Yard Sale Tips

Okay, where to begin? I LOVE yard sales. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t enjoy them.

I get really, really excited about yard sales especially if the sign says “MOVING SALE” or “MULTI FAMILY YARD SALE”. Time to put the car in park and take a look.

Now, I’m not sure Luke LOVES yard sale-ing as much as John and I do, but he does like to have a look at tools. Conor, on the other hand, doesn’t enjoy yard sale-ing at all….

I actually started going with my mom when I was very little – maybe one or two. A funny story, actually – one time we driving past a nursing home and people were outside and I said, “Oh, a yard sale!”

Over the years, I’ve had an amazing opportunities to take part in the World’s Longest Yard Sale to furnish a home for Habitat for Humanity and I’ve also furnished our own home in this way!

Last weekend, there was a HUGE 20+ family sale on 3rd Cliff here in Scitaute so I thought I’d take the opportunity to share some yard sale tips but also some fun photos. 🙂

What is a Yard Sale?

A yard sale is similar to a garage sale. It can either be one family or multiple families, and people pull out clothes, furniture, bric-a-brac, art, jewelry etc and sell them in their front yard. In England they don’t really have yard sales, but car boot sales!

Why You’ll Love Yard Sales

• It’s a great way to find different and affordable items for your home and/or wardrobe
• It’s so much fun to chat with the home owner
• Yard sales are usually more reasonably priced than antique fairs or malls as people are trying to get rid of items.
• A great way to learn about the history of old tools, art, or furniture
• It’s exciting “to hunt” for treasure

What I love most is the unexpected nature of a yard sale. You don’t really know what you’re gonna find. Some mornings you might luck out and find tons of great things and other days you may go home empty handed. Okay, here’s a peek from our yard sale-ing adventure on 3rd cliff. We parked the car and walked house to house.

Nowadays I’m kind of limited because we already have so much home decor and furniture. If I had room, I would have scooped up this campaign desk. It was only $50!!!!

I also loved the furniture and art they had at this home overlooking the marsh:

Yard Sale Tips

• Wear comfortable shoes and dress in layers so you can peel off clothes if the sun comes out or the temperature rises.
• Bring a large bag or wheeled trolley – in case you find lots of treasures
• Have dimensions of your room or the dimensions of a particular piece of furniture you’re looking for.
• Always keep your eyes open – sometimes items can be repurposed or upcycled. We’ve turned a Jenny Lind bed into a bench and have painted many, many pieces over the years.
• Have a tape measure.
• Cash helps especially if you want to negotiate prices, but I’m finding people are now taking card and Venmo
• Wear sunscreen
• Don’t get discouraged if you don’t find things!

What Did We Find?!?

Well, I LOVED all the furniture I shared but we have no room in the house.

John found some fun rings, a tea cup, and earrings for his girlfriend.

I got a lemon tea towel for a $1 and a Nordicware Lemon Bread tin for $3, which retails at much higher. This is the exact lemon loaf tin on amazon.

BUT…

My biggest treasure happened at the very end. A little house right on the curve leading up to third cliff. There was art on display in front. We got out and I realized it was the art of Joanne Papandrea. My heart skipped a beat. I took watercolor classes at Scituate’s Council on Aging, in the past, taught by Joanne. I think I took her classes for maybe a year and I wish I had more time with her! She passed away from cancer May 2020 and I was devastated. She was the kind of teacher who made everyone feel they could create art. She inspired me so very much.

I think I might actually write a post more about Joanne and her teaching but for now I wanted to share a few of the couple of the items I bought. I actually bought many pieces.

The lighthouse pencil sketch and two others – these are actually prints but I’m going to frame them in black frames.

I picked up two of her watercolor paintings, a brush holder for travel, driftwood frames, several acrylic orginals including this spectacular one of the lighthouse:

I had a wonderful chat with Joanne’s sister and really enjoyed learning more about her life and seeing so much of her art. It means so much to me that I will be able to hang her art in our home.

So, as you can see, on yard sales you can find some unbelievable treasures! We had so much fun!

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