MissBargainHuntress

It has taken me an extra day to post this.  Let’s just say it’s because I was still recovering from one of the most exhausting garage sale days ever.  So exhausting, I actually gave up in the middle of it.  I didn’t think I would do it.  I didn’t think I was capable.  I thought I could go, go, go all day long if need be.  But factors like extreme heat, crazed parkers and hunger to the point of potential fainting led me to call it in.  Meaning call my husband and say, “Do you want to meet for lunch?”  Because that was about the only thing that was going to drag me away.  That and the girl I saw at one of the sales, sitting in her sundress in the driveway, in the shade, relaxed, and in her hand, a glass of wine.  My friends, it was still before 11:00 a.m. Breakfast wine.  And at that point I had to vocalize to myself and the vacancy of my vehicle, “THAT is AWESOME.”  Let it be known that I was just under duress and stress and extreme heat exhaustion at the time. And the fact that I met my husband and daughter for lunch (my son was at a Tae Kwon Do lesson with his principal – school auction item – don’t ask) and proceeded to have a glass of Sauvignon Blanc is in no way and by no means a result of that girl, sitting there, seemingly planted by fate, to show me what I should be doing.  But curious how it played out.

So much digression, yet so little time.  Let me try to give you the facts as dryly as possible.  There were THREE NEIGHBORHOOD SALES.  WHAT ARE THESE PEOPLE THINKING???  Can’t they communicate with each other? Can’t they spread the love and joy over three weekends, thereby allowing bargain hunters such as myself to hunt out their treasures with greater ease, less stress, and more time???  Is it that difficult people?  I mean, you’ve been doing this for years, I know for a fact.  And sadly, some of you are considering not participating in future years just so that you can shop yourselves!  Why don’t you just have your sale on a different weekend? How hard can that be???

So let’s start this story.  I got up early.  Had some coffee.  Prepared some travel water and a banana.  No one else was up.  I fed the dogs and I was off.  And I started off WRONG.  I went to a singular sale on one side of town because they advertised a teak tea cart.  Me, myself and I and my pressure washing skills were envisioning patio furniture piece Number Thirty-One that I was going to make a delightful addition to our entertaining entourage.  But.  It wasn’t a patio piece.  It was an indoor, modern looking, not what I was looking for piece, and I proceeded to the free box where I found four of those sling shot like rackets and a ball that would keep my kids busy in the outdoors for an extra five minutes.  I added to that some free dog toys and free stickers and I felt slightly better that I went out of my way to get there.

Then I headed to a sale at one of our elementary schools.  I had been to this sale before.  They seem to stuff two storage containers full of donations and then dole it all out for this sale.  The last time I went to this same sale, I ended up with some good stuff.  But this time I was under extreme pressure and I didn’t have time to muddle through all that would have to be muddled through in order to find what might be worth looking for.  So I left.

And went across the street to the first of the three neighborhood sales. What did I even find?  A bag of Kelly Barbie dolls for  $1.  And then, after perusing several more sales, I decided I was in the wrong place.  I needed to make an immediate move and go to one of the other two neighborhood sales.

And I picked wrong again.

The next neighborhood sale was a better area, and I went to many of the same homes I had frequented in past years.  But what did I really come up with?  A couple of tomato plant cages for 50¢ each, an Effanbee baby doll for $2, some clothes for my daughter that she may never wear, the cutest little old fashioned red star boxes with snowmen on top for Christmas at 50¢ a piece, some awesome clothes for myself for a few dollars, the cutest bear carved out of wood for the cabin in Lake Tahoe, and then I missed out on two awesome beyond awesome Brighton bags, barely used, with their boxes and protective bags, originally $250 each, selling for $30, but . . .  I wouldn’t really have used them, as cute as they were, but I bet I could have ebayed them and probably tripled my money.  Why didn’t I go for it? I’m still not sure.

While I was at the second neighborhood sales I was hearing a lot about everyone being at the third neighborhood sales that I hadn’t even gotten to yet.  So I panicked yet again.  It was time to move on.  And I was way late.

Holy moly, 800 homes in the neighborhood and most of them were having a sale.  And I was already tired.  And can you imagine the parking situation?  So bad that at times I had to park blocks away, walk back down the blocks and then walk all the way back to my car.  My arms were full, so that was good, but still.  Parking was ridonculous.  That was why most people were riding bikes, just adding to the parking havoc and hazards.

I found several Wii games at $5 each (trying to keep my kids busy for the summer when I’m not kicking them outside) Some Abercrombie clothing and accessories for my daughter, TWO LIFE VESTS – the two things I actually NEEDED and scored big time for my inflatable kayak that I will soon be using in the river behind my house.  Should the blog end abruptly you’ll know I’ve been attacked by a rogue wave and my garage sale life vests have not done their job.  The two cutest handmade Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls I’ve ever seen for $1 each (I collect/used to collect them), and some Nintendo DS games for $2 each.

Get this.  One sale had the exact same doll house that my mother made for me when I was about 10 years old. She and I worked on it together. Built it, decorated it, etc.  And that Christmas, Santa filled the house with many, many little gifts, all furniture and accessories for the dollhouse.  My mom has it now.  So I was actually contemplating buying this clone for $50.  But.  Where would I put it?

When I finally quit it was nearly noon.  I was not halfway through the third neighborhood garage sale extravaganza.  I had not gone to the Humane Society’s Flea Market.  I had not gone to the several singular sales around the rest of my town.  But noon is International End of Good Stuff Time at garage sales in my well-versed book of garage sale knowledge.  I was, however, aware that there were so many gosh darn sales that day that everything that might have appealed to me couldn’t possible have been bought by other people already.  But I just didn’t have the energy. Jumping in and out of my over-heated car, trying to park, dodging daredevil drivers, following behind slow snails, I just couldn’t take it anymore.  At the very least I needed a break.

Which led to the phone call for lunch.  And I toyed with the idea of going back out there afterward.  And even made it appear that I was after lunch. But instead I went home.  Telling my husband, “I just can’t battle anymore.”

So all in all, it was mildly successful and majorly stressful.  If only I had clones that I could send out on treasure missions.  We could report back to each other with walkie talkies or text each other’s cell phones. Maybe then there would be more joy and less hurried mayhem.   I look forward to the coming weekends when there are only a few sales to contend with. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing.