by Barbara A. Black

Created on: September 03, 2008

First, I have to admit that I LOVE garage sales! And I taught my three children the joys of going to garage sales, as they were growing up. At least every two or three months, on the average, we headed for the garage sales on a Saturday morning, and might not get back home until late afternoon. And we usually had the car loaded down with goodies that we had found for almost nothing.

The first thing in going to garage sales is to know what you want to find. We always watched the ads in the local paper for the garage sales, which quite often listed the bigger items. There was usually one weekend each month that most of the sales were planned for, so we would plan to go that Saturday, if at all possible. We were more interested in books and furniture, but we also loved to find old things that were still in good shape. So if the ad said anything about something being old, we were sure to hit that particular sale.

Of course, having plenty of money on hand is important. Most people who are trying to sell things at a garage sale don't want to take a personal check, unless they know you, personally. So we usually had plenty of cash, and I would take my checkbook in case we found something that cost a little more and could write a check for it instead of paying cash. Since we went to church regularly and our children were in the local schools, and I substituted in those same schools, many people knew one or more of us. But that might not be the case for many people. Having plenty of cash on hand is essential!

Have a plan. If you are going to several sales, plan which ones to hit first. I usually started with the biggest one, or the one closest to where we lived. Or the one farthest away. By starting with the one farthest away, I could be headed back home the entire time. The other two starting points might take me longer, actually, than driving to the farthest and heading back.

Never decide NOT to stop just because it doesn't look promising! This is one of the most important things to remember. If you have time and the money to look, why not? This particular one may be the one where you find that special item you have been looking for the last several months, to make your living room (or some other room) "come together" for you! I have found true treasures by stopping and looking at a place that really didn't look as if it had anything that I would ever consider buying! And I usually got an excellent price on it, too!

Take your time. Don't rush from one sale just to get to the next one. Be sure to check out the entire inventory before you rush off! Otherwise, you may miss the exact thing you have been looking for. This is another time that children can help, because they will sometimes be aware that the object is either what you have been looking for, or that it would be "neat" in that particular place in the house! Your children are extensions of you, and most will have basically the same tastes you have, until they get old enough to rebel! But by then, they won't want to go anywhere with you, anyway!

When you get home with all your treasures, be sure to set them out to look at before you put them in their places. My husband and I come in and set everything on the coffee tables in the living room and look at it all again, before I start placing them where they can be enjoyed.

Part of the fun of going to garage sales is sharing the "thrill of victory" when you have gotten some really good bargains. Share your finds with others, and tell them about the really good deals you found. Next time, they may even want to go along! (Or they might find a good sale and tell YOU about it!)

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