I am up to my eyeballs in my garage sale. I have done really well so far on the money side, but oh the heat. The HEAT!! Still I press on, partly for the money, but mostly for the idea of ridding my house of an unbelievable amount of junk. I mean treasures. If you live anywhere near me, TREASURES!! Anyway, this post is like 2 years old, but it seems fitting and it saves me the time of coming up with something new as well as allowing me to just sit and watch Micheal Jackson tributes all night. Man that guy made some great music…
Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge garage sale fan. I go nearly every weekend and have it down to a science. Here are my tips to make your experience more enjoyable and save you money.
1. Do your research: Check out classifieds in your paper and utilize Craigslist if it is available in your area. Look for sales that are in the same general area and make a plan to cover as much area in as little time as possible. If you are zig zagging all around time you are probably spending more on gas than on deals.
2. Be wary of rummage sales and neighborhood sales: It is not that you can’t find good deals at these because you definitely can. I have found at rummage sales you have to look through a lot of junk to find treasures. The upside is they have usually priced things very low. Block sales can totally pay off, but I find that a lot of times you have people in the neighborhood who have 3 things they pulled out of their basement and slapped up a sign since everyone else in the neighborhood is having one to. Use word of mouth to find out which ones are the ones worth hitting.
3. Always bargain: If something is priced well than feel free to pay for it, but it never hurts to ask if someone will take less and the worst they can say is no. This is especially important if you are buying a lot of stuff. If I have 7 pieces of clothing all priced at $1, I will offer $5 for the pile.
4. Leave the kids at home: If at all possible, leave them at home. They just beg for junk that will end up in your garage sale the next weekend. Seriously, my garage sale is on big pile of regrettable garage sale purchases spurred on my by children.
5. Think about what you buying. Almost every garage sale I go to lately is selling bread makers, juicers, or some other kitchen gadget that has only one use. Just because it is a $5 quesadilla maker doesn’t mean you will ever use it. If you will then go for it. But that quesadilla maker may just be out there for a reason (Honey, please use that food dehydrator you told me to buy at the garage sale).
For more frugal tips, head over to Life As Mom.
Kelly
says:
I am a garage sale nut
Love em! Do you have a freecycle group in your area? www dot freecycle dot org Love that too 
Kelly
[Reply]
June 26th, 2009 at 2:23 am
tubelessinstl
says:
another “yard sale” nut here. We call them yard sales in St. Louis. LOL Thanks for this post. I truly believe leaving the kid at home makes me buy less!!! Thanks for this post and reminders. I was going to have a sale tomorrow at my sisters, but weather forecast is for 100 degrees. Ouch.
tubelessinstl´s last blog ..word filled wednesday
[Reply]
June 26th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
julia
says:
i just went garage saling this morning…. WITH my 2 year old!! it’s not that she wanted to buy a bunch of junk, but more that i was too busy keeping an eye on her than actually looking at the items. next time… KID FREE!!
julia´s last blog ..DIY: Homemade Laundry Soap
[Reply]
June 27th, 2009 at 10:29 am