Garage sale-ing quick takes

I am a self admitted garage saler.  I like the challenge of finding the good sales even when it means showing up at some stinkers too.  Here are somethings I have learned about having a successful garage sale run.  Some of these I have known for awhile...others I had to adapt when bringing Dominic with me.

1.  Scout out the garage sales before hand.  There have been times that I have just followed a sign that said garage sale, but most of the time those garage sales aren't too successful for me.  Sometimes the sign is old from the weekend before and hasn't been taken down yet.  The best way for me to plan ahead is to search craigslist.  If I am looking for something in particular, then I can use the search function and look at all the sales that have what I am looking for.   Then I write down the sales and group them by areas of town.  This way I can make the best use of my time.

2.  Shop neighborhood organized garage sales.  This is where a whole bunch of houses in the neighborhood have them at the same time. The association will organize advertising.  Some of them will print maps for people to take with them.  I have come to learn the neighborhoods that have the best turnouts.  There is one neighborhood that I will go back to year after year because of this and it is kind of fun when there are lots of people around shopping to...kind of festive in a way. Bargain hunters unite :)

3.  Shop church garage sales.  I like these because they are inside usually and usually have many families donating to them.  They also usually have fairly good prices.  In addition, some have bake sales too, which is nice for a little yummy treat.

4.  Take out the stroller for Dominic.  This is something I learned this year.  It is hard to look at stuff and juggle Dominic.   In addition if I see something I like it is hard to hold onto it.  Even if I am just thinking about something, it is nice to be able to pick it up and carry it with me while I think about it, which leads me to my next piece of advice....

(Disclaimer--this is not a picture of Dominic at a garage sale. It is much hotter here now. However, he is usually that happy. He loves all the people that he sees at garage sales--he is a "people person".)

5. If you see something, you might like to buy, pick it up.  This doesn't mean you have to buy it, but then you have time to think about it without someone else thinking of it.  I don't know if it is the power of suggestion of me simply looking at something, but at least twice this year I have been seriously thinking about something and meaning to come back to it, and when I walk away for a minute, someone else decides they can't live without it.   (Which is why the stroller is important.  The time this week that this happened to me, I was carrying Dominic and couldn't hold both him and the item I was thinking about at the same time).

6.  Set a price limit for certain types of items.  For example, there are lots of garage sales with baby clothes in them.  I have set a general limit of $.50 which for my area isn't to unreasonable.  I have found plenty of clothes at this price.  Now if I see something I think is particularly cute, I do go over from time to time, but having this limit reminds myself that I can find plenty of items at other sales for lower prices.  Some people simply have a higher idea of what they can sell there stuff for, which I am sure they can, but that sale is then not for me.

7.  Remember you don't have to buy something at every sale you walk into.  Sometimes I feel like I should, especially if the person is nice and friendly.  However, I know that is just silly and that I should buy things only if I want and can use them.

I know garage sales aren't for everyone, but I enjoy the search for a treasure among the garages of my town.  For more quick takes, join Kelly at This Ain't The Lyceum !