Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Secondhand Scores #3

When I was a kid my parents went to garage sales all the time.  I admit I was totally embarrassed by it.  I never really bothered going regularly until after I had my son.  I realized I could get clothes and toys and things for him for pennies on the dollar and that is when my love for secondhand was born.

Garage sales are my favorite but I also go to flea markets, thrift stores and auctions.  I am always on the hunt for furniture to paint, stuff for myself, my house, my kids and unique items that I could put to future use.  I love the thrill of finding something that was once very expensive for as little money as possible.


In this series, I will share my scores to show you how much you could get for your hard earned money.  Some days I hit jackpots, some days I get nothing, but I always have fun.


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The first garage sales of the season were this weekend. I had a list of only three sales and the first two were a bust.  The third sale I scored a few supplies.

A pile of rags and towels for $2 (I use them as scrap cloths), the wire shelf and lazy susans for $.75 total and a bunch of calendar tea towels for $2.  I regret getting those towels, but at the time I thought I could possibly make them into pillows.  They have years going back to the 60's.  We'll see...

On the way back to my car they had a few boxes marked free. NEVER pass up the free boxes.  I got all this:


While I was at that sale, they told me about another one the next town over that I had to go to.  They said it was a hoarder sale and they were practically giving stuff away. I have been to all sorts of garage sales, but never a hoarder sale.

Was I in for a shock.  It was two attached houses and both were filled to the brim.  It started on the porch of the first house and I almost couldn't handle the visual overload of stuff.  There were piles on the front porch, living room, kitchen and three bedrooms upstairs.  Around back to the other house had another kitchen, living room and two more bedrooms--FILLED.  

These pictures really don't even show the amount of stuff upon stuff.  Every room was filled to the brim, you could barely walk around.  I had to literally dig to find anything.  I found a bunch of small pieces I wanted to be able to paint and sell.  I offered $2 per item and they took it!  I got four tables, a bench and a small dresser for $12.  After I took forever cleaning them out and dragging them to my car and packing them in, I opened my wallet to pay and came up short.  How embarrassing!  I had $9 and some change.  The guy didn't care, he took the $9, but I kept digging out change and found another $2 to give.  
That is my $11 haul!  I actually went back later in the day (after stopping at the bank) with my kids because my son has been wanting a covered wood box and was willing to dig through the stuff to find it.  
This was my second haul.  My son wound up finding three covered wooden boxes, I found a brand new stencil brush, four brand new directors chairs covers, another small table and a stack of plastic dishes to use for the summer.  I got it all for $4!!

I have to be honest, I would normally have to take hours, maybe a few days and go to at least fifteen sales to get this amount of goodies.  But that hoarder house was probably 50 garage sales worth of stuff and I am sure that is why I did so well.



Linking to:
The Real Housewives of Riverton
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Featured by:
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Embracing Change

21 comments:

  1. Wow, awesome! I could almost hold a 'hoarder' sale, lol, but I've been working on what I call GRS (Getting Rid of Stuff). Too bad you regret the calendar towels - can you sell them on ebay? Those are the kind of thing I look for at thrift shops, they are excellent dish towels

    Patty

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  2. Great finds... I can just imagine those tables all done up like new! Happy Creating! :-)

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  3. I can't wait to see what you do with them!

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  4. Great for you! Now paint & sell that stuff so you don't turn into a hoarder too:) Just kidding.

    But seriously, please do post some before/after pictures so we can see how the furniture pieces look after you paint them!!!

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  5. Hi Susan! :) I'm Suzanne . I just commented on your husband's painted dresser and chest he did and found this post at the Transformation Thur party at The Shabby Creek Cottage-- and after reading about your love of all thrifty things, and braving a hoarders sale---by golly, I've decided to FOLLOW you!

    Nice job!! LOVE LOVE LOVING the tables!

    Smiles from MaytagNMom aka: Suzanne in NW Illinois

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  6. Oh I can only dream I will find a sale like that!!!!

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  7. Wow! What finds. If only I could find a hoarder sale like that. How great was that. You found some great pieces. If you are like me, you will be smiling for a long time about that one.
    Stopping by from A Bouquet of Talent. I am your newest follower.
    Have a great Sunday,
    Bev
    @ Eclectic Red Barn

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  8. Wow, never imagined finding a hoarder sale. Overload is right. You sure snagged some fun treasures. What a day! Those tea towels with the calendars look like they could be amazing. You should photograph them so we can see what they look like. I'd love to see them!
    Liz

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  9. You got a lot of really good furniture!!! That's always a good thing....can't wait to see what you do with it!

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  10. Love it...FREE! That was great and you did so good on all your other treasures! Thanks so much for joining AMAZE ME MONDAY!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

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  11. Now those are the kind of sales to hit!! You found some great stuff!!
    Jane

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  12. Featuring you tonight!
    Stacey of Embracing Change

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  13. Those calendar towels are big sellers in our area. A lot of people collect them and are often looking for certain dates. I sometimes wrap birthday presents with them if I can find one with the correct year. I am amazed at how much you got for so little. We definitely are going to need before and after pics from you!

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  14. That is so awesome! Seriously that would be my dream to find a hoarder sale like that! I love this seriers you are doing and am so glad I found your blog so that I can see all the fun things you find in the future! I am like you and love finding things for a good deal and I am so excited that it is garage sale season again! I am your newest follower! If you have time come check out my blog!

    -Peggy

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  15. Wow, you were on a mission and now you can say "mission complete"... Great finds!

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  16. Oh my goodness, that is amazing! I need to find a hoarder sale!

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  17. Ok now I want to abandon my laptop and hit the road to find local...hoarder sales?? (= It's been awhile since I've garage-saled...lately all my second hand purchases come from my local thrift/donations store (D.I. here in northern Utah). You really did score. Very cool. Lynaea @ EveryDayBloom.com

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  18. Wow! What a haul! Love the tables you scored at that hoarder sale! Fantastic prices too! Have fun! Hugs, Leena

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  19. That is an incredible haul. Never been to a hoarders sale but have been to some dig through the boxes and piles sales.
    Joy

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