Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Secondhand Scores #23

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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I went to garage sales on Saturday with my daughter (3), son and son's friend (both 12) and we all had a great time. 

It is not just shopping like going to the mall.  It is fun going to the different houses to see what kinds of stuff people have to get rid of.  So many times I see toys or things I had when I was young that I can share with my kids.  Or we laugh about how we just saw the same things at a sale up the road.  We all like to be on the lookout for something one of us may want.  It is more like an adventure than just shopping.

It does take a few hours and eventually my kids get tired, but when we get home they love to show off their treasures to their dad.
These are my treasures!
  • Large framed artwork for $1
  • Brand new wood applique for $.50
  • Cute knitted Christmas garlands $1 each
    • Two strings of the Santa sweaters
    • Two strings of the stockings
    • One string of the mittens and hats
  • Four spools of white thread I can use with the mini serger I got the other week for $1 total
  • Travel Scrabble for $2
  • Two pairs of flip flops for $1 total
  • Four primitive pumpkin decorations for $3 total
  • Beautiful handmade crocheted blanket for $1
Towards the end of the morning we came across a sale that was out on the front lawn of a house, but no one was out there.  We pulled up next to and just my son had gotten out to check out a frame for me.  There was no price on it, so I told him to knock on the door to ask the price. The gentlemen answered the door and said he had put a note out that they were done with the sale and everything was FREE!!!
I had seen the free sign on the tv stand, but I thought it was just for the stand.  But the note on top of the stand said everything but the tables and blankets were free!

The kids had an awesome time picking out a bunch of stuff that they would never had gotten had it not been for free.
I grabbed all this!
  • Framed artwork
  • Four little Christmas decorations
  • Large mason jar that says Pretzels on it
  • Butterfly wall appliques
  • Two steak knives in the box
  • Some kind of alcohol decanter with wild turkeys on it
  • Denise Austin workout DVD case
    • I opened it after I took the picture only to find the DVD wasn't in the case!
  • Ceramic gravy separator
  • Smile face tap light
  • Two Fire King white glass bowls, one with a handle and spout
  • Boy and girl wall hangings
  • Large plastic white platter
If this stuff wasn't free I probably would have just gotten the framed art, but I couldn't help myself!!

Linking to:
Polkadots On Parade
Real Housewives of Riverton
The Blissful Bee
Lamberts Lately
Sweet Haute
Shabby Creek Cottage
I Gotta Create
Living Well Spending Less
Domestic Superhero
Redoux
The Thrifty Groove
Craft Dictator
Living Better Together
Liz Marie
The Shabby Nest
DIY Vintage Chic
VMG206
DIY Showoff
Silver Pennies
Little Homestead on the Hill
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
Dwellings
Rain On A Tin Roof
A Living Space
The Dedicated House
Cozy Little House
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
A Stroll Through Life
Kathe With An E
Love Grows Wild
Table for 7
Kammy's Korner
Coastal Charm
The Winthrop Chronicles
Not Just A Housewife
VMG206

16 comments:

  1. Great finds! The garage sales around here have been a bust for me lately. =( After Sandy, we don't go near any homes by the water for fear of buying things with mold or water damage. I never realized how much that cut down on the amount of sales here.

    Jeanine

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  2. Oh my goodness did you completely rock it or what!!!!! I am amazed at the artwork you scored!!! It is beyond stunning!!! Everything is awesome! Well done lady!!! Thank you for popping on by...I am a new follower here!!! Cheers! Nicole

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  3. Love all the stuff you get :) You are making me want to go look for yard sales and estate sales right NOW!

    Jessica
    www.thejunknest.blogspot.com

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  4. Looks like some great snags! Good job. Thanks for sharing! Stop by my Friday's Five Features tomorrow and link up this post (and others)! http://diy-vintage-chic.blogspot.com

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  5. If It's free it's for me !!!

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  6. Wow-- nice haul. "Free" after a sale is a great idea-- will keep that in mind! Visiting from TTF.

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  7. You always have great scores!! So jealous!

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  8. Sounds like you had some fun and got great deals! Can't beat FREE! thanks for sharing at TTF this week.

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  9. You definitely scored. That's fantastic. It's such a drag that garage sale season is almost over.

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  10. It doesn't get better than free! Looks like you had a very successful day!

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  11. Now that's the kind of yard sale I'd love to get to. You scored great for your efforts. Getting somebody elses' trash/treasures is so fun. You appreciate those things as much as store bought. Have fun with it all. Happy week

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  12. Awesome finds! I absolutely love that granny square afghan - what a steal! :)

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  13. One man's free junk is another woman's priceless treasure! I bet it felt like stealing especially those Fire King bowls.

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  14. This is so cool! My kids always loved the toys at garage sales when they were little. No matter how banged up it was, they wanted to spend their dollar! :)

    Would love to see what you do with some of this.

    Visiting from Brenda's!

    XO,
    Jane

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