1/14/2012

1/14/2012

We are right in the middle of the garage sale dry season, AKA winter. Depending on where you live the dry season may still have enough reward to make you want to get out and garage sale. In Texas where I grew up my Mom went garage saleing all year round. In other places where it snows or rains a lot garage sales are almost non-existant during the "dry" season. Here in St. George, UT it only snows about once a year so I am able to get out most weekends during the winter. However, every once in a while on those colder weekends I have had to learn to cut my losses and go home. This weekend was looking like one of those weekends. I got out at 8:00a.m. (garage sales usually start around 7:00a.m. but in the winter they usually start a little later) From 8 till about 9:30 the only thing I had bought was

a basketball for .50 cents

I finally decided that it was just not my week and started to head home. I stopped at one more garage sale on the way and found a few things that made my garage sale day worth while. These were also my Deal of the Day

DEAL OF THE DAY

It was a garage sale that a lighting company was having because they were going out of business. Since C.J. and I are planning on redoing all the bathrooms in our house this was perfect!

If you have ever gone shopping for light fixtures you know they can be pretty expensive! These were brand new and still in the box.

This light fixture was marked at $35

This light fixture was marked at $25

We also bought a new fan for our master bedroom

It will look much better when we hang it. This fan was marked at $30. These were all fair prices, not a steal like I had hoped but definitely fair prices. I found a similar fan on Walmart.com for 89.00. Click here to compare. I also looked up light fixtures. The closest thing I could find to the ones I bought was this fixture.

Which was $114!! and this is at Walmart!

My total for the two light fixtures and fan was $90. I knew I didn't have that much cash on me so I pulled out what I had...$63. A lot of times when i don't have enough money I will use a strategy I have seen my Mom use several times, but I didn't know if it would work this time. I went to the lady and said "all I have is 63 dollars....Would you take that?" To my surprise she said yes! So I got the two brand new fixtures and a new fan for $63! Thats a steal for how nice these are!

This company is also the same company I bought my huge chandilier from last time they had a garage sale!

I paid $350 for it. I love chandeliers! I believe that there are a few things that make a house look amazing and a big beautiful chandelier is one of them. I know $350 sounds like a lot but Check this out...

I found this chandilier on walmart.com. Similar in size, but I think mine is a much more elegant piece. This retails at 1,230!!!!!!! Click here to see the link. $350 doesn't sound so bad now does it?

OTHER AWESOME DEALS

here are some other awesome deals I saw that might have made your day worth while.

Single sconce $10. If you only have one outside light on your front porch this could work for you but what I like to do is put these up high on shelving nooks if you have them. I did it in my old house and everyone loved the way it looked. You cant turn it one or anything but it adds varitey to your decor.

Kids bike $10!

fan $40

Chandelier $60

I loved this big clock. So cool. They wanted $100 for it. probably not an unreasonable price but still too much for me. I actually might call the lady and see if she will go down on it since it didn't sell. I was looking on craigslist the other day and there was one on there just like it for $350!

Bedroom set Dresser Hutch and two night stands for $50!

These were already sold and I was JEALOUS! I have been looking for a new project and I think these would have been a fun redo!

Vases and Mason jars galore!

There are so many pinterest projects you can do with mason jars!

Red neck wine glass. Fun for a party

Fun outside chandelier

craft storage

vases for flowers
.

awesome light fixture

bathroom storage and organization

beautiful wedding center pieces

gardening!

The posiblilties are endless! Especially when they are this cheap!

10 for a $1! I have a hanging cactus garden and I bought mine at D.I. for .25 to .50 cents a piece. I over paid!

FOR ALL YOU MEN OUT THERE

Coleman camp stove $10

the inside

Animal Skin Rug

ANIMAL SKIN RUG

I absolutely love the mixture of a rustic and elegant look. One of the easiest way to achieve this look is through an animal skin rug. Here are two pictures I love that are good examples of this.

Cow skin rug on the floor with more modern furniture that has clean and straight lines.

Zebra rug with more vintage and antiqued furniture.

Despite how much I love this look my wallet cannot handle the price tag.

I had always kept my eyes open hoping that one day I would find one. Then my husband and I stumbled across this.....

We were so excited! The guy selling it told us that it was an animal from Australia. He mentioned the name of the animal but I sure do not remember it! He sold us the rug for $3!

Here it is in my bedroom. Now I know the small amount of space in my master bedroom is pitiful but cut me some slack! I am trying to work with what I have!

Remember those pillows? .50 cents a piece at a garage sale. Later I saw the EXACT same ones at Tia Pan for $10 a piece! I also bought the purple throw at a garage sale for $3.

I also pick up a sheep skin rug at a garage sale for $7! I couldn't get a very good picture of it besides this one.

However, it looks exactly like this one except it didn't cost me $145! Click HERE to see the link where I found the price tag.

A beautiful looking home with beautiful things inside does not have to have a big price tag.

Re-selling For Profit

RE-SELLING FOR PROFIT

A lot of times, if you know what you are looking for, you can find stuff at garage sales and second hand stores, resale it and make a profit. Does anyone remember this stroller? It sold in less than a week on Craigslist. I listed it for pretty cheap because I wanted it to sell fast. Even with the lady asking me to go down $20 I still made an 80 dollar profit.

Here is one of my all time favorite stories about re-selling items.

My husband and I were at Savers down in Las Vegas a few months ago and found a Vitamix blender on the shelf. It was priced at $25 so my husband stuck it in the cart. At first I gave him that "We don't need that look," but then he said that if it worked he thought we could sell it on ebay and make money. We went and plugged it in to make sure it worked and then I had him check what they were selling for on ebay. The ones we saw were in auction at about $250. Needless to say by this point I was convinced. I also had a 20% off coupon for donating items. (Whenever I go to Savers I always take something with me to donate so that I can get a coupon and save even more) After using my coupon the blender was about $20. After getting home my husband took pictures of it and put it on ebay. One week later the blender sold for $315!!!!!! I couldn't believe it! We made a profit of $295!

If you have a good knowledge about what things cost (or the internet on your phone) and you keep your eyes open at garage sales and second hand stores you could put some extra money in your pocket!

Fireplace Project

WORK IN PROGRESS

I am working on finishing up my fireplace and want a large green wreath to go in the middle of it. Yes, I know it's not a real fireplace. It's purely decorative but I couldn't help myself when I saw it at a garage sale. I LOVE fireplaces! I went out to Tia Pan to look at the wreaths they had. I thought they might have something reasonably priced.... not true.

Here is the wreath I want.

and here is the price tag!!!! There is NO WAY I will ever pay this much!

A little depressed I went to D.I. to see if they had a wreath the size I wanted. I figure I can make one for much cheaper, especially if I can find my materials at D.I. or a garage sale. Sadly, I didn't find what I needed at D.I. but I am not giving up yet! I know I will eventually find what I need. I did however find somethings worth mentioning.

Naughty Monkey heels

$5 dollars! I would have bought them if they were my size!

Buckle Jeans!

Sorry this picture is blurry I was in a bit of a hurry cause my kids were crying.

$8!

D.I. is a great place to find deals on almost anything!

Well Look at That!

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT GARAGE SALEING

Here is what I love about garage saleing. Remember these pillows I bought Saturday?

Here is the EXACT SAME one!!!!! I found this at Tai Pan and the price tag says $9.95. I paid .50 cents a piece for mine! I saved $38 dollars!

Shoes

SHOES!!!!!!

I LOVE shoes but buying shoes the way I like to can make you go broke quickly! I Love this new style of flat boot and just bought me a pair in black and brown at a buy on get on half off sale.

However before this, I had not bought a pair of shoes from a store in 3 years! (Thats like a miracle for me)

Here is my collection of shoes I have found at garage sales! Among these are brand names GUESS, Naughty Monkey, Jessica Simpson, J Lo, Michael Antonio, Hale Bob, Pierre Dumas, Nike, Croc and several others.

Here is a closer look at some of them.

I love the heel on these!...$5

and these!....$3

Jessica Simpson thigh high boots....$10

Fun cowgirl boots....$5 at a Goodwill in AZ

WILD but fun....$10

Michael Antonio Mustard Yellow and snake skin.....$3

Hale Bob. I love the black lace on these....$3

J Lo, teal and cork accents....$5

And one of my favorite pair. Carlos, nude.....$2

Ok have you seen enough pictures of shoes?!?!?!?! I hope I got my point across. You can find some cute, fashionable and affordable shoes at garage sales!