over-pricing

So there was an estate sale in Country Club today. #104. Huge house, 3 floors of stuff. Except it was WAY over-priced. Which brings me to my topic for today. People, if you are going to have a yard sale, price it cheaply please! If your stuff is that valuable you have to put a 4 dollar price tag on used shoes, then just keep the darn shoes! (It is a well-known fact at this point, how very miserly and painfully cheap I am, right? I don't need to keep reminding our 4 followers. I will not pay over a quarter for shoes. Pathetic, I know.)
So anyway, this estate sale was wicked pricey. Shells for $6! A neat giant clam shell that I would love to get for my boys-$25! Come on! You expect estate sales run by professionals (this one was) to be pricier than an amateur one, but seriously. I may have to run by tomorrow since everything will be half price, but the only thing that struck my fancy was this awesome retor 60s sectional sofa with spindle legs. With a reuphosltery job, it would look so freakin' awesome, but the price tag was 225.00 today. I don't even want to spend half that on it.
I did stop at St. Henry's craft/yard sale today. I didn't see any crafts. Nancy said Thurs. at the O'Fallon thrift stores (I scored 2 $2 mini windows and a $4 old medicine cabinet-wooden. She even takes a military discount!) that if Samantha, her and myself want to exchange Christmas gifts, we have to keep it under a dollar. So she found something for me on Thurs. and I found something for today. Now....whatever shall I find for Samantha?
I think we are going to try Cherokee Row soon. I would also like to hit St. Louis thrift stores. Samantha and Nancy did one day last week. We have to get our shopping fixes some how! Samantha said she got good stuff when she went. She even found a great old (but in great condition) sled for Dylan for Christmas for $15!

Pam's old stuff

So Nancy and I had another one of our moving-heavy-furniture-down-SHB days. We moved an excellent old kitchen cabinet from Pam's garage. We had Hudson in his stroller, who announced every 30 seconds, "I hate it! I want to get out of here! I'm cold!" So here is the set-up: Nancy dislodges the 2 components (pics later), we hoist top component onto the old wagon, wheel it to neighbor's driveway, whereupoon we hoist it over concrete barrier, place back on wagon, Nancy leading, me making sure component stays on wagon, me pulling Hudson in stroller. We make it to the street, where we decide to stay, because of course it is garbage day and all garbage cans are blocking the sidewalk. We would be blocking traffic, if there was any. We make quite a sight. We make it to my garage and unload top (lighter) piece. Back to garage for second piece, where we find a lovely little mouse nest. Bottom component goes on wagon, up over concrete barrier, down street again, pulling Hudson all the way. Sweet Hudson has to go along for many of our crazy adventures. Make it to the garage. Nancy's work was done. Mine is just beginning. I am thinking crackling, yes?
Funny conversation:
Me: Men could not do this.
Nan: Esp. not with a baby. They would complain they didn't have the right dolly and how could they possibly do this with a baby.

Save the World Debrief and Funk-Related Shopping

Klekners' sale was a success. Pam's goal was threefold, really: raise money for Honduras, clear out stuff before the move, accomplish these things without feeling "icky". I think she may have had an "icky" moment when the hard-core dealers arrived 30 minutes early. (Bear in mind that she did not even advertise. How did they sniff her out?) They didn't have the good-feeling vibe she was hoping for. But when the friends and neighbors showed up it turned into a real neighborhood social event. The Holm family made off with quite a few books and some dyn-o-mite animal knick knacks!

------------------------------------

I have recently been in a deep funk. This could be caused by many factors. Here are a few possibilities:

• absence of spouse (three weeks and one day so far)
• grayness of weather (there was a brief mood peak during the few sunny days last week)
• chemical imbalance (as of yet undiagnosed by medical professionals)
• lack of yard sale adventures

This funk has resulted in the cutting of bangs, dyeing of hair (darker), and an absolute inability to dress myself. Maybe it's the hair, maybe it's the body, but whatever I put on doesn't feel right or look right. I change my shirt like 4 times each morning, usually ending up in some neutral, baggy tee or sweater.

So, in an effort to kick myself in the ass and turn this funk around, I weeded through my closet and pulled half (Really! Half!) the clothes out for Goodwill. (Remember that they were all probably from garage sales to start with so I figure I donated about $35 worth of merchandise.)

Then I went in to St. Louis to Forest Park Pkwy. In a half mile stretch of city street they have Goodwill, St. Vincent DePaul, and Salvation Army. (Also, there is a Habitat for Humanity Re-Store but they are unfortunately closed on Monday and furthermore would not help me with the appearance-related funk, only a home-decor-related funk.)

So I bought some clothes. About $60 worth. Maybe $65. This is a lot of thrift shop merchandise. Figure approximately $3 per sweater or shirt. Admittedly, most of these shirts are neutral and baggy. But they are NEW and neutral and baggy. So maybe I will have a little more pep in my step tomorrow morning when I get dressed. The new clothes will inspire me to have a new attitude.

Maybe. Or maybe I'll have to cut off more hair, buy a sun-lamp, and get some better medication.

Then again... there's always retail.

Save the World

Save the World!

Help the Klekners!

Dave and Pam Klekner, 34 Signal Hill Blvd, are moving. They are downsizing, consolidating, simplifying, reducing, and scaling back. Everything they want to keep is out of the house. Everything left in the house is for sale!

But wait!

All money raised from this event will be donated to several projects in the Honduran mountain village of Monte Verde. Monte Verde is a remote village populated by the Lenca Indians. The Lenca live in mud huts and eat rice, beans, and corn tortillas. At times they have only one meal per day. All money raised from the Klekners' down-sizing sale will support projects that improve the quality of life in this Lenca village.

Please join us

Saturday, November 7, 8-12 for a

fund-raising, goodbye-saying, bargain-getting event like no other!

This event is not being advertised publicly. However, please help us by forwarding the e-mail to friends or bring a friend or a friend of a friend. And bring lots of cash!

If you are not a shopper, please come and enjoy some coffee and donuts and visit with neighbors and friends. This is not only a sale but their final Boulevard social event. Many books are also available for adoption. Please join us.

If you are not able to come on Saturday, call Nancy for a sale by appointment.

__________________________________________________________________________________

So this is the email that went out today. My neighbors are moving and the wife (Pam) was freaking out about selling the excess. After we planned the sale, she sent me an email that said, "Now I am looking forward to something that I was dreading."

This is how we make the world a better place, People!

So I'm going through her stuff. She has 20 years of stuff. I first thought it was just furniture and wall art left. But I started opening drawers and found: cassette tapes, VHS tapes, old pencil boxes, blank DVDs, spices, cups, bowls, old blankets...

There is a whole category of stuff that we become blind to after 20 years. You just HAVE a pile of extra blankets. You don't NEED them. You just KEEP them. Just in case. And when you are moving, what do you do? Their lake house is furnished and stocked. They have packed the personal stuff and the memorabilia. But what about the in-between stuff? You can't throw it away! It's perfectly good stuff! And it has history! But give it to Goodwill? Will they appreciate its emotional significance?

Downsizing is painful.

So far, Laura, Sam, and I have offered good homes to: 15 sundae glasses, a few pairs of pants, some kitchen utensils, ten books, a candle holder with tea lights, and a floor mat for Laura's mom's car.

old, new idea or old idea revisited

So Nancy and I had this idea awhile back to have an indoor, continual yard sale. We have friends who have a building for sale that is not being used. For the price of utilities and taxes, they would rent it to us and we would in turn rent it to vendors who would like to sell their stuff in the winter. We even talked about providing pick up service for people who a. couldn't physically get their stuff to us, b. didn't have a big car, or c. were lazy. We would give them a table for say $25 per weekend, but they had to be there to sell themselves. For $25 plus 25% (or so) of their profits, we would sell for them, kind of like consignment. So, really, it was the ultimate in convenience, for a fee: we would pick up their stuff (for a fee, like $25), give them a table, sell their stuff, and donate rest to charity. We also would provide a la carte services; we would price their items, organize, etc. We of course would handle all advertising. So you literally could get rid of all your junk without doing any work, and still get a check. And it would be warm. With bathrooms. That you wouldn't have to pay for (has Nancy blogged about how she offers $1.00 to homeowners who let her use their bathrooms?).
Anyway, for various reasons, we decided not to go through with it, but after not yard saling for 2 weeks, I am thinking we should revisit it. I miss yard saling too much! It is so darn cold, and only getting colder!

Saturday!

I made it out this morning! There was a rummage sale at the church on Main St. I hauled Oscar out of a cozy bed and we stood in line with 30 other people at 7:55 AM on a chilly, brisk October morning. In line with me were Peggy, the Supreme Front Yard Gardener of SH Blvd, and Vanessa, the Crossing Guard Diva at SHS.

I bought two wool sweaters for crafts and four mini-muffin tins for storage of small things like beads and earrings.

On the way home we found a poorly advertised skiv on Windsor, in the winding wilderness between Main and 161. Oscar got a battery powered car and I bought a big enamelware kettle which I will use to hold the Halloween candy next weekend. Oscar found an owl figurine which I photographed for my upcoming and long-awaited essay "Owls for Sale: the knickknacks no one wants anymore."

We will have to highlight thrift shop bargains for the next 6 months. This is getting pitiful.

no more Saturdays

Sigh. Fun always has to end. We didn't even make it out today. I am not feeling well, and Nancy wasn't either. Samantha was still up for it, but I put the wrong map in my mailbox for her (sorry, Sam!) and she only found one.
And I have a Saturday class that starts tomorrow for the next 8 weeks, so I won't be able to go anymore. It will be too cold once my class is done. I guess I could use the extra time productively, like cleaning, studying, or getting laundry done. But where is the fun in those activities?
I wonder when it gets warm here.....April? May? When do the yard sales start again? How can we possibly wait for 6 months? I fear my threshold for how much I will pay for things will start inching back up again. It already is. In the height of yard sale season, I was offended to pay more than a quarter for a pair of shoes (it is like reverse snobbery, really. It is ok. You can say I am a reverse snob. I know this about myself and am ok about it). So going to Target was this weird "I am too good for you, Target!" kind of moment. I found myself saying to my kids, "No, I will NOT pay a $3.99 for a book when I can get one (ok, it might be partially eaten. Honest, I bought one that had what appeared to be teeth marks in Dora book. Must take picture......) for 25 cents!" It pained me to buy milk (milk!) for $3.98 when I knew all that I could buy with that money at a yard sale.
But yesterday I went to Goodwill and bought sheets (ok, they were flannel and BRAND-NEW and king-sized) for $6.99 each. $6.99! I haven't spent that much on a linen thing in a long time! And I was thinking to myself, "Huh. Good deal!" Noooooooooo! It is happening! My reverse snobbery (that really does save money) is disappearing!

News Flash!

I will do the yardsale research!

Laura is always the driver. I am always the navigator. I am always trying to understand her writing and figure out where the sales are.

If I do the research, I have a leg up on the location and the route! Why have we not thought of this before?!

OMG, the excitement! There are 6 sales in our area (plus unknown skivs, of course) and many state "rain or shine" in the listing!

Hot damn!

The End is Near

We are planning to yardsale tomorrow, as it is Friday and the official start of the yardsale weekend. But I fear the sales may be few and far between. The weather is turning and I sense yardsale season coming to a close! This leaves me a little hopeless and mildly depressed. These months of yardsaling and blogging about it... they have given purpose to my life! Will Fridays become just another day of the week? Will I be forced to get my shopping fix at full price retail establishments?! Will I blog about Old Navy and Target? That's not even interesting!

I did have a deliciously decadent experience at Zappos.com a few days ago in which I paid full price for two excellent pairs of boots. I feel both exhilarated and ashamed. But as it was an on-line shopping experience (not even Ebay!) there was no human interaction whatsoever. There was no quirky old guy selling weird stuff. No haggling over quarters. Just professionally photographed boots and shoes and an efficient credit card check out. I guess I did get a few follow-up emails. The nice folks at Zappos have given my order extra special attention and will expedite my shipping even though I paid for the 4-5 day slow-boat. I'm sure those messages were computer generated and therefore do not count as human interaction. And they certainly don't qualify as wacky.

This is becoming a shopping blog. God, help me.

Tomorrow stills shows some promise. I will rummage through the house for quarters, stuff my pockets with singles, don some warm clothes, and bravely sally forth into what might prove to be the last Friday of the yardsale season. Keep the faith!

The Sale

Location, location, location! Laura's yard is the perfect yardsale venue. She has a high profile address and a choice corner lot. Below is the freakin' chicken incubator. Thank God we unloaded that sucker. Here's how it went down: Sam Geiger and Henry Holm hung around the yardsale later in the morning (after their bowling league.) Geiger and Holm parents participated in the sale and the boys wanted to get in on the fun, I suppose. Sam quickly caught yardsale fever! He announced, "I have ten bucks and I want to haggle!" He fought Cyndi down from $10 to $5 on a golf club bag (void of clubs) and stole Laura's treasured "ch-inkubator" for $5! Nice work, Sam. You might be invited to join us next weekend. You show great promise as a future yardsaler.
Lots of moms brought kids. This spiced up the event. Here is Dominic, my special buddy.
Not pictured is Joshua. He had a challenging day. First, he had to get up before dawn to help set up with his mom. He was not an enthusiastic participant. Then he almost bit the big one when he climbed out the attic window and perched on the third story roof like a gargoyle. Then his mom sold his PlayStation out from under him for a mere 8 bucks. I expect a future full of mysterious aversions to yardsales.

Here, from left to right, we have Samantha, Alicia, SaraLee, and Laura. They are hovering around the space heater for warmth. I think we went through quite a few Thermoses of hot cocoa. Someone made some tasty banana muffins and some banana bread.
I made cookies with the idea of having a bake sale. Below you see JoJo and Addie working the bake sale table. I think they sold three cookies and then we started giving them away. A special shout out goes to Jo and Addie for their excellent signage and their exquisite fashion sense.

Now that our sale is over, my house is streamlined and organized. All the cluttered corners of my basement are bare and tidy. The few things that didn't sell went to Goodwill. You know what this means, right? Time to shop! Let's hope we have a few more yardsale weekends left before the weather forces us to shut down for the season. When the days get too cold we will have to call the blog "Estate Sale Adventures" or "Thrift Shop Adventures" or something. Stay tuned, folks. Tell your friends about our blog and sign up as followers. We only have 4 of them and three are related to me. That's just embarrassing.

yard salers become yard sellers

Pre-yard sale items.

Taken from stairs heading into garage. The phrase " a lot of stuff" doesn't begin to cover it.

Check out the antique wooden rustic sideboard.

It is only a 2 car garage.

Picture a ghost-quiet early morning, temperatures hovering in the 30s. The sky is dark and cloudy. It is a little scary, really. You see what you at first think is a wolf, only to realize a deer is close by. And then another. On the sidewalk. Which, in a few hours, will hopefully be teeming with throngs of people looking to buy your stuff.

A figure in black walks up stealthily. You are about to run away in fear, only to realize it is Nancy, coming early to help move the ton of treasures from the packed garage to the front yard! Yay! Help!

I woke up before 4am on Saturday to get ready for the big day. I put up the signs the night before. (Note to self: Never attempt to use rulers as stakes. And certainly never attempt to put a hammer to those rulers to drive them into the ground. Rulers are rather flimsy, really.) I was walking items out to the front yard (which I never realized how far away it is from the garage) starting before 5:30am. I was making poor progress until Nancy came. (I blame the slow pace on the treachorous landscape of the side yard, due to the mutantly large moles that make huge dirt mounds. Also, never attempt to walk on said mole mounds, in the dark, carrying heavy, bulky items, in Danskos. But I digress.)

Nancy was the designated stager. She has the vision! She knew just where to put things for maximum benefit. Alicia arrived a short time later. She had the brilliant idea the day before of not putting anything into the garage until it was priced! I am so glad someone else has the brains in this group! (My method was to throw everything haphazardly on tables, in no order, and start randomly pricing things. As a result, during the sale, people had to keep asking me if items were mine, and, if they were, what the price was. I am REALLY disorganized.)

Then, in short succession, arrived Sara, Cyndi, Chris, and Samantha. Early birds started showing up at 6:40am. With flashlights! They are serious and make us look like amateurs. We were wheeling and dealing in short order. It was fantastic!

We had a fairly steady stream of customers until around 11:30, which is when the bargain hunters descended upon us en masse. Excellent strategy! Wait until the end when they knew we were desperate to see everything go!

Nancy got creative with sales, "Games and puzzles; 1/2 off. Chicken incubators; 25% off." (The incubator went to Sam next door for a rock-bottom price of $5.)

I snagged yellow shirts for Hudson from Chris. Cyndi took Nancy's pumpkins, bases, a pedestal from me, and a jacket from Samantha. Samantha got games, puzzles, and toys from (I think) Sara and Cyndi.

The sideboard from Kris S. sold at the last minute to the sweet couple across the street for the full asking price of $50. Score! That was funny to move. And when I write funny, I mean heavy. Let's just say the excellent dolly I had purchased the weekend before at a yard sale came in very handy!

Nancy took pictures during the yard sale itself. I am sure she will post those soon. It was a wonderful day filled with wonderful people and great weather!

botox and yard sales

Huh? What could these two things have to do with each other? Well, let me tell ya: if I earn enough money at our yard sale this Saturday, I can pay for botox! There's nothing wrong with this, is there????
Seriously, though, our yard sale is shaping up nicely. 5 people will be coming over my house to sell, and I know of 9 other families who will be participating in their own yards. We will be serving baked goods, coffee, and hot chocolate, and thank God, the weather is supposed to be dry and sunny and (gasp!) in the 70s! It has been wet, cold, rainy and in the 40s here lately. All the ladies are coming over on Friday to organize, stage, and price! Can't wait!
Sure to be lots to blog about on Sat. afternoon! I am still planning on yard saling on Fri. morning, too!

more photos, part 3

This stool didn't come from a yard sale, but a wonderful thrift store. $3. I painted the white seat blue.

Hudson, my almost-3 year old, loves rotary phones. This one came from an estate sale. $5.

Next weekend we become yard sellers. So far, Samantha, Cyndi, Alicia, Nancy, and Sara are all brinigng treasures to my house to sell. I can't wait. It will be so fun to hang out with the girls, meet yard salers, and be on the other side of the table!

more photos

Nancy's excellent wool purse creation. She take wool sweaters, washes them so they shrink, and makes pillows, purses, and dolls. Excellent!

Sewing table purchased for$1 a few weeks ago.

From last week's tri-city sale, school chairs for $1 each. Isn't it cute how they stair-step in size? This now comprises the seating for our kids' dining table.

Here is the awesome table made from ann antique bed. This is the table portion of the kids' dining table. Seriously, I want to use this as my desk. Too neat!

Here is the ripped, stained, and generally yucky map of Belleville, IL, the kind people from Scott AFB gave to my husband when we moved here, all of 3 months ago.

photos of this weekend's haul

2 shirts from the Gap.

2 camis and sweater....gap and Express.

J. Crew, Gap, and Express sweaters.

Gap and Express gauchos and jeans.

Express and Gap jeans.

friend-less yard saling

Well, I survived yard saling with neither Nancy nor Samantha yesterday and today. I have several photos to post here, but will get to them tomorrow as it is super late right now. I did go to the farm/estate sale, and it was most excellent! I may be going back.....details to follow.
Today was a definite score in the clothing department. I bought 12 pairs of jeans/trousers, 5 sweaters, 2 t shirts, and 2 camisoles for $30. Every article of clothing was from the Gap, J. Crew, or Express. Score!
Sawyer came with me today and he picked up a pirate Lego set for $7 (marked for $10). We also got 2 Captain Underpants books we hadn't found yet for a quarter each. Additionally, at the farm/estate sale we found a dolly ($10), 2 terriffic metal milk crates ($5 ea.), and a pillar ($10). We got Chinese checkers for Hudson (50 cents) with a brand new bag of desirable marbles (desirable because they are small enough to fit in the many marble sets we have-the big ones get stuck).
Next weekend is our big yard selling event! Lots to do to get ready! Check back soon for photos!

post-most excellent yard sale ever

Excellent post, Nancy! I must say, the association meeting was more fun than I reckoned it would be (there goes my southern accent coming out again...these midwesterners can't beat it out of me). We even got 2 new sellers for our Oct. 17th yard sale! Woohoo!
I will be yard saling solo on Saturday, which is so sad! Who will squeal with delight with me when we uncover a treasure? No one, that's who.
But I am excited about the intriguing estate/farm/yard sale advertised on craigslist in Caseyville on Saturday. They advertisers come right out and say someone died and "everything under the sun" is for sale. Hmmm......maybe something wooden and rustic can be found, perhaps?
Which brings me to another estate sale that we know about coming up. We went to a house for sale on our street and saw some excellent items for sale, among them an awesome velvet green setee that Nancy and I both want, and a chandelier that I am fairly certain is meant to stay, but if the price was right......I told the agent to call me when she contacted the owners to see if we could buy some items pre-sale. Will keep all 3 of our followers updated.........(thanks, 3 followers!)

It's Official!

It's official! We yardsalers are to become yardsellers on Saturday, October 17!

Laura went before the Signal Hill Neighborhood Association board tonight to... to what? Ask permission? Ask advice? Recruit shoppers? Anyway, she has been advised to change the advertising to "Multi-Family Yard Sale" and then list her address on Signal Hill Blvd. This is slightly different from advertising as "Signal Hill Neighborhood Yard Sale" and a vast improvement from the highly illegal "Signal Hill Neighborhood Association Yard Sale". I am afraid that if she advertised as the latter she would be slapped with a court ordered injunction.

It was a fascinating hour at the SHNA board meeting. We did not actually get to vote on anything, but I think we may get a few new blog followers. (Hi, Donna!)

Let us turn our attention to tomorrow:

Tomorrow is Friday, therefore we have a long list of sales to hit. Laura has done the research, printed out the addresses, and assures me we have a lot of work ahead of us.

But there is no school tomorrow! We will be yardsaling with two seven year olds, a five year old, and a three year old. (This is not all of our combined eight children, thankfully) This is not the ideal yardsaling situation, obviously. Here are the three major problems, as I see them:

1. The kids all need a seat in the van. What with boosters, car seats, and seat belts, we can't fudge the seating arrangements and put anyone on someone else's lap. This will severely limit our available payload.
2. Children generally exit the car leisurely. They need help unbuckling. They have to climb laboriously down from their seats. On a busy Friday, where minutes count, this could mean success or failure at a desirable yard sale.
3. Children have unpredictable digestive requirements. Food goes in and potty comes out. Each of these needs becomes urgent within seconds of the child acknowledging it. This will cause untold deviations in our course.

We can only try to do our best under the circumstances. Wish us luck.

My personal shopping list for tomorrow includes:

• Sweaters
• Small crafts and prizes for Brownie troop
• Owl figurines (to photograph for future blog entitled "Owls for Sale: the decorations no one wants anymore.")
• Weird and hilarious presents for Kit, whose birthday is tomorrow
• Costume jewelry for art projects
• Underpriced items for resale at next week's neighborhood yard sale. I mean, multi-family yard sale which happens to coincidentally be taking place in my neighborhood.

Items we are still seeking on behalf of other people:

• Stainless steel sink with side drain so Matt can clean fish
• Temporary dresser (for use until Kris's good furniture is delivered)
• Queen sized headboard and matching dresser for a high level administrator we happen to know
• Patio furniture so Paul can bribe somebody at work
• Soul and jazz records for my cool brother

Tune in tomorrow!

debrief, part 2

Here is a picture of the deer we saw on our way to pick up Samantha. Hard to see. But I suck at taking pictures.



Here is Nancy's Big Van O' Dreams. This sucker can take it all. Tables, kids' wheelbarrows, lamps, iron circular art, kids' chairs, etc.

Here is the kind yard seller who let Nancy buy her chandelier. This light was original to her house, was absolutely beautiful, and she let Nancy buy it for $5.

Thanks to all the yard sellers who sold me their warm blankets yesterday. My kids were toasty warm in this chilly midwest weather. (We moved here from Alabama, and our linens are simply not adequate).

One of the wonderful things about yard saling, to me, is my personality is not a hindrance. I am, as discussed before, really energetic and enthusiastic. Sometimes, this is not appropriate. Say, for example, a solemn church service. (I used to get in big trouble with my mom). Or a library. Or a doctor's office. Or someplace where squealing and jumping isn't appreciated. But yard sellers love it! They love seeing you excited over their stuff! It makes them happy, and it makes you happy that you made them happy! They like seeing their stuff go to a home where there is happiness. The nice lady who sold me her table was ambivalent about selling it. As I was leaving, though, she said, "I am glad to see it going to a good home." I promised her my boys would use it well and love it well. And we do. It is like Christmas in our house every Friday and Saturday.

Nancy brought up a good point yesterday to Samantha. She said that yard saling is the greenest shopping there is. You park and walk to places. Lots of places, in the case of yesterday. Nothing is being used to make your treasure, it was already made, many times years ago, with less plastic (many things, though not all). You may argue that internet shopping is also green, and it is, except for the fact that a lot of times, things on the internet are new, so resources are being consumed. Many of the goods available today have plastic as a main component, either in the product itself or in the packaging. Many years ago, this was not the case. For example, I purchased, for fifty cents, a storage bin made out of heavy duty cardboard/paper with an aluminum top. No plastic! Also, you have to ship your item when you purchase online, which uses not only jet fuel, but regular gasoline. Yuck!

debrief, Laura's version

Here is the sad puzzle with Vermont missing. I love how honest yard sellers are.

Here are wonderfully friendly, and chilly, yard sellers. They were just as excited as us! Look! She even has a tool belt! This is a girl who knows how to yard sell.

This is the friendly and charming owner of the 3 labs Nancy posted 2 posts ago. This is her awesome backyard! Yard sellers are such a nice lot that they even show you their kick-butt lanscaping! I bought the wooden and rustic table made from an antique bed from her, which of course I have forgotten to take picture of. Next blog.

Here I am, hyped up on caffeine, riding the world's largest rocking horse. This is (obviously) adult-sized. It was a sight to behold. A note to those who don't know me well: I am naturally hyper and enthusiastic. I used to be called Bubbles when I was little. I rarely drink coffee, because this would be unkind to those around me, as I tend to get a teensy bit crazed with energy. For example, I am without Sam and Nan in this picture because I had so much energy I couldn't wait for them. I had to run to all the yard sales and couldn't possibly walk.

Here is Nancy, still sleepy from her night before and enjoying someone's hammock for sale. This is the yard sale where I bought the vintage Star Wars figures.

More to come.

Like Craig's List -- but Better!

This is yet another attempt to explain the pleasure of yardsaling.

You know how fun it is to surf Craig's List or Ebay? You could (you do, you know it) spend hours clicking around, marveling at the many weird things people have for sale, wondering who these people are, where they got this stuff in the first place, and why they want to part with it.

Yardsaling is just like that! But yardsaling is a richer and more robust human experience. It includes all the joys of second-hand internet shopping plus:

• fresh air,
• coffee,
• bake sales,
• face-to-face interaction with weird, wonderful people,
• erratic driving,
• practice in the reading of maps,
• exposure to various types of residential architecture,
• occasional charitable giving if the sale is at a church or something,
• instant shopping gratification,
• no shipping costs,
• and a constant quest for a clean public toilet.

Tri-City Garage Sale Extravaganza!

Oh.

My.

God.

We left my house at 6AM. In early October, in the northern hemisphere, it is still very dark at 6AM. On the way to Sam's house we saw two deer, a gorgeous full moon, and almost ran over a raccoon. We experienced a lengthy delay while Sam Mapquested the sale address. It was really an excruciatingly long delay, Sam, since we were so excited.

The sale had a centralized starting point at some sort of civic center in Brentwood. They had clear signs marking the entrance. They had free coffee and donuts. Some very cheerful ladies were handing out maps of the many participating sellers.

Here is a friendly man handing out the free food:

And here is a pleasant lady (left) showing Samantha (right) the maps.

In the parking lot, adjacent to the building, sections were available for people who live in apartments and therefore have no garage or yard in which to sell. These folks had some good treasure. Some notables were: metal bike rack (Nancy), warm blankets (Laura), smart-kid-toys (Sam).

With coffee in hand, we headed for the neighborhoods. Samantha is a genius of maps and directions so she told us where to go. I was the driver, a little groggy from last night's outing and sore on the face where I smashed into a screen door. Don't ask. Seriously. Laura offered enthusiasm. She is always peppy and energetic. But the free coffee made her positively hyper active. I have never seen her on coffee and it was a scene I will not soon forget.

We skivved all morning. You will remember from previous blogs that skivving is the act of wheeling around in your car, looking for garage sale signs, and veering wildly off course to attend the sales. Today was a skivvers' paradise! There were sales everywhere. We would find a street with a bunch of signs, park the Van O' Dreams, and walk (run!) to every sale within sight. When our arms were full we would make a drop at the van and head out again. Once the sales in that neighborhood had been milked dry, we headed to the next stop.

Here is an incomplete list of today's finds:

• Megablocks
• Vintage Star Wars figures and war ships
• 4 foot water-filled bubbling aquarium light full of plastic fish
• 4 small vintage school chairs
• Pampered Chef products
• Soup tureen
• Wool peacoat
• Industrial garbage can
• Kid clothes
• Girl's bike to replace the one I ran over last week
• Excellent old table
• Rainbow afro wig
• Patent leather suitcase
• Weird cardboard container that defies description

There is too much to list. And simply listing the items we bought doesn't do justice to the experience we had. The people we met were kind, generous, and funny. They were quick to come down on any price just to see their garage cleaned out. They were happy to share their treasures with women who so clearly loved the hunt. I'd like to extend special thanks to the following vendors:

• the couple with the three well-behaved labs and the beautiful backyard garden
• the lady with the soup tureen and the beautiful old light fixture, original to her house
• the lady who crochets snowflakes and was knitting a scarf as we shopped her yard
• the lady who gave Laura the card catalog drawer for free
• the free food people who were wide awake and perky at 6:50AM
• the lady who sold me the Chinese jumprope and warned me not to be a Brownie leader-- ever!
• the fellow shopper who let me have the exquisite Eddie Bauer leather man-bag even though I know he wanted it

Special recognition goes to the man who dressed up in full Santa costume, presumably to attract more shoppers.

And kudos to the old geezer who had the balls to offer these magazines for sale:

Come back soon for a special YardSaleAdventures report:

"Owls for Sale -- the decorations no one wants anymore."

prebrief

Tomorrow is it. The one we have been waiting for. My tool belt is packed. The cooler is waiting by the fridge for various unhealthy foods to be packed into it at o'dark thirty. My plan is to be waiting by Nancy's Big Van O' Dreams by 5:55am tomorrow morning. It will be cold. A future blog post might need to be written which entails proper yard saling gear. (Layering is key; and ponchos are bad ideas). I may have to fall asleep in the van on the way back.
We have some requests from our friends. They include:
1. khaki uniform boys' pants, sizes 7 and 10
2. metal/iron outdoor furniture
3. stainless steel fish cleaning sink
4. dresser
5. I need some warm things; warm blankets, sheets, pajamas, anything that will make me warm-it's freezing here already!
I also need to stop by Junque to get burlap sacks for the sack races the 2nd graders will have soon. Reegan has them for $2 each. Additionally, I am trying to convince Nan and Sam to drive to a 100 year old barn/farmhouse estate sale in Chesterfield. I have discovered I love anything wooden and rustic, and this is sure to fit the bill. Can you imagine?
The excitement is starting to build. I may have trouble falling asleep. 500 plus sales! Apartment sales! Nowhere (as far as we know) to use a potty! Don't you want to join us?
A side note: please, yard sale propreiters and propreiteresses, please don't light up a cigarette the minute we walk into your garage. You have every right to do so, it is true, but you might be losing customers.

Friday, October 2

Today was low-key. It was just Laura and me, with Hudson in tow. I should note that Hudson cooperates for a small fee: any Dora book or anything yellow.

There were only 6 or 7 sales on Laura's prep sheet. She checks the Belleville News Democrat and Craigs' List every Thursday night and prints out the relevant sales. She checks Belleville, for sure, and maybe surrounding towns. Sales that start on Friday are always highlighted in blue so my navigation is as easy as possible. We really need a new map, though. Laura, can you take a pic of that nasty map?

Our first destination was the sale advertising "Two mounted large mouth bass and lots and lots of wigs!"

Take a minute to let that sink in, please.

Did you feel it sink into your bones? Did you sense the excitement we felt? WHO sells lots of wigs and fishing trophies? If this is what they advertise, what ELSE will they sell?! These are the questions that keep us going, even after we have spent all our cash and are dead-tired and very thirsty and facing marital conflict. It is the unknown -- the what-ifs around every corner -- the possibilities that await us -- that keep us driving forward, toward the next sale.

So we get there.

Here is the largemouth bass. This is the proprietor of the sale.

The bass was forty bucks, I think. But apparently it is very expensive to mount a fish. This one cost $200 back in the day. Some other shopper told us it now costs $15 per inch to taxidermy a fish. This explains the $200 beaver mentioned earlier on the blog! Taxidermy is the big money-maker of the economy. I'm rethinking my kids' career paths.

Something that caught my eye was this lovely

collection of lures.

I was thinking of my dad. Would he love to get these pretty lures for Christmas? How would I ship them to California? The proprietor said they were $5 each, but for the whole shebang, including the corkboard, he'd charge (long pause while mental math is performed) $40. That is all my fellow shoppers needed to hear. Just as I was saying "No, thanks." This guy here whips out two twenties and says it will put a smile on his dad's face when he has his birthday next week. (That's Laura and Hudson, too.)

Then we spied the wigs. There were 9 wigs, still in their boxes. A few were brand new and still had the netting and paper and stuff on them. They were a dollar each. I offered $5 for the whole box and she agreed. For the rest of the day I had conflicting emotions: I felt elation and joy at having scored such a wacky and random purchase, but I felt shame that someone who really needed them might not have the chance to buy them, and I felt fear that I was messing up my karma by buying wigs that I might need someday if I have to fight my way through some terrible chemo.

Anywho... we had a blast when I got the wigs home. Here are some of my kids and some neighbor kids enjoying the wigs. This is easily $5 worth of fun! (Readers of the Chase Family Blog should note the infamous Devin between Louie and Donny.) In fairness to children, I have included a picture of me wearing a wig. I think it makes my eyes look more blue, honestly.

So... our next stop of note was the PSOP on Church St. We spent about 10 minutes guessing what PSOP meant. We finally learned it means "Programs and Services for Older Persons". This was advertised as a "Girly Girl Sale". It is an annual event, apparently, held the first Friday of every October. At this sale I scored a lovely gray leather Liz Claiborne purse, a Smurf TV tray, and some excellent costume jewelry. In fact, I have started a collection of ridiculous costume jewelry, for use in a future art project. Here is the Boss Lady who tricked me into paying $5 for a container of "odds and ends". She would not let me rummage through the container. I had to make her an offer on the lot. A wily opponent, that one.

The PSOP had an excellent bake sale. I would be remiss if I failed to mention the fine slice of lemon bundt cake I procured for a mere 25 cents. Thank you, Ladies of the PSOP, for delicious sustenance just when I needed it most.

It was downhill from there. We were tired. We needed to rest up for tomorrow's Grand Adventure. Tune in tomorrow, Folks, for the highlights of the Greatest Garage Sale on Earth!

Brentwood or Bust!

This weekend, in Brentwood, MO and surrounding communities, there is a huge yard sale extravaganza. The city has waived the yard sale permit fee for this one day. The event is being advertised widely. There will be a map of the participating yards. Authorities expect 500 households to participate in the sale.

This is what we have been training for, People!

Our plan, as of Wednesday, is as follows:

• leave home Saturday morning at 6AM
• drive the Big Van for maximum payload
• wear tool belt to hold small bills, coins, cell phone, water, camera, keys
• pack car with stocked cooler so no stops are required for sustenance
• prepare large tote bags and labeled cardboard boxes to keep treasures separate
• possibly bring a portable potty-ing device (this is still under discussion)

Thursday and Friday will be physical training days. We will focus on general strengthening and cardiovascular stamina. Drills specific to yardsaling include:

• Auto Egress - in the car, buckle up, unbuckle, out of the car, slam the door, repeat.
• Sale Sprints - park car in front of neighbor's house, run from car to front yard as fast as possible, repeat.
• Pocket Pulls - in a fluid motion, reach into pocket, pull out a single dollar bill, thrust it out ahead of you, repeat. Five sets of twelve reps each side.

If we detect any weaknesses we may have to add a drill or two before Saturday.

Saturday Debrief

Stupid camera. My battery lasted for two pictures and I can't even upload them now because I can't charge the thing and upload at the same time.

Anywho.

What a day! I walked down to Laura's at 6:55. As I approached her house I saw her backing out of the driveway. An early start! I climbed in the van and noticed Hudson's seat was full of snacks. "No Hudson?" I asked. "No. But we have Sawyer." She replied.

Sawyer! Sawyer is the sweetest seven-year-old you will ever meet. If he forgets to say "Yes Ma'am" or "No Ma'am" Laura slaps him. Haha. Not really. But she has this cute southern thing going on where she demands her boys say "Ma'am" all the time. Before I met Laura and her kids I thought southerners were born saying "Ma'am", like some verbal genetic mutation or something. It turns out they are trained to talk that way! So having Sawyer along for the ride was a treat.

We had two goals: go to St. Theresa's "Everything Under the Sun" rummage sale and get me home by 10AM. Easy, you say; St. Theresa's is 15 minutes away at most and we started before 7:00. But you forgot about skivving! (see previous post for definition.)

We started out on Main, heading east, or as east as Main St. can go, which is really southeast. (A brief note about roads in Belleville: they are messed up! As far as I can tell, only Rt. 159 runs due north-south. It is The Beacon in the Night. Every other road zigs and zags or cuts diagonally across the map, making yard sale navigation a real chore.) So we're on Main and we skiv down 82nd to Woodside. Here we found a Nintendo Gameboy SP for 25 cents (why is the cent symbol not on the keyboard?) Also I bought JoJo a TinkerBell hoodie for 50 cents. I photographed a Twin Towers commemorative knick-knack but if you refer to paragraph one of this post you will know why that picture is not here.

Back to Main St. and on to Hope Church, near Memorial Hospital, for a "Parking Lot Sale". We expected a typical church rummage sale but it was a "Sample Sale". There was only one of each item but many were new with tags. They had funny tags and showed evidence of having been displayed on mannequins (the sweater I bought was closed with both buttons and double-sided tape for optimum drape.) Every shoe in the impressive shoe display was a size 6, the size most often displayed in shoe stores and merchandising venues. Little Laura, with cute little size 6 feet, raked it in. I looked over at her and her arms were overflowing with shoes. I think she bought 8 pairs or something. Each pair was gorgeous. She will have to post a photo for you.

After Hope Church we got back on course to St. Theresa's. We only had about 6 miles to travel. But we found skiv after skiv! We couldn't go a half mile without another neon posterboard announcing another yard or garage sale!

We had to turn down Charles St. because there were two good signs posted at the Lebanon Rd. corner. At the first sale we got out and started our customary squealing, to which the proprietess said, "These girls love yardsaling as much as I do!" We took the opportunity to promote our blog and hope she is reading right now. They had good stuff, plenty to squeal over. I stepped up on the porch to snoop in some boxes and the home owner's daughter said, "Oh, that's just junk." But I pulled out the most wonderful sculptures! One was a little bronze man sitting cross-legged, wearing a Santa hat. The other was a bronze cast of the artist's own hand. I looked at the daughter, stunned, and she said, "I made those but I was embarrassed to sell them." I asked how much they cost and she said, "Oh... I don't know... a dollar?" So I bought them for a dollar, but I told her they were wonderful and tried to get her to rent studio space at my mom's artist colony. (More later, I promise.)

A few doors up Charles St. we found a mediocre sale... with the most wonderful wooden objects ever! Laura must post a photo of her gun-crate-shipping-cartons. She blew a good twenty minutes deciding if these totally awesome, one-of-a-kind, utilitarian yet attractive items were worth $5 each. After a million minutes (maybe 17) she offered $2 each and the lady was happy to see them go. (A word about Laura's frugality: cheap. Seriously, she will find something so awesome for $1 and offer 25 cents. I would not have the balls. That's why I spend $4 to her $1 every week.)

With the six gun-crate-shipping-cartons safely in the van, we got back on Lebanon Rd. and headed to St. Theresa's. It was 8:45. We had just enough time to stop at a gas station for cash and potty, get to St. Theresa's, leisurely scour the tables, and make it back to Signal Hill by ten. But then we saw a sign... a big sign. A sign advertising a sale throughout an entire subdivision. I don't recall the subdivision's name. It must have been "Subdivision California" (like Hotel California where you can check out any time you want but you can never leave.) because we immediately became trapped, unable to drive away from the 20 or so adjacent sales but having to pee so bad and totally out of cash. We couldn't buy a single thing but we couldn't stop shopping! It was almost a nightmare. Sawyer said, "I just want to go home."

We wrestled our way out of Subdivision California and stopped at the nearest gas station.

"No Public Restrooms."

What the hell is that?!

So we went to a better gas station (really, Laura, please list the names of the Good and the Bad gas stations so people can know who to support during these tough economic times.) where they had a potty, an ATM, and plenty of snacks.

It was 9:25. We had just enough time to hit one more sale and skiv home. I thought "The Teaser" from Friday was on Water's Edge but I was wrong. The stop at Water's Edge was a bust and we had to head home. I think we skivved a teeny tiny bit on the way home but Sawyer was ready to be done and I had to get home or face marital consequences. So we never made it to St. Theresa's! I was home by 9:56, marriage intact.

But wait.

I took Donny to soccer. Matt joined us. I was hoping to leave soccer and rejoin Laura at St. Theresa's before they closed at 1PM. During soccer she called me to say, "You have to get here! It's 'anything you can fit in a bag' for one dollar!" But then Matt showed up at soccer (after Henry's bowling league, where he performed very well, by the way) and said, "Let's all go to lunch!"

Now that is just sweet. A man that wants to have lunch with his wife, his five kids, and his mother-in-law. So I have to agree, right? But time is ticking away, People! Soccer was over at 12:15, we drove to the nearest Burger King, I didn't order a meal, hoping to "bat clean-up" and finish all their leftovers. At 12:45 we were just about done and Matt says, "Why don't you go do what you want to do and I'll take the kids home?" Sweet man! That's why I love him! I yanked JoJo and Gramma into the car and we screeched out of the parking lot, heading toward St. Theresa's.

We pulled into St. Theresa's parking lot at 12:57PM. Laura and Sawyer were waiting for us at the door. We ran through the gymnasium, stuffing anything desirable into a paper sack. One dollar per sack! My mom, JoJo, Laura, Sawyer, and I were running from table to table, cramming anything metal, pink, or interesting into Shop-n-Save paper bags. I have yet to really unpack these bags and take stock of the merchandise from St. Theresa's but I spent only 5 bucks and I'm pretty sure the stuff is great.

Saturday Prebrief

It's dark outside. I am showered and ready. I find myself asking what it is that gets me motivated like this on a Saturday morning. There is really nothing else except international air travel or a newborn baby that could get me up this early. It's not just shopping. And it's not just bargains. I have never lined up early on black Friday for a post-Thanksgiving sale at a normal retail establishment. What motivates me is the delicious combination of adventure and conquest. We tear around town Thelma-and-Louise-style (if T&L drove a minivan and brought along a toddler.) We know there is something dangerous about our early morning adventure -- we explore deep into scary basements, encounter men of questionable character who live on the fringe of society, we face marital reprimand for our spending and collecting. But the promise of finding an unexpected treasure is too compelling! There is little in my life that surprises and delights me. (my children, of course, but they come with a lot of baggage, don't they?) But here, on a chilly fall morning, before the sun comes up, I imagine the wild and zany things we will find today. Like hidden Easter eggs full of fine chocolate! And who will be selling these gems? Will the proprietor of the sale have all his teeth? Will the seller have tagged and displayed his wares or will he only reluctantly have unloaded them from his garage to satisfy his wife's demands? What will I learn about the lives these people live from the tangibles they no longer want? One woman went to too many Pampered Chef parties and has to dump her superfluous gadgets. One man spent 20 years going to garage sales and has decided to liquidate his collection in an effort to simplify. One woman is moving up in the world, leaving her mobile home and knick-knacks behind. One couple enjoyed dressing their children in mounds of expensive clothing and needs to recoup a tiny fraction of the expense.

We are bringing the camera today. Tune in later.

stuffed beaver

No, really, we saw one. It was a taxi-dermied (is that a real word?), real, stuffed beaver. With fake snow. And wouldn't you know, we didn't have a camera. Man! Price tag? $200 beavers. Too much for this cheapskate.
Also seen today: lots of owls, because the woman's husband felt the many pairs of eyes were watching him in their living room, not one but 2 massage tables, and lots more that Nancy will have to fill in here as I can't remember any more.
But I just have to say this: if you advertise for a Friday sale, then for gosh sake have a freakin' Friday sale. Or at least let us in your garage to see the stuff you will put out for your Saturday-only sale. We so will not be going back to you tomorrow, Friday-yard-sale-teaser-lady.
More tomorrow. A church sale. Oh yeah, baby.

must-haves at every yard sale

So after my last thoroughly depressing post, (thanks for lightening it up, Nancy! And thanks to Alicia for liking our wacky writings!) I decided to make a list of what we find every weekend at yard sales. Actually, this list was born out of a desire to have a scavenger yard sale, where items we would frequently see at sales would be on a list for our friends to go try and find. We had little interest in the scavenger hunt, so we had to let it go, but here is the list (and keep in mind these are things we have seen at yard sales in our area, not made up ones):
-any incontinence product
-South Beach Diet
-owl (stuffed, made of yard, in a frame, made of shells, feathers, etc. Other animals definitely not as popular for decorating)
-jock strap (used)
-any book on menopause (Gail Sheehy wrote an apparently popular one)
-any book on sensuality (this was fun to see at a catholic church rummage sale)
-doilies
-home made blankets, afghans, etc.
-fake flowers
-bras (used)
-any kind of exercise equipment, from the big (elliptical machine) to the little (Tae Bo tapes, weights, etc.)
-wedding dress (these are always sad to see)
-boat chairs (for some reason, there are lots of these in this land-locked state...haven't figured this out yet)
And the best part has become, when we see these items, to shout out, "South Beach Diet!" to each other. Nancy came up with this fun idea, and the yard salers look at us like we are crazy, which we are!

Props to our one "Follower", Alicia. Woo Hoo!

And tomorrow is Friday, People! We have 7 sales on our list plus an unknown number of skivs. Let's roll!

Excellent commentary on buying stuff from dead people, Laura.

Personally, at estate sales I focus on the kitchen. The deceased's kids have probably raided the valuable china and silver. What is left are tried-and-true cookware and utensils. Imagine an 80 year old granny who has baked cookies every Christmas since 1950. You know she has the perfect cookie sheet, mixing bowl, and spatula! Maybe she was a champion of the potluck supper and therefore has an awesome casserole dish and serving spoon. It is likely she was born in the first Great Depression and knew how to stretch the leftovers: soup ladle! The beneficiaries of her will can easily overlook these common things.

The basements and garages of dead people are well-stocked, too. Think tools, machines, and devices. After 60 years of putzing around with miscellaneous home repair, you know the deceased man-of-the-house had acquired the perfect screwdriver, vice, and tin snips.

cleaning up the treaures

So if there is any downside to yard saling, it has to be that in order to get your stuff so cheap, some of it may be in yucky condition. For example, I purchased an awesome leather tool belt (for use in future yard sales, of course....did I already mention this here?) for $1. It has many compartments and can be very useful; it is just in really poor shape. Dirty, misshapen leather, etc. You spend a lot of time cleaning/rehabbing your items, but I don't mind this part. It is nice to take something that hasn't seen any love and revitalize it.

This is also the stance we take concerning estate sales. It is disheartening and quite sad to walk into someone's home (usually an elderly person), with all their worldy possessions on sale. Often, the owner has passed away, or sometimes they are taken into nursing homes. Samantha and I went to one in which we believe the owner was acting as cashier. Nancy and I went to one in which the woman's husband had died and she couldn't bear looking at belongings without him (actually, that was the one that I got the toolbelt).

The home of an estate sale usually smells like the windows haven't been open in some time. It is musty, dusty, and usually decorated 50s-80s style. One can't help but wonder, as you walk on the shag carpeting (there is ALWAYS shag carpeting), "Is this how my treasures will end up? Will my children be so bewildered by my treasures (and why I considered them treasures) that they will just give up and invite strangers into my house to purchase my soap dishes for a quarter?" When someone dies, they leave behind stuff. No two ways about it. It is a question of what to do with that stuff. Some elderly people (both my grandmothers, for example), sense their time is coming and begin to give away their belongings in the preceding years of their death. Some people do not, either because their advanced age caught up to them, their passing was sudden, or they couldn't bear to part with their belongings. In any case, it is depressing.

However, we (Nancy, Samantha, and I) have assuaged our sometime-guilt with the thinking, "By purchasing this elderly person's treasures, we are ensuring they will live on in our homes. We will clean them, use them, and honor them." That is really the only way to make an estate sale palatable; otherwise it is just too darn sad.

The enclosed picture is just such an estate sale purchase from a woman who had recently died. The turquiose chair has brass nails on the arms in which the paint had flaked off. I brought it home, cleaned the upholstery, and painted the nailheads. This is the result.