Guest Entry by Carole Groux - You Can't Beat Free!

Carole and I met through a sweet friend (thanks Martha). We've had the opportunity to discuss not just the bargain trash we find around town, but our emotional trash as well. Carole's story is lots of fun because she does this just for fun. She gets very clever in where she looks for trash and now, we get to learn (and be entertained) from her experience.

My first garage sale experience was when I was 8 years old growing up in Mississippi. This would be the early 70s and I was visiting my Aunt Mildred in Jackson. Not only was I curious what happened in peoples' garages, I was excited that I was getting to spend the morning by myself with my famous Aunt who was a REAL inventor! And she even gave me a dollar to spend on our excursion. My job that morning was to read off the addresses that were circled in the long list of "yard sales" from The Clarion Ledger my aunt had planned out that morning and then mark them off with an X after we had gone to them. I bought shirts, shorts, toys, and some "gifts" for my parents and siblings all with my one dollar that morning. I was definitely sold on this new way to shop where everything was a nickel or a dime.

Fast forward to today and I'm still bargain hunting with the best of them. My favorite thing to do is frequent "Dirt Cheap" in my hometown, Starkville, Mississippi with my parents.

I visit the "recyclery", a.k.a., The Dump on my drive into town from my house in North Carolina. Here is my best recent find, a water fountain that allegedly didn't work (as stated by the gentleman dropping it off).

Guess what? It really did work. The owner just had it put together incorrectly and also had the pump turned all the way down to low. I flipped this on Craigslist and made $65. Another treasure I found in someone's trash pile was this elegant, appearingly hand-crafted wrought iron wine holder. I sanded a bit of rust off it and got $50 for it from a Craigslist shopper.


And another great jewel from the dump was this Danby refrigerator, in complete working order! I wanted to flip it but my husband thought it would be good to keep in the kids' retreat for their sodas, gatorades, etc. - He won on this one. It is rare that he sees as much value as I in the treasures I find. So, I kept this one as a subtle reminder of how lucky he is to have such a savvy shopper of a wife!

A Happy Day for this Desperate Writer

This is a happy day for me; a desperate writer trying to get a book published.

I’ve been to New York and back hoping to find an agent or publisher for my novel, Colors of the Sea.



I’ve attended various writer’s conferences and networking events, writer’s groups and author lectures.

I created a book cover (thank you to my beautiful model, Miss Britany Bretzing who looks more like Winona than anyone I've ever seen) and promotional flyers, a website and even cute hemp bags with my book cover printed on them.



But seriously, how do you think I pay for all this writing paraphernalia?

Did I inherit some money? Make a fortune in the real estate boom? Win a lawsuit? No, unfortunately not.

It’s true, the counselor is a wonderful provider, true to his man-ly stewardship and incredibly generous, but I didn’t feel good about digging into the family funds to pay for my round trip airfare to New York City.

And then there's my annual fees to the Society for Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators (www.scbwi.org, the Rachel Carson Foundation (www.rachelcarsonhomestead.org),American Night Writers Association (www.anwa-lds.com)and other organizations I belong to.

What about conference fees?

And mailing dozens of query letters, with my three-page synopsis and the first chapters of the book to various editors and agents?

Editing, formating and a photo session?

My subscription to Writer's Digest?

Copyrighting? Incorporating? Therapy?

Did I mention printing costs? Because you know I’ve printed about 100 copies of Colors of the Sea for family, friends, old college professors, babysitters and the clerk at the thrift store who keeps begging to read it (if you want to read a bit of this juicy book, visit www.lauralofgreen.com to download the first 5 chapters). This writing thing is expensive, but like my other babies, worth every penny.

My Ebay store has covered most of the costs of this huge undertaking. Luckily, I can up the ante when I need more dough for various other expensive; like childcare for my cute little sunny boys,

fast food because I never have time to cook, late fees on bills I can’t find the time to pay and the list goes on and on.

It’s been a lot of work, but a blast and this summer a dear friend suggested I start a blog. Thank you for the wonderful advice Doug Johnston(www.littleredride.com).

Surprisingly (mainly to me), www.mydeartrash.blogspot.com now goes hand in hand with my writing goals. It gets me writing every day about something I love, like a warm up to other writing projects I’ve got going.

Writing about garage sales, thrift stores and making money on Ebay is easy, fun and most of the time, humorous. Writing about sexual abuse, marine biology, even mermaids and braiding it around my main character, Winona, takes a bit more concentration and focus. But I realize now, I need one in order to do the other and as a writer, I’ve never been happier or more balanced.

Plus, I'm pretty happy about the little commotion I feel in my belly. I can finally feel the baby move, my own little circus performer in a ball of warm water.

I have to mention, I did receive an email today from an Ebay customer who found my blog. This is a verbal pat on the back for me and I had to share it:

I visited your blog last night and read every single post. You're an amazing, creative, and resourceful person and I truly admire you! Keep posting; I'll be reading. :)

So, thank you for making this desperate writer’s day.

If you love my blog, or even just like it, please consider leaving a comment or becoming a follower.

Honorable Mention

I bought this wonderful Army Air Force XL Emergency Sustenance Vintage Tan Vest last week at a yard sale. I just love all the cargo pockets and patches. I paid $1.00 for it and it sold for $9.99. It wasn’t a huge sell, but I think it's so cool and I'm happy it’s going to a good home. Good-bye, cute vintage vest and it was nice getting to know you.

Top Sells of the Week

Making money on Ebay is no small task. In this economy, making money at all is a big deal.

The nice thing about Ebay is I can work it around my schedule. So, if I have four sick boys, a messy house and a lost dog, I can opt to work another day.

This last week was interesting. Let me explain.

My goal it to post 50 clothing items a week. This does not always mean I post 50 new items. Sometimes I post 30 new items, and the items that didn’t sell the week previous, let’s say there were 20 of them, I discount to .99 cents. Sometimes this works out great. A .99 cent listing can attract a lot of attention and with multiple bids, I can easily make over $10.00 for that item. I love to give away great deals, so occasionally a listing for .99 cents will sell for just that. Currently, I have several .99 cent items that look like they won’t get any other bids. But I also have a pair of men’s Silver Tab Levi’s that I paid .50 cents for last week at a yard sale that are already up to $17.00, so don’t feel too bad for me.

Last week I only posted new items, so all 50 were priced in the $6.99 to $9.99 range. I only sold about half, but each items sold around $10.00 to $20.00. Ebay sends me emails from every item listed, stating if it sold and what it sold for. I had 25 emails that said, “Sorry, you’re item didn’t sell.” You’d think that meant I had a bad week, but I still made over $200.00. Yes, interesting week indeed.

I have a lot of items to discount to .99 cents for next week.

My top sells of the week are as listed:

These darling Abercrombie & Fitch Size 4 jeans received a lot of attention from multiple bidders, selling for $20.50. Not bad for $1.00 investment.




This Old Navy black cardigan sweater has pearls beaded around the bodice. It's totally my style and I thought about keeping it for myself, but then I looked at my bulging belly and realized that would be a bad choice. I'm glad I posted it on Ebay instead, because it sold for $24.00.


This QuikSilver Men's Ski Jacket is in perfect condition and a trendy item, especially this time of year. I sold it to someone in Canada for $15.00. Shipping international is somewhat a pain, because I have to wait in line at the post office and fill out customs forms. Because of this, I do charge additional fees to my international customers. Even though it costs me my time, it is a bit more profitable to ship international.

Can you say FreeCycle?

Kelly,I'm not sure how you do it, but you did it again. The thing that fascinates me about your projects is your imagination. You see something special in a piece of trash and magically, you make is appear. Beautiful job and thank you for sharing.

So happy to be visiting My Dear Trash again. This week I completed a project that was completely free. I was at a yard sale on Saturday and noticed a free sign next to a dresser that was missing a drawer and two frame artwork thingies that looked like they’re from the 90’s craft shows. I verified that the items were free and the owner said, “You have to take them all.” Well, who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth? So my dear husband I loaded them up and went about my merry way. I have been needing something to fill the space next to my dining room hutch- so this is what I came up with.



Here is a before pic of one of the frame/art work thingies (I have a great idea for the other one, which I’ll share later) Notice that someone had taped it off and painted the outside frame. But the tape got left on too long, which glued it to the wood. Thank goodness for my handy sander.



This is after I sanded off the splattered paint, scrapped off the tape and took off the hardware.



Next I gave it a couple coats of creamy off- white paint.

Next I found a quote online about family trees. I then printed the quote the size I wanted and using tracing paper I copied the image onto my board.



Next I used a paint pen to fill in all of the lines.






After I sanded the edges and aged the whole pieces, using a technique I found here (http://shanty2chic.blogspot.com/2009/09/ashleys-large-vintage-looking-dominoes.htmlI I then hot glued on a few of my grandmother’s antique buttons.



Here’s the finished product. I just love it! Can’t wait to show you what I’m going to do with the dresser with missing drawer and the other art work thingy. Hope you enjoyed.

Who Doesn't Like a Good Deal... for real?

Thank you, my sweet Mrs. Hinze (aka: Heather, my sister-in-law who married my darling brother Tadd) for sharing with us your coveted trash. My, you do good.

The thing I love about Heather's trash is she knows just how to either fix or style it in just that right way. She understands and identifies paint colors, shouting out "peabody yellow" or "cranberry festival" like days of the week. When she's in my home, she lavishes me with ideas about my own recently discovered trash. So here's to you, Mrs. Hinze, another secret weapon to beautifying the trash we find.

Show me someone who does not find satisfaction in finding a good deal & I'll show you a fool. Seriously! Who does not like to score at a garage sale or at the Goodwill? Who enjoys over paying for home decor & other various merchandises? I'd love to meet this person.

I, on the other hand, relish dollar day at the Goodwill & the occasional garage sale jewel find. While thinking about this post, I started looking around my house & noticed many favorite jewels of my own. Here they are:

A vintage armoire that I found at the Goodwill on dollar day. Yes dollar day. If many of you are not aware... Goodwill has dollar day on Thursdays. This means whatever color tag & week (example: purple tag & week 25) that are designated for that day, will be $1. So... I scored this armoire for one freaking dollar. {Yes, gasp.} Tadd painted it, I antiqued it & now its home is in my Mom's guestroom.

This beaut is a dresser Tadd found at a garage sale for $15. Firstly he painted it black & it lived in our townhouse master bedroom & I loved it. However, as of late I've fallen in love with this blue/gray color (called Moon Rock from Glidden). It now lives in my entryway & holds my linens, dessert dishes, sewing machine, mail & canning jars!

I found my "new" dresser at the Goodwill. I wanted a bigger one & this one fit the bill. Being the thrifty person that I am, I could not bring myself to purchase the massive piece of furniture for the whopping $75 price tag. So, while Tadd & I were in Sedona for our anniversary, my dear father went to the Goodwill when it opened & purchased it for me for 1/2 price on Saturday. It was definitely worth the $32.50. Don't you agree? New paint (that I already had) & new hardware completes the transformation & makes my heart do a little happy dance. :)

This chair was FREE. Yup. They were at my in laws house & I have been coveting them for years. My mother-in-law realized my obsession & finally let me have them. {Thank you Sarah!} I only reupholstered them with a handy staple gun. And oh yes... there are two! Dos score.

I can't claim this as one of my finds, but it is definitely one of my favorites. Laura actually found this vintage trunk & thought of me. She paid $15 for it & I was more than thrilled & eager to snatch it for that price. Thanks La La...

Side note... Tadd found another black trunk & it flanks the other side of our bed. They home blankets & some of our food storage.

When Sage was born I decided that my ingenious schematic plan of my children sharing a room was crap. It was not going to work. So, this meant I was out of an office. Thus, causing a problem about where our computer was going to live. I found this fabulous computer desk on Craigslist in Buckeye for $40. {What!} I knew it was going to be a hellish drive out to get it, but when I found the same desk on Wal-Mart's site for over $300, I figured it would be okay.

Lastly, this contemporary art deco velveteen chair would normally not seem to be my style, but I adore it. I found it for $9 at the Goodwill. It is a wonderful companion to my computer desk.

Although I have so many other treasures to share, I'll have to save them for another post. Happy shopping!

Disappointment of the Week

The greatest disappointment of my day (and it’s only 8:00am) is that I didn’t get to sleep in. So . . . I’m tired, but the reality is pregnancy leaves me tired even after a descent nights sleep.

Mornings aren’t my strength.

Unlike the counselor, who is amazing in the morning. He jumps out of bed when the alarm clock goes off, always cheerful, reliable and sprite (can a 6 foot 5 inch man be sprite?).

He follows through with everything; accurately filling his work bag with client files and carefully picking out his gym clothes in the dark. He sorts through socks, and if he’s lucky he’ll find a matching pair.

I’m the grouch lying in bed, convinced if I try hard enough I’ll fall back to sleep.

I grumble as he starts a conversation, then moan something slightly verbal as he says, “I love you” and opens the bedroom door. The dogs pile onto the bed, wagging their tales like their very lives depend on it.

I do get a kiss good-bye (from the counselor, not the dogs).

I’m tired, but the counselor’s sweet smile cheers me up in no time.

So, I’m no longer disappointed about my foggy state of mind, but I do have some Ebay disappointments. They are as listed:

I found this Burton vest on dollar day and knew it was something special. Once I got it home, I googled Burton and found this dainty little thing sells new for over $100.00. I listed it at $24.99, but no takers. The next week, I listed it at $9.99. Still, no one and it was like the listing had shrunk into some unknown black hole. Was no one in the world shopping for a XS Burton snow vest? Stubborn as I am, there was no way I was listing it at .99 cents. If it sold for .99 cents I wouldn't know what to do with myself! So, I did what any decent person would do. I gave it someone I really, really love who I knew would look gorgeous in it(I hope you enjoy it, Chandra).


I brought home this gorgeous Chico's linen shirt, crisp white, with lovely bright festive embroidery. I paid $4.99 for it, because I knew, I just knew it would be a big seller. After 3 attempts, the last one a desperate hail mary so to speak, never sold, even on .99 cent special.



I find something I've never sold on Ebay. I hold my breath, because the price tag reads $4.99. Is this for real? A fabulous pair of True Religion jeans?


They look great: lowrise, artsy pockets (O.K., I'm not hot about the frontal nudity, but whatever), the zipper works, buttons are all there, and WHAM! Check this out.

These jeans have been cut, shortened and hemmed. HEMMED! What was the original owner thinking (take a deep breath here, Laura)?


This completely ruins the value of the jeans.

Reef doesn't want to hear it, but the truth hurts, little buddy.

Payson's beyond consoling. I've raised him right.

You might as well get a bucket of florescent yellow paint and splatter them with it, then take several hundred nails and hammer them, while angry, into the denim, and finally, soak them in bleach.
So, I begrudgingly place "what could've been" back on the rack and slowly push my cart away, looking back only once with a tear in my eye.
Big girls do cry, they just don't admit it!

Neighborhood Swap by Guest Writer Jeni Gessel

My dear friend Jeni has brilliant ideas all the time, like to paint her house a juicy plum red or to bake me a batch of real butter, pumpkin-shaped, obscenely drenched with candy corn sugar cookies. She's a master of all trades, but being a mom is what she does best. Read about her latest inspiration: a neighborhood swap.


The idea of a swap, an exchange, an even trade fascinates me. Something old can become new, simply by trading ownership! I love it!

My friend, Lou and I swapped. She gave me an edgy little black and white striped sweater and I gave her a creamy yellow jade necklace. Funny how her old sweater became my hot new little outfit and she instantly fell in love with the jade.

My daughter swaps with her BFF daily.


A Webkin for a Webkin
Skinny girl jeans for a pair of boot-cuts
A Milano's music t-shirt for a pair of kitty-cat pajamas
Cheese crisps for a pb&j sandwich
One pink flip-flop for a white one

And I've heard them whisper, giggle and consider swapping brothers.


Speaking of the 'little bro'...he will always swap the lip gloss or car keys or toothbrush to wrap his tight little fist around whatever new exciting thing I offer, like a dirt clod.

No one can resist a good, honest swap! It's the perfect way to reduce, reuse and recycle. That's why I get giddy and excited about a fun little neighborhood furniture swap i helped organize. Everyone is bringing something, a chair, a lamp, candlesticks, paintings, a set of dishes, whatever and then we swap! I can't wait!

Join us this Saturday (Nov 14 @ 9:00am) for a quick and fun little swap. Come say 'hi' I'd love to see you. Just look for me in a cute, previously owned, black and white striped sweater.
For more information www.fraserfields.blogspot.com

Here is what I'm contributing to the swap. Sign up with Jeni's swap at www.fraserfields.blogspot.com if you want a piece of my trash:

A lovely stained glass Noah's Ark Framed Picture



An antique heave large brass door knocker



And lastly, this lovely vintage set of pantry doors.

Yard Sale

The weather has finally cooled and I’m ready to find some great trash at yard sales.

Yard sales are somewhat of an addiction, like eating chocolate in the morning. It’s an indulgence that leaves a fabulous taste in my mouth all day long.

I’ve raided the counselor’s wallet, and find a couple of $20.00’s. Thanks honey. I’ll bring you home something fabulous.

This time of year, many neighborhood yard sales are held for a good cause, be it the girl scouts or cancer awareness.

With this motive, several families and neighbors pour their trash into one long driveway and you never know what you’ll find. I walk up and down the make-shift isles, bending down to examine piles of clothes sprawled out on old Raggedy Ann bed sheets. Gap, American Eagle, Ann Taylor and more. There’s no price labels, no tags suggesting what I pay, so I get to negotiate.

They say that the number one fear of American adults is not the fear of heights, or death, not even public speaking. It’s the fear of negotiation. Isn’t that somewhat shocking? Did I mention my degree’s in communication, emphasis on negotiation and conflict?

My last stop is at a beautiful home, full of Halloween and Christmas decorations. I spot a large cardboard box filled with Hallmark Christmas ornaments, each ornament in its original box, complete with its certificate of authenticity.

They are amazing: Santa surfing, a raccoon delivering Christmas mail, a crocodile in a red shawl. My kids will love them. I want all of them.

These ornaments are valuable, some have the original price tags at $25.00 new. And I know they’d be a huge hit on Ebay.

But, $5.00 each at a yard sale? It’s not likely the seller will get many takers at this price. There must be about 75 ornaments in this box. At $5.00 each that’s about $350.00. Suddenly, I have an idea.

“Excuse me,” I say to the homeowner. “What will you take for the whole box?”

He’s a nice man, and scratches the top of his head. “How about $50.00?”

I quickly do the math in my head. That drops the price to about .75 cents an ornament. Still, $50.00 is a lot of money.

“How about $40.00,” I say in return.

“Deal,” he smiles. “I have about 700 of these ornaments in the house, but the ones I’m selling here are all duplicates. I just want to get rid of them.”

I reach into my purse to pull out the twenties (Thanks again, honey) when the homeowner asks if I’m interested in a Christmas tree.

I walk into a garage just as his son attaches the last piece of a 10 foot Christmas. The pre-lit tree is gorgeous, in perfect condition and huge.

“My wife wanted a smaller tree this year, so we’re getting rid of this one. We got it at an after Christmas sale a few years ago for $400.00. Originally it was $800.00.”

His wife walks into the garage and realizes I’m interested in her gorgeous tree.

“If you take it off our hands, I’ll only charge you a dollar a foot. $10.00 and the tree is yours.”

So, for $50.00, I pack up my car and prepare for a blessed Christmas.

I was so excited; we put up our new tree this weekend.



Mayer’s certain Christmas is tomorrow and I spend some time explaining to him that Christmas is in about 50 days. He’s confused, even sad, but I divert his attention with a skiing penguin ornament and he cheers up right away.

The boys loved the ornaments, each picking out their favorite.




I try to keep those cute original boxes in some sort of order, after all they are about 25 years old, but with four boys ripping through them, well, I’ll have to see how bad the damage is when I try to put the ornaments back after Christmas.