Yesterday was, I believe, the last yard sale day of the season. Daltonboy is in recovery--he always experiences a month or so of denial, and then sinks into a deep depression. It's possible that there will be a few scattered sales next weekend, but from experience I can tell you it will just be people's twenty-year-old ratty Christmas decorations and maybe some old, ripped up, stained t-shirts. So thanks, but we're not interested. We'll just make do with the outrageous prices at D.I. until spring, thank you very much. And on the bright side, we get to sleep in on Saturdays now!
Overall, it was a profitable season. Not the best we've ever had, but considering the state of the economy and the fact that people aren't getting rid of as much stuff as they were last year, it went pretty well. Here are a few of the best buys of the summer:
Toro Rear-tine roto tiller $40
Quilt and shams for our bed $3
KitchenAid (350 watt, 5 qt. bowl, white) $5
Palm Tungsten T2 $40
Three complete wardrobes for me about $20 (this enables me to allow my weight to fluctuate wildly throughout the year and always have something to wear)
Cutco Petite Carver 50 cents
Like new Craftsman lawn mower $10
Men's Ecco casual shoes, like new $3
Settlers of Zarahemla $2
Norah Jones "come away with me" 50 cents
Soaker hose for garden 50 cents
Burgundy super-ergonomic office chair that matches our office Oriental rug almost beautifully $4
Huge three-room tent, almost new $10
FoodSaver $5
We also got a ton of darling baby clothes for friends and relatives (I never pay more than 50 cents for an item), lotsa lotsa books, most of Tweengirl's school clothes, various kitchen tools, a bunch of disco LPs, and even some cans of Vienna sausage (free). Fun times, my friends. And now they're over, and we have to spend our Saturdays doing boring things like cleaning house, and getting rid of all the junk we bought at yard sales last year and haven't used yet. So far, all of the above items have received plenty of use and are being well loved. I just hope the memories are enough to get daltonboy through the winter.
7 comments:
A Kitchen Aid mixer? I real Kitchen Aid mixer? Oh, you'll see me at next year's round of yard sales, I PROMISE you. Every time you try to get something good, you'll see that I've beat you out yet again.
Of course, being BFF and all, if you just ask me nicely to give you what I bought from the yard sales, I'll say yes.
But seriously. I'm very impressed at what you were able to find and sad that I simply passed up all yard sale opportunities this year.
Yeah, I'm in agreeance (agreement?) with Cicada. Every time I hear of someone else's wickedly good finds, I get jealous. I hear that yard-sale shopping is a real skill. How does one go about acquiring this skill, anyway?
At first, SM, I thought that you were saying that you'd pawn off your spawn in order to get some good yard sale deals. "I'm sorry. I don't have cash. Would you accept my first-born?"
Okay, maybe I wasn't completely open about the KitchenAid. I mean, we DID purchase it for $5, but DB had to buy a gear for it and replace it. That cost about $12, and then he had to buy some grease stuff that is used for working on things that come into contact with food, and that only comes in gallon cans for about $10. So the whole thing actually ended up costing around $30. Still.
And I'm not sure the skills can be taught, although I have learned much from DB. My first season I spent $4 on a throw rug. Insane. I still blush to think about it. Mostly, he just stands around and stares, saying nothing, with this very displeased look on his face. By the end of the transaction, people are begging him to take the thing, and sometimes are almost willing to pay him to take it. It's a thing of beauty to watch. It's also really funny.
SM, I'll be happy to have you along. BFF, you can come too. I already have a KitchenAid, so you can have the next one. Most people sell them at their yard sales for about $100.
First you taunt me with your outrageous finds, then flaunt the new-found love that you and Cicada share JUST TO TORMENT ME!!!!
If this were an episode of Desperate Housewives I probably would have run you both over with my SUV by now.
Yard sale skills, along with general frugality, are largely inherited. DB got them from his parents, and I, being DB's sister, inherited them too. And I suppose one could acquire the skill, like DaltonGirl has demonstrated.
But I confess that I haven't been exercising my yard saling skills lately. That's because I also inherited another gene, a "night person" gene, that prevents me from waking up on Saturday mornings. Maybe I don't even have any yard saling skills anymore! Maybe I've squandered my talents! I could use a KitchenAid! I might even bake something if I had one!
Mamaj, I've seen your kitchen, and if you're not currently spending every waking second in there making delicious foodstuffs, I don't think a KitchenAid is going to make a difference.
Sakhmet's seen it, she can vouch. It's fantastic!
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