Well, last weekend I discovered last minute (as in, 4:30 pm.) that a huge annual community sale was going on the next morning starting at 7 am. Granted it was all the way in Greenville, SC and my hubby had to work so I wasn’t as gung ho about dragging all 4 munchkins that distance for that Many yard sales. I texted my hubby to see if we had any money at all and if he had a thought one way or the other about my going. I kind of needed to know asap since the bank closed and I HATE yard sailing with big bills. Nonetheless, I didn’t hear from him right away so I figured it was a no go, and I was totally cool with that. Well, long story short, he surprised me with a few rolls of quarters and a wad of ones later that night! So, after crashing a grad party I packed up the necessities for our big day.
My necessities are:
Bag with snacks (popcorn, animal crackers, apples, bananas, fruit snacks, our handy dandy water bottles
Diaper bag (stuffed full of diapering essentials and extra clothes)
Swimming bag (this is a must during the summer months!) You never know what opportunities you may encounter in different areas. There are many parks that offer free splash ponds and other stuff.
Kids money separated in Ziploc bags with their name & my coins and bills put in my coin purse to make shopping easier
List of needs/wants(this was SHORT this time, which is very nice) I am now of firm belief that less is more and I love pretty much everything in my home, so I don’t want to purchase more decor stuff unless it is AWESOME and it is replacing something else. My list is mostly for kids clothes for my littles Fall and next summer wardrobe.
Books (this is only needed if going long distances)
Plan for lunch (either a lunch packed or a plan in action where we will eat and when)
To make an incredibly LONG story short we headed out bright and early and my littles were angels!!! The yard sales were AWFUL!!! I am not kidding! We went to all 52 sales and found less than a dozen items and that included what my kids found. It was definitely not the year for kids clothes unless they were marked at $3-4 a piece and that is not in my budget. I found 1 pair of jeans for Andrew next year along with 4 t-shirts and a winter coat for Ella. That was it on the clothes!
After having a wonderful hammock for almost 4 years it finally took the last swinging/beating and we had to throw it out a few weeks back. Ever priced a new one? Wow! Way too expensive. So, I thought I’d just start praying for a good deal or a second hand one. Half way through our shopping I saw a hammock rolled up in someone’s garage. There was a $4 price tag on it and it was in great condition!! Yes, I paid $4 and it was totally worth it.We have enjoyed lounging on it since Saturday.
We left that subdivision and headed to once last sale in a very dumpy part of town. And, that is where I hit the jackpot! I found piles and piles of gorgeous cloth and she wanted me to take it all for $3. There were some I hated, but couldn’t beat the price. And, the piles included 6 gorgeous decorative pillow covers. Then, I saw it!! a burlap covered storage bench! It was so cute and I totally fell in love with it---NOT the price! She was asking $40 and I didn’t want to pay that much even if I was in love and hadn’t found anything really. I asked if she’d come down which isn’t the normal way I barter, but I was tired and just wanted to see if she’d budge before really dickering with the price. I ended up paying $15 for it!!! I skipped a happy dance the whole way back the van as I stuffed this amazing find within my child filled van. It is currently holding all my living room quilts and is extra seating too.
We enjoyed a fun remainder of the day swimming at my sisters house and watching a tennis match then another quick trip to the Dig ‘n Save Goodwill where I found a few fun things. Including a $85 diaper bag (JJ Cole) that I washed and LOVE, 2 silver trees, ornaments, pillows, and a huge craft set with tons of paint and fun stuff and paid only $5 for all!
Any yard sale adventures for you lately?
I LoVe that it is finally sunny and warm and my littles can play outside. I am so thankful for the tremendous yard and so many creative things we can do without spending money. We spent about 1 1/2 hours outside playing chalk the other day. It was a blast! Ella enjoyed many mouthfuls of nasty chalk in every different color, but nothing a good glass of water and a warm bath wouldn’t later fix. It’s so much fun creating memories with them and I am blessed to have had so much time to do so with them. We love going to the park too and I think over the summer people thin we may live there, but it’s okay because it’s better than the TV. 
