Who doesn’t love a good bargain? From now on, think of Thursdays as Bargain Day. Every Thursday, come visit me here at the blog and I will satisfy your bargain-hunting needs for the week. I will be sharing some of our best garage sale finds, my crazy clearance experiences, and tips to help you SAVE MONEY. And these days, who doesn’t need those tips?
For the launch of “Bargain Thursdays”, I have chosen my top 3 garage sale items that I have bought in the process of decorating my house. Long story short, 2 years ago we moved from a 1200 sq. foot, 3 bedroom house to a 3200 sq. foot, 4 bedroom house. Needless to say, we needed a lot of furniture and decorations to fill the new house!
I am proud to say that the majority of the items we ended up finding to fill our house were either handed down from friends and family or bought at garage sales and clearance racks. And, if I do say so myself, it came together to make a pretty nice looking house!
Drumroll please……………..here are my top three garage-sale-bought decorations. (Only those of you who know me personally can understand how hard it was for me to pick only three!)
#3. The Perfect Spot. I actually had bought this piece for my first house, and never even ended up putting it on the wall. I had been so excited to find it at a garage sale (I can’t remember the exact price they had on it, but I know that I left with it for $4), and I had a spot in mind where I wanted to hang it. However, when I got it home, it was a little too big for the spot, and then I never did find a better place for it. About 18 months later, when we moved into our new place, I saw a big, empty wall in my new kitchen, and I said “aha!”. The piece fits perfectly on the wall, and I don’t think anyone would ever guess that I only paid $4 for it! And the best part? It’s not just decoration, we actually have lit the candles on several occasions (most importantly for my cousin’s wedding reception at our house!), and it makes our kitchen so beautiful!
#2. Jack Sparrow on the mind. One morning my mom calls and says “I found the perfect picture for your new living room. It’s only $5.” So, of course I drive to the garage sale and check it out. I take a quick look, decide it’s not really “me”, and tell her no. But she insists! A few hours later, she goes back to the sale and offers them $3. They took it, we hung it on the wall to “try it out”, and I had to admit defeat. My mom was right; the picture could not have been more perfect for the living room if we had hired someone to paint it. About two days after we hung it on the wall, I noticed the ship in the middle. I called my mom and asked if she had seen it. Her response: “Of course I did! That’s why I bought it! It reminded me of Jack Sparrow!” And so it does. And to be honest, when you are sitting in your living room on the couch, the thought of Johnny Depp as a pirate is not the worst thing that could happen to you….
#1. ¡Viva España! I started studying Spanish in 7th grade. I lived in Spain for 6 months during college. I am now a Spanish instructor at a local community college. Needless to say, any picture of a black-haired flamenco dancer sitting by a fountain is going to catch my eye. However, nothing prepared me for this one! A bunch of us were out garage-saling, and we happened upon a girl who was getting ready to move out of town. She told us if we wanted something, make an offer. I saw the picture and fell in love. She had $35 on it; I didn’t love it that much. We were about to leave, but my mom could tell I really wanted the picture. “I’m going to go offer her less on that picture”, she says. Now, in my opinion, offering less would have meant offering $15 or $20. My mom offered her $5! And the funniest part? She took it! This picture was the perfect piece for above my desk in our office. Every time I look at it, my mind begins to wander back to my days in my beloved Sevilla. Definitely five dollars well-spent!
Are you a bargain-hunter? What are some of your proudest finds? Please share!
*Note: Bargain Thursdays are dedicated to my Grandpa Sam. As a kid, Thursdays for me meant garage-saling with my grandpa and my mom. Not a Thursday goes by that I don’t think of him and his crazy bargain-hunting skills.
**BARGAIN ALERT!** If you live in the Quad Cities, head out to WILTON this Saturday (May 5th) for their city-wide garage sales. They always have good stuff! :)
**BARGAIN ALERT!** If you live in the Quad Cities, head out to WILTON this Saturday (May 5th) for their city-wide garage sales. They always have good stuff! :)
I started garage saling in earnest when I was pregnant with my first - clothes, toys, equipment. Since my kids are lots older, my garage saling has waned. However, a couple of miles from my house is a great thrift store - Unique Thrift - that is huge and really well organized. They somethimes forget they are a thrift store (prices too high) but do have great sales - 25% and 50% off days. On any given day, I am usually wearing something from I purchrased there. The saving grace is they often don't realize what they have - Columbia hiking boots for $5 or a brand new pair (with tags) of cycling shoes for $7. The cycling shoes are great for spinning classes and retail for about $90. My latest fave - a black leather jacket that fits perfectly. It was a 1/2 price day and my cost was $2. The two sales clerks - speaking in spanish - were complaining that it was underpriced. Score!
ReplyDeletegreat story! where is Unique Thrift located? i need to get in on these bargains!
DeleteSorry Sara, its me Therese. Unique Thrift is in the next suburb over from us - New Hope, MN. By the way, I sent the link for this to my family. My mom was thrilled about what you had to say about your house. It means a great deal to her (and everyone else ) there is another growing family so happy to be in that house.
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