Yard Sale Success!

This past summer my friend Amy taught me everything there is to know about garage/ yard sales. One Friday morning, I tagged along with her. I was amazed with what I found for dirt cheap! Before this summer, I rarely bought things at garage/yards sales. I knew they existed because of the many neon colored "Yard Sale" signs that are seen on road signs, in yards, and street corners. However, I never thought to stop and look until this year! Oh boy, am I glad I gave yard sales a chance! I am now hooked on the whole idea of thrift shopping in stranger's yards! Over the summer, I've learned a lot of great tips that helped me become a successful yard sale shopper that I would like to share with you blog readers in case you never gone out to one before.

1. Plan a head of time before the big shopping morning. Make a list of addresses and times. You can look for them in the classified section of newspapers, online news sites, and your local city website might have a list of upcoming garage/yard sales in your area.

2. Go early in the morning when most yard sales are starting but don't be be "an early bird" most people hate people hanging out when they are not ready or set up.

3. Try to pick yard sales within your city limits and the neighboring cities. Bring cold water!!! I personally cannot last more than four hours of shopping in the hot summer weather that is why I prefer to shop in the early morning and be done before noon.

4. Bring cash! Most people do not take personal checks anymore. Make sure you have a lot of small bills (ones and fives mainly) and tons of change if you are shopping for shoes, books, toys, or clothes. Otherwise, if you are shopping for bigger items like electronics, furniture, appliances, you will need more cash. Over the summer, I never had more then $25.00 in my purse. I tried to stay within my budget. I even brought a zip lock bag full of change (which I found laying all over the house)!

5.If the seller is asking for too much money on some items try to negotiate with them to lower the price. Most the time it works but if it doesn't then move on to another yard sale. They will soon discover nobody will want their stuff if it over-priced!

Now let me tell you and show you the details of what I found at local garage/yard sales on a couple Friday or Saturday mornings this summer.

I got a bread maker with a recipe book!!! Woooohoooooo! It has made me enjoy baking more than ever because the machine does all the hard work, LOL!



I got a few shirts (Old Navy, Maurices, and BYU Cougars shirt) and a pair of American Eagle jeans. Not shown in photos below, I got my kids Book of Mormon Stories picture book, and Little Girl's Bible Storybook for Mothers and Daughters.



Big sister got the following items: a Moab Utah jacket, one pajama set, two pajama bottoms (Old Navy), a long brown bohemian Justice skirt, a brown dress with cute front pockets, a pair of American Eagle jeans, Gap capris, and one pair of jean shorts, two t-shirts, tons of camisoles, and a pair of black flats.



As for little sister, she got the following items: Three skirts (pink Gymboree, navy Children's Place, and a beautiful brown homemade with flowers and lace), three hoodie jackets, (two Old Navy and one Bobby Jack), a Gap jean jacket, three pairs of shorts, a butterfly tank top, a turtle neck that matches the navy skirt, two capris (Old Navy and Gap), a pair of jeans, one long sleeved shirt, three short sleeved shirts, one white sweater vest, flower hair clips, and a pair of brown shoes.



Here are other awesome goodies we found a couple weeks later...



Me: a brand new black gray earring necklace set, Tae Bo workout, sea shell shadow box, and salmon shirt.

Big sister got the following: a gray American Eagle sweater, a rainbow hat/scarf set, a couple of camisoles (from Abercrombie, Old Navy, Gap, etc), Levi's skinny jeans, and a dog stuffed animal.

Little sister got the following: a stylist pink hat, four pairs of Children's Place tights, four long sleeved shirts, two skirts, brown shorts, two short sleeved shirts, a red polka dot Gap swimming suit, green purse, soft dog house with dog, pink teddy bear, Care Bear ball, Polly Pocket case, a plastic doll, and a collection of Disney Fairytale Stories.

Both Girls Share: A wall decoration, Barbie scooter with helmet and Barbie accessories in a zip lock bag.

I've found that yard sales are by far cheaper priced compared to any local thrift store! Now I bet you are wondering how much the grand total we spent on yard sales this summer. Believe it or not, we only spent $55.00 total for the entire summer. I listed some of the name brands because obviously when they were bought brand new the seller's paid a lot of money for them and sold them to me very cheap! Some facts I would like to share are the following:

1. Our most expensive find was the bread maker $15.00.

2. The cheapest items were FREE or ten cents (on some shirts, cotton shorts, tights, hat/scarf, camisoles, toys, books, etc).

3. Big sister's American Eagle sweater was fifty cents and brand new is over $40.00 dollars!!! It was in excellent condition too and her most favorite item!

4. Most the jean items shorts, capris, and pants were either fifty cents or $1.00.

Woooohoooo, we had amazing deals buying back to school clothes this year!