garage sales
One Small Step to a Sustainable Holiday
Amid all of the pre-Thanksgiving buzz last week about Black Friday, a TV news reporter stood in the middle of a well known Big Box store, holding up some of the great deals to be had. Among her selected items, a toilet seat cover with Santa’s face. No really, I’m not kidding:
Most of us would agree that, especially in these economic times, something like this is unnecessary. But what if the price quoted by the TV news anchor was a low low $13? For the whole set! Even those among us who would normally snort at such outrageous decor might think “hmm…that might be kind of adorable, and Aunt Stella would get such a kick out of it when she comes out for Christmas dinner”! Something seems to happen to our judgment when things we wouldn’t be inclined to buy turn out to fall comfortably in our price range.
Let’s all please, please this holiday season start here: reclaim that judgment. If there’s one thing we don’t need on this planet, it’s a toilet seat cover with Santa’s face on it. The sooner manufacturers are aware of this (by lack of sales), the less burden our planet will have to bear for their production. In fact, how about we all, as consumers,
Buy no new holiday decor this year
Yep. It’s simple. Here’s what to do instead: Use what you have. Use what your friends and family have, but are not currently using. If you must obtain something that isn’t available to you in this way, thrift shops and antique stores are packed to the gills with holiday decor that’s already out there. If there’s something that absolutely must be purchased new, like candles, please patronize local artisans, in your town or online (a la Etsy).
We tend to think of recycling as the glass and paper and plastic that we sort out from our trash, but really, using what we have and relying on secondhand sources is just as powerful a way to recycle, if not more so. And the next time you see a $3.99 price tag on the silliest little thing that you almost can’t resist, please, take yourself out of the moment. The fewer new $3.99 silliest things in your life, and in the life of the planet, the better.
Garage Sale Friday
It’s not that I’ve been finding great stuff at garage sales these last weeks and then not posting about it; it’s not even that I haven’t been going to garage sales. I have. Every week, without fail. I just haven’t been buying anything. Some of the sales even had really nice stuff that I thought about buying. But I didn’t. In order for me to buy something at a garage sale, it has to be something that I’ve already identified a need for, or something that is a true Antiques Roadshow find. And those things just don’t come around on a regular basis. Such is the unpredictable and random nature of the garage sale.
In the past, friends of mine have heard about my great garage sale finds, and insisted on coming along with me on a Friday or Saturday morning. After we’ve visited 10+ sales and walked away empty-handed, they sometimes get a puzzled look, as if to say “OK, where’s those awesome finds“? And the answer is that we may need 20 more Fridays. We may have to go to 95 more sales. That’s just how it is. But I always enjoy the ride. I enjoy the heck out of the 95 sales that I have to go to find the treasure hidden in number 96. The people, the clutter, the stuff, the peek into the choices someone else has made in their buying, and, in the case of an estate sale, a true look into the stuff of their lives – their travels, their kids, their memories. In a lot of cases, the stuff that I buy is just an added perk.
Garage Sale Friday
In lieu of today’s haul, I offer the following Golden Rule of garage sale-ing:
Never Buy Something Just Because It’s Cheap
I’ve seen it play over and over: Two ladies at a garage sale, one hold up a widget and says “Look at this, Janet!”. Janet looks and mutters “Umm hmmm…..but what are you going to do with it, Betty”? Betty shrugs and says “……..but it’s only a dollar“!! Janet shrugs, Betty buys the widget.
This is a slippery slope, my friends, and one that I have sailed down myself. Paying only a dollar for something is not a reason in itself to buy it. At a garage sale, or anywhere. This is how pack rats are made. I have seen many an estate sale of people who filled their basements with these garage sale finds, unopened boxes of things bought on the Shopping Channels, stuff with 10 year old tags still on it. Cheap stuff, that’s unneccessary and unused, becomes a burden. And you become poorer for it, albeit little by little.
Let me count the ways………..to a more sustainable way of life
Stumbled upon the following website link today, which has a very helpful list of 100 things that you can do to help protect the environment — at work, at home, in your yard, ways to produce less waste. There are always so very many things that we can do that often don’t even occur to us. I learned a great number of things just by reading through the list (case in point, number 11: “Use a microwave whenever you can instead of a conventional oven or stove“. It does make sense, but just hadn’t occurred to me. Presto!), and although several on it are already close to my heart, I will leave you with number 100: “Buy used furniture – there is a surplus of it, and it is much cheaper than new furniture“. And probably better quality, as well.
Garage Sale Friday
Friday’s haul:
Ten dollars.
Better late than never! Friday was a very busy day, so I only had the time to squeeze in one garage sale. It was a nice one, and I found the pictured canvas bag of Ikea building blocks for the Little One. He’s just getting to the age where he is interested in trying to build things, so I was excited to find them. A little too excited, perhaps, because I found that $10 is kind of a lot to pay for Ikea blocks at a garage sale, so it was by no means a good deal. The Little One showed some passing interest (mostly just in dumping out the bag), then went to play with his legos.
On a better sale-ing note, the bread machine I picked up for two bucks a couple of weeks ago has been well worth the risk, having already made a loaf of basic white bread, and dough to pop in the oven for French bread. Super yummy, and it couldn’t have been easier. This could become a habit after all!
Garage Sale Friday
Today’s haul:
Two dollars.
Two garage sales and one estate sale visited. The bread maker came from a garage sale that a woman was holding for her parents, who were selling their house to move into assisted living. The house, though small and relatively nondescript, was immaculate. I would estimate that they’d been living in the house since the 1950s, and hadn’t updated a thing. But oh my did they take exceptionally good care of it. I figured that anything I bought at the sale would also be impeccably maintained, so I saw it as a good opportunity to shop seriously. If I had been in the market for a pristine 1950s wringer washer or vacuum cleaner, this was the place. They had both. But I did pick up this little guy, complete with all parts, instruction manual, and cookbook to boot. The daughter recalled her mom using it all the time, but it looks like new.
I had been thinking about getting a bread machine lately; wondering if I’d use one if I had it, or if it would be just another thing taking up space. I guess we’ll see about that one! Right now, I’m dreaming about fresh homemade rolls to go with dinner. If I can master the basic steps, I can make it a habit. Fingers crossed.
Garage Sale Friday
It’s summer! It’s Friday! Get thee out to garage sales! In my way of thinking, this is the best form of recycling. People shed the stuff they don’t want or no longer need, and the rest of us get a chance on a super bargain. Furnishings, books, clothes, household items, sporting goods, antiques, jewelry…….. This morning I stopped by two garage sales and one estate sale. I bought a small basket of the perfect size to hold the following stuff:
50 cents.
I could have paid more for a new plastic-y thing a la the one I saw in Target the other day, but consider it one less little thing that will end up in a landfill. Basket looks better anyway. Saw an adorable 1960s Lisa Larson for Gustavsberg pottery bulldog (seen here at an online shop) at the estate sale for $45. A steal, and I love her designs, but am sworn off knicky knacky things lately.
I have been garage sale-ing for about as long as I can remember. I have purchased an untold number of things from garage and estate sales. I have resold many of those things and gone on to buy more. Some highlights: A gorgeous small Julian Onderdonk painting, a first edition 1831 copy of The Personal Narrative of James O. Pattie of Kentucky, a large Gertrud and Otto Natzler bowl, a set of three Hans Wegner “The” chairs…………….a lowlight would be the 1982 Jaguar XJ6 that seemed so promising at just $250, if only I could have invested about 5 grand to get the thing running properly and exorcise the vomit-y small. A definite lowlight.
Will continue to post my garage sale Friday hits and misses. Aside from the wonderful and rare pieces, they have proven to be a wonderful source for kid stuff — lots and lots of very good quality kids stuff is to had, from toys to clothes to furnishings.
