward a youth mission trip. My finds at this stop? All kiddo books for my when-the-kids-come-to-visit pile. Two Richard Scarry books for fifty cents each. (I'd forgotten all about Richard Scarry, but I loved those books when I was a kid!)

The Little Golden Book Heidi, which I actually used to own, but I got rid of ALL my books from my childhood in an act of stupidity a few years ago. (This one was only 10 cents!)

A Curious George book - ORIGINAL George, not today's redone George - for 50 cents.

And a mass market copy of Old Yeller for a quarter. Another throwback to my own childhood.

My bill there came to just under two bucks, so I put the rest in their fund and drove back home.

Six bucks for six children's books, two games, and two shirts. I was pleased with the spoils of my first day back into the world of yard sales!

Any good sale finds for you this year?