Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Yard sales and thrifting gems: What have you found this season?

I love a good yard sale. I love to go to them and to have them. Although going to them can sometimes play havoc on my de-cluttering mission.

I am trying very hard to resist non-essential yard sale purchases; it just adds to our clutter. I have found a few fun bargains so far this summer.

My 3 1/2 year old has inquired about soccer. Her older cousins play and we try to go to their games. I found these black and pink Adidas soccer cleats at the Salvation Army for $1.50. They were hardly worn. They are too big now, but hopefully when she is old enough to sign her up they will fit. If not, I will just sell them at a yard sale. If she can wear them, I saved myself about $12.50 since Foot Locker is selling them for $14.99 online. The hardly worn shin guards were a dollar and they are also about $14.99 online.




These dessert parfaits and canning jars were in a FREE box. They just needed a run through the dishwasher and they are like new. I really didn't need the parfaits, but ice cream is a family favorite in the summers. We are trying to save money, so I am making special ice cream treats at home instead of going to the ice cream shops. The canning jars came in handy for my strawberry freezer jam. And I couldn't resist FREE.



Who doesn't need a good summer book and pancake molds? I really didn't need the molds, but I thought they would be fun for the kids. They were still in the packaging and never used. That is a sink basket in front of the book.



These Tupperware canisters are not from this summer's yard sale season. I have been collecting them for years. I am looking for two more bigger ones, preferably in the blue color. I store everything in them, from flour, sugar, corn meal, popcorn, pretzels and coffee. They have a tight seal and keep things fresh. Thankfully I have a big lazy susan cabinet to store them in.



I am looking for fall clothes for my oldest daughter, but I'm not having much luck. I am picky about clothes. I want them to be like new and a lot of the clothes I have found just haven't been in good condition.

I would also love to find a bread maker, but haven't had much luck with that either.

Looking forward to Saturday morning...

How has your yard sale season been so far? Have you found some great gems? What are you looking for? Have you hosted a sale yet? Was it successful?

Thanks for reading FamilyBalanceSheet. If you don't already receive FBS free updates, please click here to sign up.




6 comments:

  1. We haven't done a yard sale yet...my wife did have a consignment sale in May that did bring in a little money..we are hoping to build on this every year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am a recovering garage sale addict. I fell off the wagon a couple of weeks ago and came home with a van full of treasures. It really messed up my de-cluttering! But it sure was fun! No more garage sales for me for a while!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have two of these containers in blue -- what sizes were you looking for?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Rete,

    I am looking for the 2 bigger sizes, one for flour and sugar.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love a good deal, but I, too, usually head to Walmart when I think I "need" something! So, when I happened upon a huge "garage" sale to benefit a local charity and the sign said "fill a brown bag for $10" - I couldn't resist!! As I walked around, I happened to see the store tag on a pair of jeans sticking out of a box on the floor. When I dug deeper, I found another pair! Both brand new Levi's, tags still attached, in my husband's size (which happens to be hard to find!)...I didn't find anything else that I needed and thought 2 pairs of brand new jeans for $10 was a deal for sure, but when I checked out, the cashier said "that'll be $2" - I even offered to give them the full $10! They wouldn't take it, and that is my deal of the summer!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Shonda - that is a fantastic deal. Just this week, I found a new pair of levis for myself and paid $3. I thought that was pretty good, it doesn't beat $1/pair.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for reading Family Balance Sheet and taking the time to leave a comment. I love to hear from readers.