For the past couple of days it has rained, but as we arose this morning with our route planned out the pavement was still wet, but no rain was falling. Janie and I were off for another day of sales.
Find of the day
Overalls in my size
price - $3
sold
Every man should own a pair of overalls.
Least interesting thing of the day:
Salad shooter
price - free (there was plenty of room left in my $5 bag
no sale
I like my salad cut carefully thank you. I certanly don't want anything that shoots salad.
Other things we did or did not buy:
Old singer console sewing machine
price (not priced, but probably $70)
no sale
This was at the Wayzata Girls Rugby team sale, and the parents weren't much into making deals, though I did find a few anyway.
Telescope
price - $19
(hmmmmmm) sold
As it turns out I need a telescope to watch the Republican convention from my balcony. I'll make sure they know that, and don't think it's a rocket launcher or something.
Swimming flippers
price - $3
no sale
I just don't need them, because I don't swim ever. I do admire the advances made in these things since I owned a pair though.
Ant mug
price - $1
no sale
This reminds me of a half-empty bottle of Coke I once found while I was out hiking and badly in need of water. It turned out to be full of drowned ants. Hey, I was eight. Live and learn.
Dog painting (original)
price - $20
no sale
Yes, I know the frame was worth more than that, but I just didn't want me a dog picture today.
Nightcrawlers
price - free
no sale
One of the churches we had on our itinerary was not holding their sale until next weekend (but put their ad in this week's paper)! I will not be coming back next week, because I was offered for my bother was a parking lot covered with worms. Fishing opener hasn't come yet.
Scary doll
price (unknown)
no sale
I wouldn't buy any doll, but you have to admire a manufacturer that makes realistic-looking dolls.
Great big stuffed toy bear
price - $10
no sale
It appeared to be sleeping and as someone who grew up in the woods, I know to leave them be.
But we did find quite a few things that, combined with three bags of groceries and a couple 12-packs of Stella and Mackeson, filled a grocery cart to overdflowing.
.
.
.
At the first sale we went to, there was a bag sale - $3 for a grocery bag; $5 for one of these. By the time we were done, I had to drag it from the building. Let's see what we got in that bag.
Heaps of cool clothes for Janie, including new Anne Taylor pants and a bling shirt.
Another waffle iron for a customer of mine. I'm going to let her have this one and the one I found last week - both for $5. Cost of bag covered.
Thin wool blanket.
Hey, there was room in the bag, and it's wool.
Records
Two Finnish records and a Nylons for the record store.
Mott the Hoople for me.
Two pounds of scrap aluminum.
Doesn't warrant a full-sized picture, but if I have a bag to fill and there's aluminum and brass about, you'd better get it before I do.
.
.
.
Hamilton Beach mixer
I dared to plug it in and it runs great, BUT
It does not pass the cord test. This cord has been burned and losely taped. The plastic also seems to have become brittle with age. I thought about replacing it, but it's not as easy as it sounds. Janie made me promise to scrap it out. After I'd removed 3 pounds of aluminum, I ran into some nuts that required thin-walled sockets I don't have. The scrap yard will still want the remaining 4 pounds of metal, which is mostly aluminum and copper.
Oh, the two milk-glass pyrex bowls? I kept those for sure. Vintage pyrex is precious to me.
And so, that's the $5 bag. On to some things we bought at other sales.
Chamois and denim shirts
price - $1 each
sold
I was hoping for more shirts, since all but one of the sales we were attending were rummage sales, but these were the only two. Nice though. Some hunter or construction worker will like getting them for $5.
Geode
price - a dime
sold
When I see something my mom already sells in her shop, I grab it. I would not break it open though. The person buying it may wish to saw it open, the preferred method.
Bolt cutters
price - $8
sold
I've needed a pair for the recycling side of my business, and they're not cheap.
Screw drivers
price - 75 cents each
sold
They had a big box of them, and I could really rummage through and get a good pair. I used them both today.
17 pounds of power screws
price - $5
sold
The phillips heads are deep, and they won't strip out easily. Using these things is so much more effective than using nails, and when it comes time to disassemble whatever it is, you put your drill in reverse and zip, zip, zip it's all boards again. Try that with something you put together with nails . . .
Gottal love the logo on the box too.
This reminds me a lot of my days as a carpenter's helper.
Carpenter's helper is not the world's most fun job.
.
.
.
Ice-fishing pole
price - free
sold
From the dumpster in our building. I checked it out and it works fine. I have no qualms in keeping something like this from going to the landfill for no good reason, and I'll tell the whole world I found it in a dumpster. I consider recovering such things my duty as a human being.
So, that's it for this week. We're going to be in the thick of the yardsaling season in a couple of weeks. I hope you'll come along with us each week for Would You Buy This or Not?
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Comments: 65
Thank you for stopping by, Kate!
Karoke Man, in the Twin Cities I see one of these sewing machines on average every weekend. I don't have the means to get them out west where they do indeed sell for what you report. Someday I hope to. For now they are still very common here, and usually go for more like $30(!)
Thank you for stopping by, Mary Ann. I appreciate your reading my work!
Hollie, garage sales and rummage sales sure can raise a lot of money, it's true.
Michelle, I hate to say we had to put over 80 miles on the car to get to any good sales. It's still pretty sparse here too.
I think you've earned your Bargain Finder card on this sale, Ron.
Sandy, what a nice thing to say. I appreciate it.
There will be more weekends ahead Sue. The season is just warming up. Thank you for coming along.
Good deals in those bags of stuff. Nice name brand clothing should pay for the bag alone. I like the shirts you got too.
You should have gotten the flippers and worn them as shoes somewhere. It would be worth the $3 just to see the looks on people's faces.
I have a salad shooter, but I don't use it cuz it's more of a hassle to drag it out and use it and then clean the thing afterwards than to just cut the things by hand LOL
Good deal on the telescope too.. that dollhouse behind it looks a lot like one I had as a kid. That was a loooog time ago, so I'm betting its not the same one I had, but it looks like it.
I totally would have bought that ant mug. and the bear too if I could talk em down a few bucks.
Thats a bummer about the mixer cord.. I would love a stand mixer.. but I've had my eye on a new Hamilton Beach one.. someday. LOL At least the pyrex bowls are a keeper. I love Pyrex.. I have a bunch of pink pyrex
:O)
I definitely would have passed on that freaky doll and the dog pic..what's up with that?? LOL
When I was a kid, all we had was Kaptain Kangaroo. When we finally got public tv, my 20-something friends and I sat around and watched Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers. Great stuff. The Kaptain was okay, I guess.
Lloyd, I did 30 years of the rural thing, and it's great. I still have another 10 years or so of urban to go before it try - I don't know - beach?
Wendy, good luck with the nerve. Youch. My thoughts are with you. Back west a lot of people have cabin/mansions, and the antique dealers can't find enough sewing machines to keep them all happy.
I have to say...that doll was very creepy!
Jennifer, I bought a 1950s White machine once in mint condition. I could never figure out the bobbin though, and my hopes of being able to buy clothes and adjust them to my size went by the wayside. I can still do a reasonably good pants hem by hand, but it's a lot of work, and my tendonitis doesn't appreciate it.
I'll bring my camera, and take some pics!
=)
1) is it really worth keeping?
2) why?
Anita, great idea for the salad shooter. Re-purposing is essential when shopping at yard and rummage sales. I rarely look for anything specific, and instead think, "What can I do with this?"
Well, then Kate, haunting yard sales is what you need to do. You will eventually come across one of those sewing machines, and typewriters - oh man, take your pick; there are so many you can really pick out a beauty.
Thank you Marilyn. I just hate to think of any pyrex going to waste. It doesn't interacte with food at all, and that's its primary appeal to me.
The dog painting looks like a winner and what have you got against the Nylons?!
(Great stuff this time, but be careful during the convention.)
I can't get the dog painting to my mom's shop. Otherwise I would have her sell it for me.
I already have the Nylons record, and I think they're great. I wish they'd ditch the drum machine though. Their earlier records with out the thunk thunk thunk were more enjoyable.
I have a lot of their stuff when it was just vocal jazz, no drum machine.
The $5 bags look like great bargains.
April, thank you. I like "crap" : )
If it weren't for all the miles we drove, it would have been, Mary. Yes, we got some nice things for ourselves, but I didn't even write off the mileage, because we found so little re-sellable merchandise. Still, if you don't go, you never know. There might have been a $1 silver necklace or a whole old-bottle collection sold for $1 a box. You never know.
Dana, I think someone invested some real time in posing that bear.
glitter-graphics.com
Diana, old 50s and 60s vacuums sometimes contain a lot of aluminum. Lamps are good if they look goofy, and some might contain quite a bit of brass. Radios are pretty much toxic waste. I just paid someone $12 to take a microwave off my hands, and I had to take it to them :[
I'm largely past my days when I have time to disassemble things. If I win the lottery I'll probably start back up again.