Tuesday, July 20, 2010
I will be on the hunt this weekend!
A great big HELLO to all of my new followers. I'm very excited that someone out there in cyberworld is interested in my search for bargains and treasures. It's been a busy few weeks, but I WILL be yard saling this weekend - both Friday and Saturday, so keep your eyes peeled for some new loot posts by the end of the weekend and pray for NO THUNDERSTORMS!!!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Beatin' the Heat
Last weekend was blazin' hot, but have no fear! The Garage Sale Diva isn't dissuaded by a little sunshine. :) Nope .... I headed out to several yard sales on Friday and Saturday and came home extremely satisfied.
The best sale I went to was this unadvertised one that had a brand new Mr.Clean mop for $1. If you happen upon an unadvertised sale ... STOP! It's probably a lot less picked over by the other garage sale divas and divos.
I bought these two Care Bears (vintage and including a cousin; gifts for my sister) for 50 cents, the patriotic Santa for 50 cents, and bunch of books for my classroom for 10 cents each.
My heart was racing out of my chest when I found this gem! This is a brand new, still in the package, $60 paper trimmer ... it comes with a dock for your mp3 player. The asking price was $10 and I talked the seller down to $5. HISTORIC.
I paid around$3.50 for everything in this photo; 2 garden flags, an angel figurine, a remote holder that I plan to use as a pencil caddy on my desk, a string of country hearts, a beautful tablecloth for my dining table, a mini Crock Pot for my mom, and a snowman dish/utensil.
I spent about $5.50 on everything in this photo; 2 purses, a brand new pair of Danskin shoes, brand new slipper socks, new stickers, new teacher bag, a vintage clothing steamer (they work better than the newer ones), and a little notebook I plan to embellish and give to a friend.

All twelve books for $1.20. All are published by Scholastic, and that means I have a Reading Counts quiz for them in my classroom. YES! Btw, never pay more than 25 cents for a softbound book in mint condition. If it's a little worn, ask the seller if they'll take ten cents.
The two hats were a splurge at the flea market ... $3 each, but I loooove them so much. The little garden decorations were 10 cents each, and all of the stamps and blender pends were $1.00 total. The blender pens alone retail for $9.95 plus shipping and handling.
So, you can see it was a great yard sale weekend. I'd love to hear about your finds. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. If you'd like to become a follower, just click the link on the right.
All twelve books for $1.20. All are published by Scholastic, and that means I have a Reading Counts quiz for them in my classroom. YES! Btw, never pay more than 25 cents for a softbound book in mint condition. If it's a little worn, ask the seller if they'll take ten cents.
So, you can see it was a great yard sale weekend. I'd love to hear about your finds. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. If you'd like to become a follower, just click the link on the right.

Labels:
bargain shopping,
garage sale,
thrifting,
Yard Sale Hauls
Friday, June 11, 2010
What To Bring
All avid (and rabid!) yard salers know that there are some items to pack that will make their yard sale adventures more fun and easier. This is The Garage Sale Diva's Yard Saler Packing List:
1. Full tank of gas.
Nothing is worse than being in between two awesome sales and having to divert your route to go to the gas station.
2. A list, printout, or other way of knowing your route. I usually just jot down a few addresses on the back of an envelope after scouring Craigslist, The Buyer's Guide, and the local newspaper. For the most part, I can remember my route in my head, and I only write down the sales that I'm afraid I may forget. On particulary busy Saturdays, I'll use Yahoo maps and actually map out my route.
3. LOTS of change and $1 and $5 bills. This is a biggie. Many people that are having yard sales grossly understimate the change that they will need.
4. Sunglasses. I actually use these not only to protect my eyes, but I also don't like for others to know exactly what I'm looking at. Weird, I know.
5. Water and a snack.
6. Hand Sanitizer. After handling items, it's nice to have. I've been to a few sales that have made me want to bathe in it.
7. Boxes, bags, and bubble wrap. Make sure your treasures make it home safely.
8. A likeminded friend :) Going to yard sales with a friend is incredibly FUN if you are the same type of yard salers. My friend Cheryl is a great yard sale friend. In a future blog post, I'll write about what makes a great Yard Sale Buddy. I'll also be writing about WHAT TO WEAR when yard saling.
1. Full tank of gas.
Nothing is worse than being in between two awesome sales and having to divert your route to go to the gas station.
2. A list, printout, or other way of knowing your route. I usually just jot down a few addresses on the back of an envelope after scouring Craigslist, The Buyer's Guide, and the local newspaper. For the most part, I can remember my route in my head, and I only write down the sales that I'm afraid I may forget. On particulary busy Saturdays, I'll use Yahoo maps and actually map out my route.
3. LOTS of change and $1 and $5 bills. This is a biggie. Many people that are having yard sales grossly understimate the change that they will need.
4. Sunglasses. I actually use these not only to protect my eyes, but I also don't like for others to know exactly what I'm looking at. Weird, I know.
5. Water and a snack.
6. Hand Sanitizer. After handling items, it's nice to have. I've been to a few sales that have made me want to bathe in it.
7. Boxes, bags, and bubble wrap. Make sure your treasures make it home safely.
8. A likeminded friend :) Going to yard sales with a friend is incredibly FUN if you are the same type of yard salers. My friend Cheryl is a great yard sale friend. In a future blog post, I'll write about what makes a great Yard Sale Buddy. I'll also be writing about WHAT TO WEAR when yard saling.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Are you having a charity yard sale in the Martinsburg, WV or Eastern Panhandle Area
If you are having a yard sale to benefit charity in the Martinsburg, WV or Eastern Panhandle area, please let me know. I'd love to advertise your sale right here on my blog. Just send me an email at garagesalediva AT verizon DOT net with the name of the charity, a link to the charity website (if available), yard sale location, date(s), time(s), and if possible a photo or two of some of the items that will be available.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Oh, The Places You'll Go
I went yard saling a couple of weekends ago with my favorite yard sale buddy, Cheryl. What makes a good yard sale buddy? Hmmm... well, let's save that for another blog post. ;)
So, we went to a few sales that were incredibly small. I always wonder at these incredibly small sales how much $$$ the individual would make even if they sold every single item. It doesn't seem worth it to me, but hey, whatever floats their boat.
Berkely County Relay for Life had a huge sale in the Martinsburg Mall Parking lot. Everything was "donation only." This presents a challenge for people like me. I want to give a donation, but I don't want it to be insultingly low. At the same time, I do want to score a deal on the items that I'm purchasing. At the Relay for Life Sale, I bought a quilted purse, some Kelly doll furniture, an electric light (that didn't work when I got home- agh!), a HUGE box of pencils, and a couple of Strawberry Shortcake things. The Kelly doll furniture is for prop use. I am entering the photo contest this year at the Strawberry Shortcake Collector's Convention. The furniture is the perfect size. I was most excited about that huge box of pencils. As a teacher, I probably purchase between 500 - 1000 pencils a year, with my own money.
At the Spring Mills Flea Market, I was pretty disappointed to find that most of the vendors still had their stuff covered up or were only beginning to unload at 9:00 a.m.. I'm not real impressed with this new flea market yet, but that is fodder for yet another future blog post. The only items I found there were some vintage My Little Ponies, a gold purse, and a beat up vintage CPK. He needs some major work, but I think he'll be cute once I get him fixed up.
We went to the Bartles' family yard sale. This sale was huge. They had tarps laying everywhere and EVERYTHING was 25cents. I wish I had been able to go to this sale on Friday because I think I could have scored bigtime. I did get a complete Lemon SSC doll, a LPS, and a pretty blue tin.
Also on Rt.11, at a townhouse, I found a lavendar sweater and three cans of Avon Bug Spray. That stuff works wonders! My husband is an avid hunter and it's all he'll use. We usually pay at least $6 a can from an Avon dealer, so at $1 a can, I bought all she had with a smile on my face.
Near downtown Martinsburg, we stopped at a house with an unadvertised sale. They had a TON of great baby stuff, but alas I wasn't in the mood to look for stuff for the Care Pregnancy Center that day. Instead, I found some great books for my classroom, including a copy of The Places You'll Go. I plan to read it to my exiting 8th graders on the last day of school.
Anyhoo - I didn't come home with much, but that was due to the weather. We only had a couple of hours because the wind was incredbile and the sky was black due to an impending thunderstorm. That's okay ... we have all summer left. Besides, we had a wonderfully relaxing lunch at Habanero in downtown Martinsburg. Yummy.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Relay for Life Yard Sale
2010 YARD SALE SEASON NEWS
Hello, Bargain Hunting Friends!
In my opinion, the 2010 Yard Sale Season for my area has officially started. Wooo hoooo!! I have big yard sale plans for the morning, so wish me luck. I went last week, to only about five sales, and found some awesome stuff. I hope to post pictures from last week and tomorrow on my blog tomorrow night, so stay tuned.
In my opinion, the 2010 Yard Sale Season for my area has officially started. Wooo hoooo!! I have big yard sale plans for the morning, so wish me luck. I went last week, to only about five sales, and found some awesome stuff. I hope to post pictures from last week and tomorrow on my blog tomorrow night, so stay tuned.
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