This Weeks Garage Finds!

Another fun weekend out hunting for treasures with Mr. Right. Take a look at what we found...
The frame was $2.00 and will look great in black, the glass jar will hold vintage game pieces and was $1.00.
The vintage gravy boat and little wood shoe form were $4.00 each.
This ginormous iron bowl was $5.00 and the iron shoe forms were $1.00 each (what a steal!)
I'm not sure what all these pieces are or were- but I love the shapes and will definitely be able to find a use for them. I paid $5.50 for the whole lot- If you have any great ideas for me, leave it in the comments section.
Monopoly game for $1.00! But my favorite find this weekend is this...
Wood cake stand for .50. I love the scalloped edges and carving detail. The finish is a little tired, but with a coat of paint and some vintage sheet music in the center- this will be an amazing display piece. Maybe I could even find a large cloche to go over it! Love, love, love the possibilities. Let us know what you found this weekend. Love, Kelly.

Pottery Barn Crate Wall

When I saw this picture in the pottery barn catalog I knew I had to try and recreate it...I love the use of crates on the wall. Here's another look...Ironically, the next weekend Mr. Right and I stumbled upon some vintage soda crates. We purchased all 5 for $19. We laid them out on the floor to find the perfect configuration for our wall...

This was the shape we thought worked the best...
To hang them on the wall, Mr. Right used long screws with washers on the end. This kept us from having to drill through the crates. Here they are all ready to fill...Filling is the best part. I turned to my decorator cupboards (this is where I put all the stuff that I buy at garage sales and don't have an immediate place for). Here they are all decorated up... They look great next to the pottery barn bingo board I copied last year...

Let's take a closer look at what's inside...

A vintage silver dish holds old pocket watches that I picked up for a few dollars at a garage sale, The old Bible has a glass jar with vintage wood bingo markers and an old lid. I love the number embossers, silver whistle and jar of wood thread spools. The two wood dumbells were also a garage sale find.
I love the way this ironstone platter looks in the crate. The key is also a garage sale find.
A set of vintage Rhetoric books (I was a speech communication minor), a bottle of bakelite poker chips, an old shoe form and an apothecary jar with metal scoop all came from various garage sales.
Mr. Right put a few of his vintage tools on display (some from his grandmother) and I have more old books, a pair of dice I picked up at Goodwill and painted to look old, a collector bear I picked up while in Europe and a jar full of antique bottle caps.

Here you can see my love of old games with scrabble and domino pieces! I picked up the gravy dish last weekend and the ink eraser, ink, bronze powder and old lid are also recent garage sale treasures. I'm loving my new wall! It's given me a chance to display some of my favorite collections and it looks like it came together over time (even though we put it together in two days) For me, the cherry on top is the big letter "B". I knew I wanted either a large letter or number to fill the space between the crates.

Imagine my surprise when I saw the letter B (for our last name) at last weeks swap- sometimes things just come together like that. Let me know what you think! Love, Kelly.

Linking Up To:

Frugalicious Friday@ Finding Fabulous

Remodelaholic Anonymous @ Remodelaholic

Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints On My Fridge

It's A Hodgepodge Friday@ It's A Hodgepodge Life

What I Made This Week @ Simply Designing

Show And Tell Friday @ Romantic Home

Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest

Spring Has Sprung @ Fun To Craft

Flaunt It Friday @ Chic On A Shoestring Decorating

Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors

Favorite Things Friday @ A Few Of My Favorite Things

Plant A Pumkin Seed Party @ Pumkin Seed Productions

New Friend Friday @ The Girl Creative

Strut Your Stuff @Saturday Mornings

Moving and Shaking Trash

Currently, this $40.00 garage sale buffet is listed on Craig's List for $80.00

But before I sell it, I pull these vintage fixtures off the buffet

spray paint 'em and sand 'em down

If it's alright to transfer one piece of trash for another, then that's what I'll do.

I really like my new $10.00 dresser, but it needs a little pazazz!

Kelly and I drooled shopped at Anthropology a few weeks ago and found some amazing knobs on clearance for $2.99.

Thanks to Kelly's advice, I try them both on the dresser.  

Thanks, Kelly.

My $1.00 frame

get's a little gold spray paint makeover.

And what does Little Sis do while I work on my projects?

She loves her $3.99 Baby Einstein toy from Goodwill.

To sell or not to sell, that is the question? 

 

I've become a bit attached to my $20.00 Goodwill antique folding table, but this is business.

Look at those legs!  Don't you just love the claw feet?  

Let's see if I can sell it for $95.00 on Craig's List.

My $20.00 8x11 garage sale rug needs a good cleaning.

  

The reason I was able to purchase this beauty for $20.00 was because the owner had spilled carpet shampoo on it and wasn't sure how to remove it.

I hang it on the pool fence and squirt it with a hose.

Squeaky clean and the carpet shampoo smells like strawberries.

The rug is now listed on Craig's List for $100.00

The boys keep themselves entertained in their Clone Wars Star Wars house I found for $5.00 at a garage sale.

And my $5.00 garage sale partition I used for Halloween decor?

It's now on Craig's List for $45.00.  

How's that for staging?

Another day of moving and shaking with trash.

Trash To Cash Wednesday!

Let's take a look at this weeks top sellers...

I've really been having great success with Trouser style jeans. These Levis Ultimate Lift Size 14 Boot Cut 544 Denim Jeans sold for $12.94

I mentioned the Zenergy line by Chico's last week. This Chico's Size 3 (Xlarge) Graphic Zenergy Jacket sold for $15.00- can't wait to see how the gold zenergy jacket does this week.

I do love my Chico's, and Travelers are always a sure bet. It's rare when they don't sell for at least $9.99 and frequently they will receive multiple bids like these Chico's Travelers Size 1 Medium Purple Pants- They sold for $15.59

I rarely buy petite size pants because they don't consistently sell for me. On the other hand, size "Long" pants always seem to bring in multiple bids. These American Eagle Size 12 Long Denim Jeans sold for $22.50.

I love to sell dresses. It's always one of the first racks I visit at the thrift store. Laura has mentioned how much she loves the "Flax" brand. Wish this one I found was in her size, but since it wasn't I sold it on ebay. Women's Flax Size Petite Black Linen Dress sold for $20.50

Banana republic is one of my favorite brands (next to Ann Taylor) and wrap dresses always do great on ebay. Add that fact that this is made of silk and it's a fantastic combination for resale. This Banana Republic size M silk wrap dress sold for $25.00. Let's see how it all added up...

Ebay Profits:$542.99

Craigslist Profits:0

Costs: 30.00(clothes), 26.30(ebay fees), 38.60 (paypal fees)

Total Profit: $448.09

Not too shabby! This will go to the Christmas fund! So, have you given ebay a try? Send us your stories and questions, we love to hear from you. Love, Kelly

Finding the Good Stuff Isn't a Race so Shop at your own Pace.

I received this email a few days ago.

Hi gals! 

This was my first week of thrift shopping to resell.  I got to Savers at opening and found a line of 30 people!  When the doors opened, there was a mad rush to all different racks.  I wasn't sure where to start so I went to ladies coats, then tried plus jeans.  I felt really tense though- like I needed to move quick before all the good deals were picked over.

My question is this - what is your average sale day experience?  Do you get there early to have first picks of a rack?  What section do you start in? Do you hit up multiple stores?  Do you bother with rack people have already picked through?

Thanks,

Candace

Reading this email made me laugh at my own experiences.  I know what it’s like to do this for a living, so I understand the pressure you’re feeling to get there early and find the good stuff before anyone else.  

Sometimes it feels like a race to the racks, a dash to the furniture and a rush to home decor.

What’s a girl to do?

Don’t fret.  

There’s plenty of trash for everyone and I’ve got the proof.

Since having my 5th child, I’m not out the door a quarter-hour to opening.  I’m lucky if I’m out the door at all.  On a good day, I get to the store and back home before the older kids return from school in the afternoon. 

Even on garage sale Saturdays, I have to wait for Little Sis to finish up her cookie 

or round the boys up from off the trampoline (and you know how much time that takes) before I can leave.  

Most of the time, I’m out around 10:00am, sometimes later.

Looking in the children's rack late in the afternoon on Dollar day at Goodwill, I was surprised to find this Juicy Couture Large Burgundy Velvet Hoodie Jacket Coat.  Maybe no one found it because it wasn't racked in the right place.  Maybe it didn't sell because it was still almost 100 degrees outside.  Either way I got it and it sold on eBay for $9.99.

I’ve done this long enough to know it’s not just luck or coincidence it's just the name of the game.  Even late in the afternoon, I can still find great stuff, like this Women's Old Navy Size 10 Denim Jean Knee Length Dress. 

I was at a garage sale last week late in the morning and the homeowner told me I could fill a grocery bag of clothes for $1.00.  

Can you believe that?  

I must have fit at least 10 clothing items, including the Old Navy dress.  It sold this week for $8.50.  There’s always good stuff to find.

Even at the Frasier Field Swap, my friend Rachel was the last in line to swap.

She was #50 out of 50 excited pumped-up swapers and did she stress?

She was thrilled to get this vintage yellow lamp.  It was exactly what she wanted.

On date night last Saturday night, the counselor and I stopped at Goodwill before going to dinner.  

He needs a small rug for the entrance of his office.  We didn't find a rug, but we did find Little Sis this great vintage dress for $1.50.

That's what I'm talking about, right little girl.

Let the crowds grip, but don't you.  Know that if it's meant to be, it will end up in your cart.

Like this Women Eddie Bauer NWT Small Purple Velvet Overall Dress.

It sold on eBay for $14.99.

The more I do this, I know which stores I like best.  I know which items sell best, I pick up sweaters in July and shorts in December.   I buy unconventional items, like this 11x14 area rug.  

I paid $20.00 for it at a garage sale.  The homeowner told me it was $600.00 new.  I hope to sell it this week on Craig's List for $100.00.  It's in perfect condition; plush and stylish.

Even though they don't have $dollar days, I still shop at Mesa Thrift, Desert Industries and others. Goodwill, Savers and garage sales are icing on the cake.

Candace, I hope this answers your question.  Do not be intimidated by big crowds.  Check the return racks by the dressing rooms.  Hit multiple stores, even later in the day and always remember to be gracious.  It will always come back to you, not always in the shape of a huge area rug, but you will be profitable.
Questions?  
You can always email us at mydeartrash@gmail.com.