The Season Of Yard Saling

 Don't be scared to 'yardsale'

As the saying goes:  'One man's trash is another man's treasure'.  This, as of late, has been absolutely true in our household.  Our treasure?  Toddler, toys, clothes and other various toddleresque odds and ends.  And, there is certainly no shortage of treasure for us.  I can certainly say, yardsaling in South Jersey is nothing like the yard sales I grew up going to.  As a child my super frugal mom would drag us (typically my brother and myself) to yard sales and thrift stores as much as the season possibly allowed.  Of course then I did not see the value in this kind of shopping.  I mean no one (at least no one cool) got their new clothes from yard sales, especially the ones where there was a myriad of, well basically yard sale crap and a few sorry looking, very outdated articles of clothing that of course just happened to be a perfect fit for me (of course).  Yes indeed, I had a bad taste in my mouth for yard sales.  I would pass one and look in the opposite direction, almost reflexively.  That is until Jackson was born.  Slowly I started to check out some of our area consignment sales and saw that there were some good, REALLY good deals to be had!  People were selling NEW items with the tags still on?  What was this strange kind of alternate world?  Slowly, after acquiring some pretty outstanding finds I bit the bullet and hit my first yard sale.  I ended up walking away with two booster seats (one for Babci's, and one for Bebe's) that were in perfect condition for a very small sum of $.  I began to think that this wasn't half bad and I was extremely proud of my bargaining skills! 

There are a few big ticket items that I have been wanting to get for Jack.  A sandbox, an outside climber, and a larger toy for our sunporch.  Why pay full price for something new when the chances are, finding it for just a few dollors gently used, is probable?  I have also become much more confident bargaining for items, with the help of a friend who has no fear when it comes to offering next to nothing for something someone once paid top dollar for.  Her rules, never offer more (or pay unless you really can't live without it) than .50 for regular toys or per piece of clothing.  Larger items start small and work your way up.  At first I was skeptical, and thought people would think I was crazy for offering so little so something that I deemed valuable.  I guess it just reinforces the opening saying.  To them it is trash, they want it gone, out of their way, rid of it.  This is how I ended up acquiring a turtle sandbox with a cover for $5 and a climber with slide for FREE!  I am realizing too that just as uncomfortable as it is for the bargainer it is just as uncomfortable for the bargainee and often they accept out of pure anxiety.  It is a powerful and addictive feeling, but I am acknowledging this to prevent becoming a hoarder. :)    So now, a couple of top-of-the-line in-perfect-condition car seats and various other fabulous deals later, I am hooked!  Bring on the yard sales!

Here are some pictures of Jackson enjoying some of our fabulous finds!  Happy yard sale season everyone!

$5 turtle sandbox *SCORE*

Taking a snooze in a comfortable carseat

Really cool letter and number puzzle mat

Free!

Another great free find!  Our favorite monster chair!