Where I live garage sale season starts in March. It doesn’t get really moving until April or May, but the first sales are there in March. A significant amount of our household needs are supplied from garage sales, so starting in March I’ll be hitting one or two each week. BUT there is no point it going to the sales at all if I don’t know what I am looking for. So I’ve begun compiling my “Looking For” list. Some of these items I hope to find at garage sales, some (like underwear) I hope to find new in a store, but on clearance. The key is to anticipate needs before they arrive and you have to solve the problem today.
With this in mind I began creating an inventory of the kids clothes. I rifle their drawers and laundry baskets to figure out exactly what they have to wear right now. I count short sleeve shirts, long sleeve shirts, short pants, long pants, sweaters, swimsuits, tennis shoes, sandals, church clothes, socks, underwear, and any other clothing item I come across. Then on the same paper in the next column I tally everything the next size that I have in boxes waiting for that child to grow. Gleek is currently size 4T. I have boxes of size 5, 6-6x, 7-8, and 9-10 clothing all waiting for her. I’m not going to need to look for many clothes for her, except for size 5 & 6 short pants which apparently Kiki completely wore out. This is incredibly useful information because when I hit a sale, no matter how cute the clothes are I know I don’t need to buy any pants in size 5 because she’s got 10 pairs waiting. Kiki and Link each have a really long list of the kinds of clothes I’m trying to find for them. Patience will help me find clothes for my kids for $1 or less per item.
Clothes are not the only thing on my “Looking For” list. The biggest item on this year’s list is a set of bunk beds. I need a set for Link and Patches to share. Patches currently sleeps in a toddler bed, but he’ll outgrow that sometime late this year and before he does I need to have bunk beds because that room is too small for a pair of twin beds. I know that I want the bunkbeds to be sturdy and I prefer a wooden frame to a metal one. I want the price to be under $100 (preferrably under $50). Beyond that I’m not picky about style or wear & tear. I’ll watch all summer and only if I’m unable to find this deal will I consider plunking down more money.
Small items make the list too. Things like clothes pins for the clothesline I intend to build, a dish drainer, 2X4 lumber for some projects, and items for next Christmas.
Armed with my list I sift through thrift stores and garage sales much more efficiently. Also I won’t forget what it is that my family could use. Last year I acquired most of the things on my list by August, so I just stopped going to garage sales for the rest of the year.
Last April I had this to say about garage sales:
This morning there were a plethora of garage sales. I left the house to buy gas for the mower and ended up being gone for an hour because I kept driving past sales and stopped to see what was there. I didn’t find any big scores, but I’m slowly accumulating information which I’m using to figure out when a garage sale is worth the time and gas to find. I’m going to list them while they’re in my head so that I don’t forget:
Garage sales which advertise in the paper have more stuff than ones which just throw up a few signs on nearby corners.
Garage sales which run for two days have more stuff than sales which only run for one.
Multi-family sales tend to have more stuff.
Multi-family sales are sometimes annoying because you have to pay more than one person for individual items.
If the sale is more than 5 minutes away by car, it isn’t worth the time and gas.
I don’t have to get all the sales today, there will be more next week, and the one after, and the one after…
It never hurts to see if the seller is willing to accept a lower price.
If the price isn’t listed on the item ask “Would you take…” rather than “How much?”
No garage sale item is worth arguing over. If the seller isn’t willing to come down to a price I’m willing to pay, then I need to walk away.
Garage sales are best first thing in the morning before they have been picked over or after noon when people are tired of sitting in the front yard and just want to get rid of stuff.
I don’t have to hit garage sales every week, I have all summer to slowly collect what I need.
Keep track of the kinds of things I’m looking for so I can make decisions quickly.
Take as few kids with me as I can possibly manage.
Be picky. Just because I have money with me, doesn’t mean I need to buy something.
Any time I’m considering buying something ask myself: “what will I use it for and where will I put it?”
Your resourcefulness never ceases to amaze me. Good luck with the planning.
I recall from my days working in the set shop for our school’s theatre guild that after every show we would often throw out a lot of wood because it simply wasn’t worthwhile to keep one-shot set pieces around, or to store pieces of wood that were significantly shorter than full length. I don’t know how your local community theatre or school theatres do things, but they might be a good source for second-hand wood for projects.
The last two notations on your list are well for me to remember, even when I’m NOT at a yard sale!
I can’t wait for yard sale season! It’s so much fun! The wonderful things I’ve found at yard sales… I should make a list.
Also…
Often, construction site have lots of 2×4 bits…
Depending on what sizes your wanting, you might come up with something, if you ask if you can browse the dumpster…
I’ve found jury rig bits often, even rebar for a lil concrete project… Construction workers can be very accomodating…
Great advice for the garage-sale newbies like myself. My old neighborhood had zoning restrictions, and only allowed one garage sale per year, which of course I always managed to miss. My oldest sister, of course, always manages to score big – last year she bought an entire living room suite (sofa, loveseat, chair) for about $75. The owner said that they didn’t match the new drapes(!?!?!?!?) and were less than a year old.
One my new neighbors says that the garage sale season in our neighborhood is quite active, however, so I’m going to check it out this year. But first, to make a list. I love lists, and this gives me the excuse I’ve been needing to start my Christmas, birthday, and other schtuff needed list early this year. Thanks for posting!
It is amazing what people will get rid of. At one sale there was a beaded bedspread that a woman was selling for $50. That seemed high, but she told me she bought it for $700, never used it, and then decided she wanted to decorate with plum rather than burgandy. (Is there even a difference between “plum” and “burgandy”?)
That level of wastefulness always astounds me. Even when we had money we were smarter with it than that.
ugh, that’s.. that’s a horrible amount of waste, indeed.
Granted, I can’t imagine paying $700 for a bedspread, so what do I know?