The Columns That Could Have Been- What we Learned From Our First Estate Sale

Let’s begin at the beginning ~

The First Lesson ~ 

Arrive early if your preview revealed a treasure you must have. Despite all the very best intentions to arrive 30 minutes prior to the opening, we arrived 10 minutes after and just missed our target item.  Let GPS be your friend!

Some of these sales are buried deep in old established maze-like neighborhoods. Be sure to park close if at all possible, while you may walk in empty handed, you will hopefully leave laden with unexpected and unwieldy treasures, which you, all by your little old self, must ferry to your car and load.

 The Second lesson ~

 Prepare for the smell! Dust, mildew, age, decay, possibly a faint whiff of urine. If you are lucky, that will be the extent. If you are not, the smell may hit you like a wall, searing the inside of your nasal passages and causing you to lose your appetite for the next full day.

The Third Lesson ~

If you see it and you think you want it, put your hand on it immediately! Pick it up! Don’t set it back down planning to ‘get it on your way out’. If there was a particular item you desired, find it – First! And quickly but firmly pick it up, tuck it in the crook of your arm and hold on. You are on the defensive here. Now, this does not mean you can’t act like a lady. Be sure to smile your sweetest smile at the mildly aggressive competition while securing the decorative French coat hangers. Perhaps even answer her query with ‘yes, they are lovely, I had just had to come back and get them’, then turn and with a slight wave, make for the sales table.

The Fourth Lesson ~

 If you are sitting below a card table, on a dusty, dirty carpet, creating a tripping hazard for other shoppers, and going through slightly grimy boxes of small plastic toys and parts, and your partner says, ‘I think these plastic columns may go with that fantastic metal doll house you found’, get them, even if you think your mother …I mean partner, may be wrong.   You do not want to find, while scouring the internet in an attempt to value said lovely doll house, that it is worth considerably more if you have the plastic columns and portico that she handed you and you firmly discarded. They were only 50 cents apiece.

The Sixth Lesson ~

Bartering, just try it. If you’re not good at it, take someone who is. A couple of things here, if your daughter…I mean partner, is trying to barter, and mutters that the stains on the vintage linen tea towel might not come out, do not reassure her you can get it out. That is not the time. She will shoot a look of daggers at you. On the way to the car you will be informed that ‘from now on you shouldn’t say anything while I’m trying to get the price down’.  More on bartering another time.

The Final Lesson ~

  Wet wipes and hand sanitizer.  Trust me, just please trust me.  You will not want to touch anything, until you’ve had a chance to remove a layer of… let’s just call it dirt. While my hubby, the Major, contends that the main ingredient in hand sanitizer is fear, it is still a must for this situation. If nothing else, it makes you feel better.  

The Five Things Every Estate Sale Diva Needs

Heading out for your first estate sale adventure? What to bring, what to bring... Here's a short list of the essentials we wish someone had told us to bring!

1.    A plan. Yes, you need a plan. While stopping by the sale you just happen to pass while driving is always to be encouraged, for regular outings its best to plan ahead.  Register with a local estate sale organizer. This is easy, it usually involves giving your email address, and in the classier establishments – a yellow legal pad with a rather grubby pen for jotting down your info. Now that you’re registered - scan the site, most will not only list the sale, but the address, a quick description, and a few photos of crowded tables full of possible treasures.  We use the photos to choose our sales and narrow in on the treasures we are most interested in. This is where zooming in can be your friend, 'the Middle One' is great at finding the one item with a visible price tag and using it to gauge the reality of the price structure.

2.    A Bag.  Bring your own bag. From time to time you will run across a sale that does not allow it, but in general most will.  Your arms will fill up with items quickly and you need a way to carry it all. Some sales have staff that will gladly ‘take your items to the front and create a ticket’. Sounds lovely doesn’t it? While a nice gesture, it makes it harder to bargain. Feel free to make it a cute bag, after all, you have an image to maintain

3.    Cash, checkbook, credit card. Yes. All three. Some sales do not accept plastic, so you will need an alternative. Cash is great, but do you really want to wander around an unfamiliar neighborhood with a wad of cash in your purse or pocket? On that note, I’ve found that carrying a purse can just be a hardship.  Find a small credit card case that will fit in the front pocket of your stylishly cute jeans. Put a check, your credit card, your ID and your cash in it and shove it down to the bottom of your pocket for safety!

4.    Lets talk transport.  It is expected that you take items with you upon purchase…can you really fit that darling dining table and all four chairs in your Chrysler 200?? We take the Jeep. It has a fair amount of room, I keep a mover’s blanket in the back for cushioning. Its not a bad idea to leave a couple of empty boxes in your vehicle also. This is where that planning in step one can pay off. 

5.    Wet wipes and hand sanitizer…by the case. Seriously, trust me on this. The reality is that most of the items at an estate sale have been stored for quite awhile, sometimes decades. Many of the houses are dusty and a wee bit grimy. You will want to clean at least your hands when you get to the car. And while we are on the subject – dress accordingly. I know those peep-toe, sling-back, heels look adorable with your skinny jeans and Gap top, but you will regret this fashion decision. It wont be cute when you trip on the small tear in the worn carpet and fall against a card table laden with fragile glass collectables. This is the day for your older jeans, tennis shoes or Doc Martens and comfortable shirt. By no means am I saying go as a slob, but be practical and well put together!

Now that this is out there, what do you suggest? We'd love to hear the items you found essential after your first adventure!

Once upon a time....

There we were, sitting on the floor in the sadly empty, slightly dusty bedroom, of a house under estate sale. My daughter, ‘the Middle One’, is holding her breath while plugging in a vintage hair dryer from the 1950’s and simultaneously praying that she is neither electrocuted nor the flash point of a sudden fire or explosion.  My husband, the Major, is encouraging her and I’m wondering just how brilliant an idea this actually is.  Suddenly it hits me…why are we here?? 

Oh yes, it’s his idea!

He’s known for his ideas. Recently all the grandchildren moved away and left me with freer days and a quieter house. The Middle daughter had coincidentally left her job to concentrate on finishing her master’s degree. The Major thought we could use a little hobby, a way to have some fun and make a little money. Actually, its more likely he was beckoning us to the dark side of collecting stuff ~ but that’s just a theory. Like the Pied Piper of old, he lured us with a merry tune and introduced us to the concepts of estate sales, vintage finds and reselling via Etsy.

So there we were, on the dingy floor… hoping. Both the heat from the bonnet and the temporary aromas of age and Final Net let us know that it worked! At 25% off the price on the tiny white sticker I decided to take a chance on it. After all, it was in fabulous condition needing only a good wipe down, a shot of Lysol and the removal of a bit of DippityDo residue.

But how did I know what to buy? I didn’t. I really didn’t. I saw something, thought ‘hey, that’s pretty cool’, and ‘well look, it’s a pretty good price, too’.  Did some quick searching on Google (yes, while still sitting on the dingy floor), a little bargaining at the check out and the next thing I know, the Jeep is being loaded with 21 etched glasses, the hair dryer, some interesting cassette tapes and various and sundry other finds. 

This is how it begins...