• Let the garage sales begin!

    Posted on April 17th, 2010 Saver Queen 10 comments

    Spring is here (although it is a little difficult to tell, because it appears to be snowing outside at the moment.) And with spring comes the most eco-and-budget-friendly form of shopping known to woman: garage sale-ing!  Here is my wish list for garage sale-ing, thrifting and antiquing this summer:

    Kitchen Stuff

    A good frying pan (however, my thrifted cast iron skillet is so well-seasoned that it’s basically like a teflon pan at this point, so it’s done quiet nicely.)

    Glass mason jars (especially the real antique ones with glass lids)

    A popcorn popper

    Copper cookware

    Stuff for around the house

    Wicker baskets - big ones for laundry or blankets and smaller ones for tea towels, magazines, etc.

    Good frames

    Furniture:

    Small outdoor table

    Glass cabinet - something interesting and unique, to show off treasures

    Card catalogue and/or apothecary chests and/or wooden filing cabinet(s)

    Antique bookshelf

    Vintage trunk to hold extra blankets or games

    A miniature cabinet in which I could build a mini-wunderkammer

    Cute lamps for the bedroom

    Weird and decorative stuff

    Vintage orinthology and botanical prints & illustrations - found either loose, in books, or already framed

    Vintage test tubes, apothecary bottles

    Vintage maps

    Always on the look-out for:

    Craft, card making and gift wrapping supplies

    (I know, it’s kind of an odd mix, isn’t it? This summer I have fewer practical items on my list and more items that will help me decorate my apartment to suit my eclectic and vintage tastes.)

    What I’ve already purchased

    Just two weeks into garage sale season and I’ve already picked up a few items. For example, I got two wooden folding chairs, that are perfect for the balcony:

    img_2802 img_28121

    The chairs are in great shape, and I paid $2 each for them.

    Today I picked up a number of items from a church basement garage sale.  The prices were by donation, but I try to give a fair price when it’s by donation. It is a fundraiser, after all. Today I found:

    A tray-shaped wicker basket to hold linens or dishtowels

    img_2840

    A large glass corona jar with a glass lid (these antiques ones are the best - environmentally sustainable, because even the lids are resuable and will last forever). Good for storing coffee beans or  homemade granola, which incidentally, I think would make a great Mother’s Day gift.

    Iron rests (alternatives to hot pads) - one large one and two small ones. All antiques and all very cute.

    A cute vintage recipe tin (will either use this myself or will fill it with recipe cards and give as a gift)

    img_2819

    Vintage beer glass along with a package of bar coasters, which I think have a certain charm. I love that the print on the Molson glass is in perfect condition. I will have to decide whether these will go towards a gift for my Dad (he enjoys interesting and vintage beer glasses) or whether I’ll keep them for myself. Finding these treasures always carries this dilemma (it would make a great gift for someone, but, ummm…)

    img_2827

    Vintage gift wrap (perfect for a man’s gift)

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    The other thing I bought last week was a brand-new Ikea wok, still in its plastic covering. Unfortunately, once I took it home I realized that it had somehow been exposed to grease (perhaps auto grease from a garage?) which had leaked into the gaps in the plastic. I could not get the grease off no matter how hard I tried.  Just when I thought it was clean I’d rub it with some paper towel and some oil, and black gunk would appear.  Needless to say, the wok was toast.  This is a good lesson, to carefully check out your purchases before you bring them home.  However, even with a few dud purchases, you’ll almost always finish ahead by shopping at garage sales and shopping thrift.

    Here are a few of my favourite garage sale steals:

    My best garage sale find yet

    Summer thrift list

    More garage sale goodies

    What’s on your list this summer?

    Thrifting
     

    10 responses to “Let the garage sales begin!”

    1. Jen April 17th, 2010 at 18:30

      ooohhhh.. love the chairs and recipe box! My spring and summer should be far less hectic this year, and I’ve totally decided to garage sale to the max!

      You must have plans for all the apothecary-type stuff?

      P.S. Perfect timing for the garage sale post - we need a spring pick-me-up today with the snow!

    2. dinah April 17th, 2010 at 19:46

      i love garage sales too. love them.

      but i should probably hold one instead of going to them. :P

    3. Amber April 17th, 2010 at 23:07

      I’m always on the look-out for good kid’s clothes, cast iron anything and craft supplies. Happy thrifting!

    4. MP3 April 18th, 2010 at 18:46

      I got a hot air popcorn popper at a garage sale last year for $5. Best popcorn ever, much more healthy for you and tastier than the awful microwave popcorn - and so much cheaper to make.

      This year I’m on the prowl for containers for garden planting. And cool things to hang off the fence.

    5. Helen April 19th, 2010 at 12:17

      What a great list. I love finding items that can be repurposed for decor.

    6. Tracey April 20th, 2010 at 18:12

      A wonderful list SQ!!! Katie and I were out and about last Saturday with wonderful results! She found an amazing pair of leather boots…like new…for one dollar. I added more French style canning jars to my useful collection…plus a VCR and a box of tapes for $5. I was soo excited about this because I have been looking and looking for a working VCR. Believe it or not, they’re a bit hard to find out here. They are fun to use when working around the house because I can play my favorite tapes (like “Anne of Green Gables” :) and set them to repeat (unlike my DVD player).

      As for my Yard Sale List, this is far from complete but I am always on the look out for items to stock my Gift Pantry! I am on the lookout this spring for other, more useful, things as well…such as a soap dispenser for the upstairs bathroom (a pretty one!)…DVD’s that my dad might enjoy…wall paper…and so much more!

      Great post my sweet friend…very motivating…as always!
      Warmly,
      Tracey
      x0x

    7. Jan April 22nd, 2010 at 09:27

      crockpot… the new ones cook too hot.

    8. Maddy April 25th, 2010 at 16:45

      I know it’s not as cool as garage sale-ing, but I’ve 12-ish boxes of old mason jars in our shed (they were my mom’s… father’s quite a packrat), and you’re more than welcome to a box or two of them, if you’d like :)

    9. Andrea April 26th, 2010 at 17:38

      I have a vintage recipe box–mine doesn’t say any words, same era and has fruit on it.(So pretty!) I use it for holding all my coupons inside with recipe-card dividers.
      They stay organized and compact and it’s so pretty.

    10. Saver Queen April 26th, 2010 at 17:45

      Maddy - thanks, I’ll take at least a few of them!
      Andrea - do you know what era the recipe box is from? I’d love to know!

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