Yard Sale List

Oh my, I am SOOOOOOO excited!!  This weekend is our local town’s citywide garage sales!!!!  The nice spring days have been few and far between this year so there haven’t been very many garage sales yet around here.  I am planning to be out bright and early come Thursday morning!!!  (So if you live around here, sleep in that day, mmmkay??  ; )

To get ready for the garage sale season, I usually make a yard sale list.  What is that, you say? 

It is the list of things I am going to look for more deliberately at garage/yard sales this year (or thrifting, though I do less of that). 

I started making a list a couple of years ago because I found myself forgetting that I needed such and such a thing or kids pants in this size, etc. and then I passed them by only to be bitten by garage sale regret later!  Sometimes I put old stand-by’s on the list--such as painting supplies (I have discovered garage sales are a great place to get new paint rollers and brushes), frames, storage bins, kids crafting supplies, and so on.  Mostly, however, I just put things on that I wouldn’t normally scan for or sizes of kids’ clothes so I have a handy reference of what exactly I need.  I haven’t in the past, but this year I am going to keep the list on the car dashboard so I can easily access it. 

To give you even more of an idea, here is a start to my list this year:

BIG frames

boxy baskets

pruning shears

chop/miter saw

bunk bed

chicken nesting boxes

chicken waterer

new boards

white cardstock

large white mugs

nightstand with shelves and drawer, 26” or taller

king sheets in white, gray, or blue

air compresser

 

And the list goes on!  I have found that it is really helpful to write down the dimensions of things you may be looking for, such as the size of window blinds, cabinets, rugs, etc.  It is pretty frustrating to be at a garage sale eyeing an awesome deal and thinking, hmmmm….is that the right size??  Will that fit?  It is even more frustrating if you buy it and then it doesn’t work out…no returns at garage sales!! 

I buy most of my kids’ clothes from garage sales and I this year I plan to do that differently too.  In the past when I go to a garage sale with clothes in the right sizes, in good condition, and at a good price, I would tend to snatch up anything I thought they would wear.  This worked pretty well for boys’ clothes, but I noticed that it didn’t work so well for girl clothes.  Boy clothes all seem to mix and match easily, for the most part.  But with girl clothes it is a different story…you need to have a plan in mind so the random tops and pants you get look good together.  So this year, I am being very specific with my list.  I will still stock up on the random play clothes that I find because she is just going to get them dirty and worn out anyway, but for other clothes I am going to be on the lookout for exactly what is on my list, for example—a black cardigan, size 7.  If I don’t find it, I don’t find it and I will have to supplement either at a thrift or a regular store. 

So, do you make lists for garage saling?  Maybe you’ve got it together and you have a mental list.  : )