Rellie spent the night last night and this morning we went to breakfast at Sunrise. he ordered waffles and scrambled eggs. We were up and going early so we could take him to breakfast before going to see a house we are interested in buying. We met our realtor at 9am and fell in love with the house. We don't even want to see other houses. We've done this enough times to know that the house could be snatched from us before we get everything in place to put in an offer, but we can hope (and pray) that it doesn't. If it does, life goes on, but Greg really likes it. It's usually me, but this time it's him. Hmmmm could it be that the backyard of the house is a golf course? Or that it has a 3 car garage? And a swimming pool? And a bathroom the size of our current bedroom? Or the wooden deck off the master that faces the golf course? Or the basketball hoop in the oversized driveway? Or the tennis courts on the corner of the block? Or.... you get the picture.... he will cry man tears if we don't get the paperwork done in time and it sells.
So after we looked at the house there was a yard sale across the street (which we attended of course) and then we had to take papa back home so he could change into his ref clothes and head out for a full day of reffing. I gave Rellie $2.00 for his yard sale allowance and he did quite well. He acquired 2 books, 2 Star Wars type tranformer thingies, a Star Wars collectible piece he got for Tucker, a motorcycle, a "free box" ugly baby, and 3 movies. When a 3 year-old holds out his money and asks how much is it, the most common answer is a quarter or how about both of them for a quarter. The only thing I ended up buying for him was the Star Wars collectible because it was a dollar and it was for Tucker.
So some yard sale tips:
1) take wet wipes and clean your hands throughout the day (especially if you stop and get some to eat or snack in the car) because you are touching a lot of other people's stuff and germs.
2) take extra plastic bags (especially if you're like me and you're buying for different people). Some people have bags for you and some don't.
3) If you want the big ticket items, like furniture or large appliances, you have to be there first thing in the morning when it opens. Early bird gets the worm.
4) If you're like me and shopping yard sales more to get bargains in general, you actually get better deals from noon-2pm when things are greatly reduced. I still start early and go the whole time, but if something is over priced, I write down the address and come back during the bargain hours if it doesn't require a lot of extra driving.
5) It's good to map out a plan of driving, but plan on stopping a lot from point A to point B because you'll stop at a lot of yard sales on the way.
6) Have a list of things you're looking for. My kids send me their list too. :D
7) If a yard sale is two days, rarely are there good deals the second day past 9am
8) Set a budget and get the cash. If you find something big you can write a check and they will hold it while you go get the cash. That way you only spend what you have, or you have to work harder to go get more cash. I usually take $40.
9)Top 10 BEST DEALS: #1 is definitely clothes-- I save so much money buying the grandkids' clothes and even some of my clothes at yard sales.
#2- Shoes and boots (now is the time to buy kids' snow boots, gloves, and winter apparell by the way. Picked up two pair of boys lined winter boots (one pair never worn) today for $1.00 each.
#3- House Decor (can't beat yard sales and D.I. for great house decor items
#4- Toys -- they're so cheap at yard sales-- why pay full price
#5- Lighting fixtures (save a ton of money here) & Small appliances
#6- Books, Movies, Games
#7- Baby Accessories (strollers, playpens, jumpers, monitors, etc.)
#8- Furniture
#9- Bikes, Scooters, outside rec stuff
#10- Fashion Accessories- Purses, ties, belts, jewelry, hats, etc.
I enjoy yard-saling not only because of the bargains, I like the adventure and challenge of it. You meet some interesting people and see so many "things" and you are helping someone else financially. Oh and you're recycling.
On a sad note, my friend's family rodeo got rained out (different friend from yesterday's adventure) so we didn't get to go. Found 4 little straw cowboy hats at a yard sale today for 50 cents each so the grandsons could be ready for the rodeo. They'll have to wear them July 1st now since it was rescheduled. Yee-haw!
Happy Father's Day to all (in one hour). I'm looking forward to it tomorrow. :D
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