We had our first yard sale this past weekend. The verdict? Success! And here’s the key: Have lots of help and have lots of fun. That’s my advice — even though I’ve only had one yard sale. I dithered back and forth about doing it but when my two daughters said they’d help when I offered them a a 50/50 split of the profits — anything to get their junk out of the house! — we were on. And I’m here to tell you that you cannot do yard sales alone. Do not even try it. Everybody — children, in-laws, parents, friends — lent advice and (literally) helping hands. Plus, we all had fun. Made it a party, even. Might as well. Read more in my past two weekly newspaper columns for the TimesDaily: http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20090710/ARTICLES/907105000 and http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20090717/ARTICLES/907175001

Every sale of personal items does not have to be located in the garage or out in the yard. ‘Car boot sales’ are a mainly British form of market in which private individuals come together to sell household and garden goods. The term refers to the selling of items from a car’s boot (U.K.) (or trunk in the U.S.).  While not as popular here in the U.S., the measure is growing.  It’s a great event to organize at a local school or church parking lot, helping a whole group of people get rid of a trunk full of items all at one time.

Here are some tips for a successful Boot Sale:

• Pack the night before
• Arrive early
• Set up like a showroom
• Create some point of sale material
• Use your negotiating skills
• Move things around
• Remember why you came…. At the end of the sale, you don’t want to take anything home. Slash prices. Offer two for one deals.

GarageSaleCow.com is the best and easiest way to advertise, locate, and prepare for your next weekend treasure hunt. We provide ABSOLUTELY FREE local garage sale advertising and locating in your local area. You are provided flexibility, simplicity, organization, and time saving tools to enhance your garage sale experience. Stop by our website at www.GarageSaleCow.com to see how easy putting together a successful garage sale can be.

www.GarageSaleCow.com is the nation’s largest garage sale website with an amazing amount of new users joining each day. Thank you all for visiting our website and enjoy those sales!

Do you have more stuff than you have space?  Do you have items stuffed and stacked in all of your closets, the attic and the basement?  Is every available space in your home filled with “stuff”?  If you answered “yes” to any of these questions then you need to de-clutter your space!

I, myself suffer from the disease called “cluttered home”.  I find that on a daily basis I can hardly think straight due to the clutter that is taking up every possible space in my home.  I attribute my clutter to the fact that my family went from 3 people to 6 people in two years.  Walking in my front door, you are liable to trip over jumperoos, car seats and diaper bags…and we have double for your trouble.  With twins, a toddler and a pre-teen, you end up with a house that resembles a mix between romper room and Hannah Montana’s bedroom ALL DAY LONG!

Here are a few suggestions for de-cluttering your space.  Free your mind, and the rest will follow…in the words of EnVogue.  Or from Barney himself, “Clean up clean up everybody everywhere. Clean up clean up everybody do your
share.”  We sing the Barney clean up song a lot around here.

Purge: Most of us are pack-rats by nature and keep things because they are “good”.  My DH is famous for saying, “this is good…someone can use it!”  Then he sticks it in the basement or garage where it sits and stays.  Well, if it is good for someone to use, let them use it.  Rather, let them have it!  Purge of things you are no longer using.  This goes for home decor, dishes, appliances, clothes, shoes, jewlery, furniture, artwork and the list goes on and on and on.

• Donate it! There are many charities, agencies and thrift stores that would gladly appreciate your donations of gently used items.  I try to give directly to shelters or charities because I feel that they will be used directly by someone in need instead of sold, but that is just my personal preference.  Many places will schedule a pick-up from your home.  There is a shelter that ties bags on our front door periodically and on a given date they will come by and pick it up.  I love that.  I can bag up some things that we are no longer using, set it on the steps and they will pick it up.  These donations are tax deductible by the way.

• Give it away! Freecycle is a great network for giving your things away.  Join your local Freecycle group and start giving things to people in your area.  Here’s how it works; people post items they have for free or need.  People in the group see the posting and respond.  You set up a pick-up method or location and pay nothing!  The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,773 groups with 7,001,000 members across the globe. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns.

• Sell it! There are so many ways to profit from your clutter.  Get paid to clean up and clear out!

1. Hold a Yard Sale- Put up some signs and set items on the front lawn.  People love yard sales and will drop by just to see what bargains they can find.  You make a profit and get rid of your stuff.  One man’s junk is another man’s treasure!  Check your city’s regulations on yard sales.  We have to get a permit in my city.
2. Flea Markets- This is a great way to sell your stuff, and use mass marketing.  Most flea markets are advertised and have a nominal fee to set up a table.
3. Post Items on Craigslist:  I absolutely love Craigslist!  Post items for sale and wait for people to contact you to make a purchase.  This is a great way to sell anything!  I have found it to be an excellent place to sell baby items!!  Selling on Craigslist generally yields greater profits than yardsales-fyi.
4. Take it to a consignment shop- Let someone else do the work for you.  Take your clean, gently used items to a local consignment shop.  They will sell it for you and at the end of the month, you collect a check for items sold.  Most consignment shops will give 50%-60% of the sales price to the consigner.  You can’t beat that!

A rule of thumb for getting rid of your stuff is if you haven’t used it or worn it in more than 1 year, then get rid of it!  Don’t save clothes for when you LOSE weight!  Don’t keep things just because they are in good condition!  I am working on following my own advice.  I know what I need to do, but I have to be like Nike and “Just Do It!”

I hope you enjoyed this Sip of Savings…Saving your Space!!  De-clutter today!!

I am woebegone. I had such a fun weekend and now look at me, I’m here at work, a corporate cronie, a cog in the machine, a disenfranchised hand-wringing complainer with sallow skin and a wide ass. *sigh*

Let’s turn this thing around, whaddy say? Do you guys have anything fun for me to look at? A funny story I can read? An interesting blog for me to throw an eyeball at? Please don’t send me anything with audio today because I forgot my earphones (pity me)…

Ho hum. I wish I were home and having a good time with Kristyn. I even feel blase about this post. Oh god.

EDIT: Nevermind, I realized I can just read Diablo Cody’s blog. Tres funn-y! I guess I’m just a little slow today. Poop.

Louse Point, my favorite beach

I DON’T MEAN TO GLOAT, but I keep confusing my life with a vacation. Going to the beach every day. Kayaking on Accabonac Harbor. Riding my hot-pink balloon tire bike. Eating lots of fresh seafood. Drinking margaritas on the screened porch. (My newfound ability to relax is due largely to having rented my Cobble Hill townhouse as of August 1st – to someone who saw my post on this blog!)

Barn sale on Skimhampton Road

A friend is visiting this weekend. Saturday was a full day, with yard sales in the morning (I got a green wicker side chair for $25, a funky cattail lamp for $15, a Le Creuset pot for $2, and more), and in the afternoon, the East Hampton Antiques Show on the grounds of Mulford Farm, a 17th century farmstead in a state of exquisite preservation.

Rattan and other beachy furnishings at the East Hampton Antiques Show

Needless to say, I didn’t buy anything there, but I enjoyed looking at perfectly restored and gorgeously upholstered Heywood-Wakefield rattan furniture ($12,000 for the couch alone) and saying hi to Rico from Objects in the Loft, a store in West Palm Beach, FL, I’ve written about in Metropolitan Home.

La Fondita, Amagansett, home of the $6 shrimp taco

In the middle of the night the rains came, and I awoke at 2AM remembering that both my car windows and the cellar doors (slanted hatch doors that open from the outside and are referred to around here as ‘Bilco’ doors, which always makes me think of Phil Silvers) were WIDE open.

Today is Sunday. The rain has stopped, and I have some mopping up to do.

On my search for books, it’s quite interesting to see what people have literal tons of in hard to see places.  They’re meaning to get rid of it, but they spent so much time gathering it, blah blah blah, art projects that never got started.  People have caches of art supplies going bad and lace that is mildewing and yellowing.

As a side project, I’ll buy these things and store them properly, but now it’s getting a little ridiculous.  I have bookmooch for books that I can’t house, so I need something similar for the art supplies.  And here comes Etsy!

Much of my weekend will be typing the lace, estimating age, photographing it, and listing it online.  Everything will be free shipping and unless something really special shows up, I’m betting everything will be under $5.  So, if you want some lace, please bookmark the shop.  I’m looking to sell to people who will actually love it and use it!

Here it is, my haul from the past few weeks. Basically gonna be one of my biggest summer hauls of all time. Too many things to elaborate intensely on. One vintage item I always seem to find (and buy) are those old video cameras, so cool, so sleek & sexy. Check out the pics below for more angles. Stay tuned for some more actual video posts coming soon. It’s hard to pin folks down in the Summer season but WE WILL SOON DELIVER MORE VIDEO GOODNESS.

ALSO, I should mention that we’re on Twitter now. Follow on our thrift store and yard sale adventures @THINGSIFOUND – Thanks!

So many incredible books, informational science books, vintage children’s books, classic MN magazines with some pretty stellar ads in them. No book was more than $2.00. Graphic design folks out there know how giddy we get when we discover an old magazine or book with killer visuals in it.

Dug up a neat old picture frame ($1.99), some old LP’s ($.50 ea) Conway Twitty is the man. That “I see the want to in your eyes” track is an all-time fav, no lie. He’s such a cocky bastard, it must be the hair. Oh and don’t forget that old beer/wine mirrored sign which I will eBay soon grabbed it for ($3.99).

Also grabbed some old artsy & stationary stuff: a stack of Utrecht tracing paper ($1.49), a ream of black construction paper ($.99), an old trusty Speedball pen and ink set ($1.99), some block printing ink($.49), check out that foldout pen tip poster that came with it. Found a set of  Testors enamels – I’m gonna possibly try to enhance my old 63′ Schwinn Typhoon with some detailing.

In the random category we found some more really beautiful jars for terrariums ($.99 ea) – now that the moss is in full swing. ANOTHER game of Rummikub for a friend of mine ($2.99), if you’ve never played Rummikub you really should, its addicting and fun as hell. Spotted another Glasbake mug, this one should make Glasbake guru Mr. Andy Kiekhafer pretty jealous. If you missed our video post on Glasbake check it out here.

I’M NOT ABOVE ACCESSORIZING. Yea so what I bought some pants and a couple great hand tooled belts, they’re hard to come by. The punker kid in me still loves dark gray wool pants. I live in the Midwest they go with everything and make me yearn for Fall weather. It’s rare to find some designer ones in my size and that don’t have those stupid pleats. The belts were a couple bucks each and the pants were $2.

That Minnesota magazine with all the vintage ads, that Herman Miller book find and that Oregon state plate was purely to make Aaron Draplin jealous. That’s my 4th Oregon plate find and not a fucking clue what I’m gonna do with them all. Rumor has it he’s about to embark on the WORLD’S LONGEST YARD SALE in early August. Shit that sounds like a good time, godspeed sir.

Summer is a great time to check out the yard sales and dodge the heat in the thrift stores. I suggest you get in there and if you’re traveling try to seek out some thrift shops that are off the beaten path, there’s tons of treasures to be found out there.

Just a little off the top please!

Cowvin is visiting his local salon for a little trim. It is so important to have good hygiene and a nice, clean cut image for the public. While perusing the shelves for just the right product, Cowvin is making friends. Really, how can you not make friends with a talking cow getting a haircut?

While Cowvin enjoys a day at the salon, his business isn’t in perms and manicures. What he really enjoys doing is helping people. YOU could be one of those people! Check out the helpful tips on Cowvin’s website and start planning your next garage sale today!

GarageSaleCow.com is the best and easiest way to advertise, locate, and prepare for your next weekend treasure hunt. We provide ABSOLUTELY FREE local garage sale advertising and locating in your local area. You are provided flexibility, simplicity, organization, and time saving tools to enhance your garage sale experience. Stop by our website at www.GarageSaleCow.com to see how easy putting together a successful garage sale can be.

www.GarageSaleCow.com is the nation’s largest garage sale website with an amazing amount of new users joining each day. Thank you all for visiting our website and enjoy those sales!

It’s a nice feeling when you trump a few media outlets on a story, isn’t it? Earlier this year, we reported on how much of a bust Youtube is turning out to be, from a financial standpoint, and now both the Independent and Gawker have reported on the same matter (though the $470 million loss we originaly reported has been toned down to $380 at most). This story has resurfaced around the same time as the record industry settled a long-standing feud with Internet radio and Google’s announcement of its jump into the operating systems market. What a wild time for all of the webaholics, no?

The feverish proponents of the web’s current lackadaisical stance toward copyright protection and apathetic attitude toward things such a money continue to scoff at claims that the current model is broken, it’s a seesaw that tilts perpetually toward the consumer. At first, the philosophy behind downloading materials online was to protest the unfairness of the corporate model, to lash out against the soulless corporations whose products just weren’t good enough for us to pay the full price for. Now that the potential revenues that could have been made if downloading hadn’t been as rampant are beginning to pile up, these same folks argue that it’s too late, the web is the way it is, changing it would destroy its entire purpose.

Here's the money folks could be making if the Internet worked a bit more evenly.

Aren’t we supposed to be in an information-based economy, anyways? Aren’t physical products and the sales thereof supposed to be obsolete, with newspapers tossed aside and propped up online and albums replaced by iTunes? I’m going to call shennanigans on the whole thing. The information economy, as wonderful as it sounds, as sleek, shiny and futuristic as it may appear, is going to topple. There’s simply nothing to support the continuation of the “pay for nothing” model. If Youtube, one of the most popular entities on the Internet, can’t come close to breaking even, what hope is there in advertising for the rest of us? Google has posted two straight quarterly sales losses. 90 percent of its revenue last year came from advertising, and the new Chrome OS is intended to solidify that advertising base.

But how does it do that? It’s going to be a huge hit for corporate use, since it’ll eliminate the need to pay for Windows OS as Chrome comes free, and since Chrome creates a dependency on Google, folks will be clicking on ads left and right. At least, that’s how the logic goes. But if it’s going to be mostly utilized by the corporate sector, who is going to click on those random ads next to the search results while on the job? Does anyone who has used the Internet for more than a month even click on them? Given that most of the applications Google has, whether it be Gmail, Google Docs, their RSS feed, etc can be gone through without even seeing a single piece of advertising, how will the cost of sending out a free OS be recouped…is the advertising that no one will see or care about going to really fill Google’s coffers?

There’s a reason no one talks about Facebook’s worth these days, why no one has bought it up with the same zeal that Rupert Murdoch grabbed Myspace (to decent success admittedly, with revenue in 2008 hitting upwards of $550 million and profits around $10 million). Where’s the money? What is it that Facebook offers people to make money off of? It’s a solid enough advertising tool, plenty of companies use it promote things, but much of that isn’t used by paying Facebook for those irritating ads on the sidebar. They create profiles, fanpages and the like, all of which cost nothing. It’s the same with Youtube, why pay for swaths of advertising when you can just hassle blogs to link to the Youtube clip itself?

Don’t get me wrong, I adore the Internet and it’s loose inner workings. But it just isn’t going to work. Companies, whether you like it or not, have to make money. When there’s a tangible product at hand, whether it be software, music or movies, what have you, they have every right to charge money for it and to aim at the people provide the means to plunder it (whether or not this is a good move from a PR standpoint is another matter entirely). If a guy shows up at a garage sale and pays for a few CDs and then hijacks your car, shouldn’t you be at least a bit miffed? Oh sure, perhaps leaving your car unlocked persuaded him to buy the CDs in the first place, but what’s the cost of such a move?

As for the contentious matter of what to do with treating news stories under copyright law (and the viewpoints of the loonies in the print industry), that’ll be written about shortly.

This is what I’m talking about! Garage sales as far as the eye can see. Unimaginable deals. Absolutely something for everyone.  Anything producing this many smiles has to be a great thing!

GarageSaleCow wants nothing more than to spread the word of all the amazing garage and yard sales taking place across the country, and we are in full sale mode this time of year nation wide. In our current economy, it is far better to expect to suit up your youngsters with school and play clothes, find wonderfully gently used items for your home and yard, and even sporting and luxury items that have many uses left in them…. all for a fraction of current retail prices.

At this event, the Trenton, Ohio 2009 City Wide Sale, there were truly amazing deals to be found, and yes, as far as the eye could see. What a successful community event! While out visiting local areas, Cowvin makes a tremendous effort to help remind everyone how much FUN hosting and browsing garage sales can be, making so many friends along the way. 

Don’t be afraid to organize your own event. Whether a city wide sale or just one in your own driveway, www.GarageSaleCow.com has many helpful hints to make your event a huge success. Too many people think ‘Garage Sale’ and cringe at the amount of work, but the reality is, what better way to do so many great things at one time? Get rid of some things you no longer use, making you money in the process. Feel better getting a piled up closet or cluttered back room back into working order. Meet some interesting people while bartering prices. See those things once so vital you couldn’t live without go on to another home to extend their life and stay out of landfills. Enjoy this yardsale season, and let Cowvin be there to help along the way!

GarageSaleCow.com is the best and easiest way to advertise, locate, and prepare for your next weekend treasure hunt. We provide ABSOLUTELY FREE local garage sale advertising and locating in your local area. You are provided flexibility, simplicity, organization, and time saving tools to enhance your garage sale experience. Stop by our website at www.GarageSaleCow.com to see how easy putting together a successful garage sale can be.

www.GarageSaleCow.com is the nation’s largest garage sale website with an amazing amount of new users joining each day. Thank you all for visiting our website and enjoy those sales!

hey y’all!

the birthday girls are greeted with a lei ...

... and a hug

let's get the show on the road!

our adorable and gracious waitress tara

the scene of the crime

hunkering together under what umbrella shade we could find

lovely brunch served on my vintage pfaltzgraff

jannetta takes it all in

gorgeous and delicious fruit pizza, made by my own two feet. i mean, hands.

jannetta gets silly with her lei. it might be the heat ...

bonnie sits, contented and peaceful. just like a birthday girl should be!

the birthday girls, full and happy

our pretty waitress takes a much needed break

the official FAG ring photo (in case you haven't been paying attention, the Head FAG wears the pink ring ... that would be moi.)

turn out the lights, the party's over ... one last pic before they leave!

 Sounds like a fish story to me!

You may not realize it, but even cows enjoy a quiet day casting a line or two, patiently waiting on that one perfect catch as the breeze billows past your ears and the sun is just behind those big oaks to the west.

The best part is coming home to tell the tale of the one that got away! You know the one…. when you first see it yank on your line and try to pop it up but somehow the slippery little guy manages to outsmart your hook. You know it’s probably only six inches being generous, but by the time you’ve told the story a few times, why, that guppie is suddenly ‘thissss bigggg!!!!’….. (measured by your hands like a Subway footlong commercial, of course.)

Take some time out to relax and do some fun things over the summer. Feel the heat on the back of your neck. Swat one too many mosquitos. Grill the perfect hot dog with the stick you widdled after gathering logs for the campfire.   And after a relaxing weekend with the reflections of the reeds holding tight at the edge of the bank and the water spiders bouncing spiratically across the long lines the sun has cast, you’ll be ready to come home and do something else that makes you feel good. Get rid of some stuff and get paid for it!

GarageSaleCow.com is the best and easiest way to advertise, locate, and prepare for your next weekend treasure hunt. We provide ABSOLUTELY FREE local garage sale advertising and locating in your local area. You are provided flexibility, simplicity, organization, and time saving tools to enhance your garage sale experience. Stop by our website at www.GarageSaleCow.com to see how easy putting together a successful garage sale can be.

www.GarageSaleCow.com is the nation’s largest garage sale website with an amazing amount of new users joining each day. Thank you all for visiting our website and enjoy those sales!

THEN

MY FIRST THOUGHT, when I met Debre DeMers last winter in a real estate office on Shelter Island, was “What is she doing here? She looks like she belongs in Brooklyn!” Turns out, Debre lived in Park Slope for a couple of decades before buying a Victorian farmhouse in near-shell condition “for the doors” (they’re arched and pointy and fabulous). The house had a new roof and a snazzy exterior paint job, but nothing on the inside except studs and insulation (the previous owner ran out of  oomph and money).

NOW

Aside from a few minor details (she’s from Montana, I’m from Queens), Debre and I have much in common: an interior design background; cats; collections (I’d never heard of Navajo bug pins before). I love the fact that almost all the building supplies and furnishings in Debre’s house came  from eBay, Craigslist, or yard sales, that she has two stacks of old doors on her porch, and that she’s laying a flagstone walk herself.

She’s been working on the house, which is on a small, sloping lot near North Ferry, for about 15 months, and the renovation is is well along. A wraparound screened porch has dramatically increased living space beyond the original 1,200 square feet. There are gorgeous new barn-wood floors, new doors and hardware, two new bathrooms, and most of a kitchen.

I’m impressed that Debre survived her first winter living full-time on Shelter Island, and seemed to like it. “It’s funny how quickly one adapts to life out here,” she wrote in an e-mail. “I’m always happy to return to my house in the holler.”

Having given a few hints here on how to have a greener living , it has been mentioned to me on several occasions that, “I should upgrade this, do that, or buy this.” I practice what I say on this blog. While I understand the want to improve upon technological gizmo and gadgets, I do not.  Anyway, by the time you get it out of the store, the technology has already changed.

The contemporary furnishings in my home are mostly from family (mom) and then from yard sales.  There had to be a need to acquire “new” and then it had better have been on sale.  Not paying anything full price is the only way to shop…if you actually have to shop.

With that said, the only pieces of new furnishings are the bed and the sofa.  Over a year ago, the dog literally ate the center of the bed – so – I got my money’s worth. The sofa is to be able to sit next to my Wonderful.

For clothing and shoes, I just bought five new shirts, which will be rotated in and out with the other shirts that have managed to survive this long.  I actually still own and wear one shirt that I bought over twelve years ago!  Pants and shorts survive just as long. Shoes really just don’t interest me at all.  I have one pair for summer, one pair for winter, and tennis shoes for when I want to go on long walks.

The technology gizmos fall into the same category.  The cell phone is four years old and the only reason I have it is – the dog ate the upgrade from four years ago. The television that collects dust in the corner is just over five years old, given to me as a gift. I had a seventeen inch for the longest time. The Netbook is a birthday gift that I got just two months ago.  I’m sure it’s survival will be for awhile.

What does this mean? Am I cheap or broker than a joke?  Ha!

I was broker than a joke in my twenties! Happy for it now that I see how things have transpired.  I learned very hard lessons on “wants and needs“.  I always got compared too by other women because I didn’t have the “it” and how was I suppose to date. (??)  You know how woman are -

Yes, I look around the place and love the different memories that spring to my mind.  I purge regularly to keep crap from building up.  The pictures are up and decorate it uniquely – and those too have all been collected over time.

Value what you have and keep it nice.  It will last a long time.

It really isn’t hard to read directions when it comes time to upgrade.
It really isn’t hard to try on clothes when you finally want to go shopping again.
And it really isn’t hard to go to yard sales to  pick, choose and bargain.

Why be like everyone else, especially when everyone is trying so desperately to be different?

No, Tasha the White Cat won’t get sold along with the rest of the stuff slated for our upcoming yard sale, but sometimes I’m tempted. She can be the most annoying, whiny, aggravating little thing — and then she curls up right beside you and tucks her head under and goes to sleep and looks so sweet that you forgive her for the 3 a.m. wakeup calls. Even my husband John Pitts overlooks her irritating determination to get on the other side of any — every? — door, no matter what time of day or night and her overwhelming jump-in-your-lap need to have some of whatever anybody else is eating. Too bad she doesn’t have thumbs and can’t help with yard-sale pricing. We usually donate stuff we accumulate and don’t want to a local church-run thrift store, but somehow we still had tons of stuff taking up prime space. We pretty much have an empty nest now with Older Daughter off and married and Younger Daughter off at college — I always tell them that I don’t mind keeping/storing their stuff, as long as it’s stuff they know they want to keep/store. If not, let’s let it be somebody else’s junk. We haven’t had a yard sale for years and years, and I sweetened the deal by offering each of the daughters half of the proceeds if they’d help declutter. You can see the response here — and this is just part of what we’ve got to sell. Except for the kitty. She stays. I guess.

                             What better way to meet a bunch of new friends all at one time???  Why not go to a parade!  And what better parade to attend than the 47th Annual Frontier Days Parade in Milford, Ohio.  Quite the event with more than 70 vehicles, floats and groups participating. The parade kicked off the weekend-long Frontier Days, which includes frog jumping contests, lawn mower races, live music, gambling, booths, rides, games and basketball tournaments. As always, Cowvin was working the pavement, making tons of new friends. He even got a game of cornhole in amongst the other activities of the day!

GarageSaleCow.com is the best and easiest way to advertise, locate, and prepare for your next weekend treasure hunt. We provide ABSOLUTELY FREE local garage sale advertising and locating in your local area. You are provided flexibility, simplicity, organization, and time saving tools to enhance your garage sale experience. Stop by our website at www.GarageSaleCow.com to see how easy putting together a successful garage sale can be.

www.GarageSaleCow.com is the nation’s largest garage sale website with an amazing amount of new users joining each day. Thank you all for visiting our website and enjoy those sales!

I adore yard sales, the excitement of finding something that I never knew I needed for a dollar is one of the best feelings ever.  I have tried to not “yard sale” this season and work on reducing my stash, but last weekend was my neighborhood sale, there were yard sales everywhere and I could not resist!  I came home with a carload of books, clothes, games, and Tupperware.  The real treasure I found was this souvenir dress from Mexico. It sadly is to small for me, but I have fabulous plans for this one:  I think that I will make it into a smock apron!  I plan to cut the sleeves off and enlarging the arm holes a bit (I don’t want to lose any of that embroidery), open the back up entirely, and shorten it to a more apron-y length, then I can just add bias binding to all the cut edges and ties to the back and ta-da and new apron.

Now to decide what color to use for the binding: red, turquoise, pink or green.  Let me know what you think, leave me a comment and help me decide

Think it’s the wrong time of year to be thinking about ice skating? With the heat wave we’ve been having, it seemed a great time to reflect on good times on the frigid ice. This visit on the blades was at Fountain Square in dowtown Cincinnati. Cowvin always enjoys an adventure, but did he ever get his wish when he decided to practice his figure eights on the ice! If you think it’s hard for the people to skate, you should try being an ice skating cow! Well, the whole point of trying new things and going to new places, for Cowvin, is to meet new people, making friends wherever he goes. How can you help but make friends with a cow braving the rink?

GarageSaleCow.com is the best and easiest way to advertise, locate, and prepare for your next weekend treasure hunt. We provide ABSOLUTELY FREE local garage sale advertising and locating in your local area. You are provided flexibility, simplicity, organization, and time saving tools to enhance your garage sale experience. Stop by our website at www.GarageSaleCow.com to see how easy putting together a successful garage sale can be.

www.GarageSaleCow.com is the nation’s largest garage sale website with an amazing amount of new users joining each day. Thank you all for visiting our website and enjoy those sales!

Sold two huge bunches of monkey grass today so side hustle weekend goes out with a whopping $35.00 in creative income!
I’m thinking of reinvesting part of this income into buying books at my local thrift mart and reselling on half.com. That little side hustle nets between $20-$60 per month.
And there’s a half price sale tomorrow which means I can get paperbacks for a quarter and hard bound books for fifty cents.
It would be fun to “reinvest” …frugal style of course!

hey y’all!

love and hugs,
terry lee

the estate sale treasure collection

vintage luggage piece for $1.50. are we seeing pink yet?!

goodies in a bowl ... love that old ice cream scooper!!

precious, precious sweet bowl, one of my faves this weekend

a great old aluminum cake lid

crusty old bird bath, with a sweet chippy-pink painted bird!

this treasure (he's v. heavy) was in the yard next door to where i grew up. he's gonna live in my garden now and quietly quack about my childhood days gone by ...

trash-picked mirror. v. heavy! found it tossed to the curb on a busy street nearby. whaa?!?! hauled it home (with the help of the FAGs). gotta love FREE.

the mirror, after. hanging in my living room. painted it country white and glued sweet green/rose fabric to the frame.

close up of yummy fabric

here's the church bench i mentioned in an earlier blog. found a great place for it too. in my b'fast nook! covered the cushion with an old pink chenille spread, added some sweet pillows. makes a wonderful sitting or reading area (or you may pray if you wish ... haha) oh, and this bench was free, compliments of FBC killeen, of which my children are members. they gave away the old church pews when they moved into their bigger and better building recently. praise the lord.

this was the only pic i could find of my china cabinet before the redo. anyway, it was a pretty oak ... just not shabby like i wanted.

yanked off the window doors and the middle post, painted it pink and added cuphooks ... rather sweet, eh?

close up of my mama's virginia rose plates and cups in my cabinet

Total grossed at yard sale: $5
Chatting with new neighbors, watching someone smile when you offered them something for free, watching children play, and buying lemonade from kids: priceless

I decided Thursday evening I would take Friday afternoon off work to “side hustle”. I love this term and it was brought to my attention lately by Jason at www.frugaldad.com. I encourage you to visit Jason’s site. He has great ideas, is not bogged down in percentages and investing and always has PRACTICAL advice that is easily implementable.

Our community yard sale is Saturday. I’ve cleaned closets again and found I had plenty of stuff to sell even after my 27 Things Project in May http://thefrugalmusician.wordpress.com/2009/05/30/the-frugal-musician-catches-up-on-27-things/.

Since the yard sale was this weekend, I also decided to dig my giant monkey grass (lirope, mondo grass) from the back garden. We have hundreds of mutant mondo grass clumps that seem to just get bigger and bigger. Even when I dig them and think they’re gone, they come back stronger and bigger than before. I’ve dug an entire circle up and am selling on www.craigslist.org for $15 a clump. A tiny sprig of mondo grass is usually at least $6-7 at Lowes.

I’m also continuing to make bags to sell at www.etsy.com.  I started making these awhile back to give as gifts and discovered the creation of them was calm and meditative. I plan to open a store and sell on www.ETSY.com as soon as I have completed 20 bags. http://thefrugalmusician.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/the-frugal-musician-has-a-question/ 

So it’s all about the side hustle this weekend. I’ll see how much I can put in the ole purse and report on my progress next week.

Wish me luck!

A continuation of my Yard Sale Addiction …..

It has been a rainy week, and I believe it made many families think twice about having a yard sale. The forecast for the weekend was unfavorable, but I found 5 yards sales to hit. The first was a jackpot… I got a complete set of crate and barrel place settings for eight: Plates, bowls, salad plate, cup and saucer for $5.00. And for another $5.00, I got a brand new never opened pampered chef medium bar pan, a tray table, and two bags of misc craft supplies. I was practically high with elation when I drove away. My next stop was successful but not quite as good of bargains as the previous. I got my youngest a red sox coat and an Adidas sweatshirt for $12.00, Joe a Harley scarf for .50 and a DOT motorcycle helmet for myself for $20.00. Again not great prices, but all things I needed and much less than retail. I now have like $4.00 left. The next two house were roll-by’s, not even worth getting out. But my last stop was worth it. She was selling her stamping up collection and I had no money left…. I picked out three sets of never used stamps that I new I had to have. I also found two stacks of good card stock and a candleholder I fell in love with. I handed her my pile and said I had to go see how much money I had in my car and I would be back. I feverishly searched my wallet for any emergency cash I may have stashed. (I think I used that last weekend) I had nothing, only my $4.00, and then I looked up, and in my visor I had a winning scratch ticket that I had intended on cashing in when I got gas. It was a $10.00 winner. So I meekly walked over to the woman and offered her my $4.00 of cash and my $10.00 winning scratch ticket and hoped she would accept them in exchange for my pile. SHE DID!!! WooHoo!!!! What a rush….

Yes, I have a bit of a problem. I love yard sales. I love finding a bargain. I love the excitement of making deals. But most of all, I love getting stuff for my family without putting a strain on our family budget.

Note to self: replenish emergency cash stash in wallet for next Saturday