The Year on Driveways

Another thrifty year has come and gone – spreadsheet time! Although it felt like there were way fewer sales this year (and definitely fewer that made my heart go pitty-pat), my spreadsheet tells me I went out on a total of 35 days. They were unevenly spread through the year – some weekends I went out on consecutive days, then there would be weeks when it wasn’t worth taking the car out. Still, I managed to spend $256.55, which procured an estimated retail value of over $5000. I say phooey to retail – at least most of the time!

The total spent was about twice as much as last year, but 2020 should probably just be stricken from the books, right? One bright spot is that I brought home three items (total expenditure $4.50) that I resold for a profit of $100.88. So that paid for almost half of the year’s fun. There was a pair of Heath Ceramic dinner plates (they sold overnight, wish I’d priced them higher!), 

a rummage sale blouse of a pricey brand,

and a vintage Erica Wilson embroidery kit that turned fifty cents into $31+.

While I bought three splurges (all were art!), of the 168 things I brought home, 66 were fifty cents or less, and only 49 were over a dollar. I confess I'm astounded that I added that many items to my home. There were 27 pieces of clothing and (goodness!) 8 pairs of shoes. Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? But the most I paid for anything was three bucks, and the total for all that was $54.25. Okay, I feel better now – especially when I see that some of the shoes are still available to buy retail – for $210 a pair.

My entertainment category had the highest number, 23 books, magazines and movies. Kitchen things were right behind with 22 – ranging from cute tiny plates to stainless steel skillets to a glass made specifically for drinking Canadian whiskey. Not just any whiskey, Canadian. That was worth the twenty-five cents just to learn that such a thing existed. But the Dansk bowls that match the mugs I already owned may be my favorite in this category.

Looks like my poor pets were a little neglected this year. I brought home only 2 things for them, and Millie managed to break the ceramic treat jar within a couple of days. However, the little quilt is still a fave of them all.

The ‘category of shame’, otherwise known as donations, was not terribly embarrassing this year – 21 items that totaled $19.55. And five of those were free. So that brings my total down to 147 items – doesn’t that sound better?

Probably the biggest thrill of the year was the only piece of furniture I bought – the vintage midcentury double bed with the amazing headboard. 

For five bucks. I'm still thrilled – and the vintage double sheets I bought for a buck apiece were the icing on the cake!

Actually, I have to amend that – the bed was the second biggest thrill. Best of all was reaching the millionth visitor milestone back in March. Wow. Thanks for coming along for the ride – now let’s see what 2022 will bring!

It's Not Just Socks!

The garaging momentum is really building. Last week, spent a buck and a half. This week we were up to $3.25! One way and another, All This has probably saved me quite a bit of money. I didn’t buy gas for two months, or go out to eat (still haven’t had any restaurant meals that cost more than four bucks…yay, Taco Bell takeout), and so far this year I've only spent $72 garaging. Last year this time that figure was $183, and two years ago it was over $550!

I was definitely on the prowl for some heavy cotton t-shirts to use for making masks; I've read they make a pretty good filter. So I was pleased to pull a bright green one out of a free box, and found a dark gray 50₵ one further down the road.

Green and gray turned out to be the day’s color scheme. For a quarter, I brought home a fun wine bottle stopper.

And maybe it can do double duty as a Christmas ornament?

Another free box yielded two quite nice potholders. I can always use another decent potholder.

It was a good day for free stuff. Found a favorite childhood book at my first stop.

 Had a nice chat with the lady there. I remembered being there at a previous sale, and even what I bought, and was able to tell her how much I've liked this little bowl.

Splurged a couple of bucks on a bunch o’ magazines, some gardening and sewing, and all of last year’s Martha Stewarts.

My last stop was another 25₵ buy – a dog shedding tool I decided to try. For that price, why not? Apparently the resident Australian shepherd had disliked it. Fannie was okay with it, and clearly it did some de-shedding.

But I still like my Furminator better. If you need a really good, sturdy dog grooming tool, it’s the one I’d recommend. But they don't end up on driveways – at driveway prices – very often. It's actually something I bought in a store, but only after a lady at a garage sale was telling me what a great tool it is. So it has garaging roots! I’ll be donating this new one to the humane society thrift store, so I’m sure it will get a good home.

As I left the sale, one of the ladies in charge was crossing the street to her house, and I admired some of her flowers, She asked if I knew the name of them, which I did (echinops, or globe thistle) and she was so happy to finally be able to recall the name that she cut some for me to bring home!

When I got home, I started a load of laundry that included the t-shirts and the potholders. And somewhere between the laundry basket of dirty clothes and the folding of clean things out of the dryer – the gray potholder disappeared! In the two–plus years I've been in this house, I don't think my dryer has eaten anything. Not a single sock has disappeared. And now it seems to have gobbled up a potholder. And dang it, I used the green one this morning, and it's a really good potholder! 

I'm still hopeful it will reappear as mysteriously as it left. Perhaps in the company of socks I never noticed were gone.

Lottery - Not!

The bird feeder looked brand new and was marked $5. Too rich for frugal me, so I asked if there was any chance she would take $3. Sure, she said, then had to add, “But that was an $80 bird feeder.”

We hear this sort of remark a lot (and have trained ourselves just to smile agreeably and not say “But this is a garage sale”). Back at the car, I reported to KK and Judy the supposed original price. We all rolled our eyes. Yeah, right, an eighty buck bird feeder.

Looked it up when I got home, and sure enough it was not an $80 feeder. Nope—it was only a $70 feeder. Seventy bucks for a bird feeder, yikes! I simultaneously had to shake my head over the idea of anyone spending that much, and feeling like I had won a prize in a lottery. I must admit it is one swell feeder, designed to thwart squirrels while still feeding a wide variety of birds. In fact, it's so swell that I had to search the Interwebs until I found an instructional video on how to fill it!

That particular estate sale was probably the best of the day. I also picked up a copper-topped vintage coffee carafe, 

an ergonomic pastry blender (your hand gets so, so exhausted making biscuits, right?) 

and a microwavable ice cream scoop. Since I spent $4 there and the feeder was $3…you get the picture.

I wasn’t sure if the carafe was like one I already had or if that was the one Millie broke. Turned out to be the former, but the other has a gold top instead of copper.

And that microwavable ice cream scoop, which I never would have bought if it had been more than a quarter, actually works great. You can dish out quite a few scoops before it cools off. Yes, of course I had to test it!

I had low expectations of the sale being held in a strip-mall storefront, but found three fifty DVDs there (Saving Grace is a huge favorite), 

plus a baggie of vintage spice shakers. 

Judy and I reminisced for quite a while about these, both of us remembering them from childhood but not that they were for all kinds of spices, not just salt and pepper.

They definitely looked better after cleaning!

Our final foray was a church rummage sale downtown that didn’t start until 1 p.m. This is one of the churches that hands you a big grocery bag to fill for five bucks, and the place was a zoo. They also have a ‘special’ room with items they deem more valuable, which is where I found another vase for my windowsill collection, with bubbles in the base. 

I was amused when the church ladies wrapped it up in a couple of pieces of tissue from a sewing pattern. They must have gotten a ton of those donated.

Also found a bear ornament.

No markings so I have no idea of the maker, but I love his sensitive little face; he feels like quite a nice piece. And even though he was deemed special, he was still only fifty cents!

My bag stuffing was purely practical. I needed some king size sheets, and sure enough found a fitted and flat, both in white and all cotton. Into the bag they went, along with a nice cotton rug 

and a queen-size duvet cover and two pillowcases 

that are destined to be slipcovers for the chair in our bedroom (the print goes well with our bedspread). 

I was thrilled to get it all for a fiver, especially since I was recently in an actual fabric store and was APPALLED at the prices. Holey moley. Fifteen bucks a yard for cotton quilting fabric? I really would have to win the lottery if I shopped there instead of in church basements!

Hundred Percent

When Judy climbed into the back seat of KK’s SUV the other day, we all said hi, then she immediately told us about four unrelated things. She paused for a second, then commented, “I am one hundred percent random.”

I thought that was just the best line ever. “I want to put that on a t-shirt,” I told her, and grabbed my Kindle Fire so I could make a note. (I knew I'd never remember later if I didn’t write it down.) 

KK went me one better; she spoke to her phone and told it to take a note. When she was finished, it repeated back to her what it had saved.

“I’m one hundred percent Rhonda,” it intoned. We all cracked up. I'm afraid that is going to become a catchphrase for all of us. Years down the road, someone will ask how we’re doing. “Oh, I'm a hundred percent Rhonda,” will be the answer. I can hardly wait.

KK and I had a random/Rhonda Friday last week. Strike that, we actually began on Thursday, which was the first day of the Episcopalians’ rummage sale. (Which they have been doing since something like 1936.) I thought I was going to get out of there with only three vintage Christmas balls for fifty cents. Then I strolled over to the menswear and hit pay dirt. I love the crazy print on this rayon shirt

which I've already remodeled with a modified collar and a couple of tucks at the waist for a little shape. 

As if the fabric wasn’t busy enough, I replaced the buttons with seven different ones from my stash.

The sweater rack yielded up a couple of cashmeres for two bucks a piece.

When I got home, I looked up the brand. Turns out they came from a pricey store in San Francisco, where Scottish cashmere sweaters like these are still available. The price tag? Oh, between $400 & $600 – each. How fast do you think I got back in the car to go look again? Found two more with the same label, this time wool and cashmere blend. 

These are more reasonably priced in the store. Only about $350 each! Sheesh! Glad I didn’t quibble at the $2 price tag!

On Friday, one of our first stops was an estate sale where I picked up this large, all-wool throw. It's not a Pendleton (actually heavier and larger than my Pendleton throws) but very nice quality. And $5 seemed like a very nice price tag. 

I was carrying it around when another lady noticed it and wondered if it were hand woven. She mentioned she is a weaver. I told her there was another piece where I had picked up the throw that was hand woven and took her to see it. This was a gorgeous long scarf in shades of purple that I had considered, but it was a whopping $8 so I had put it back. She took one look at the maker’s tag still attached and beamed. “It's by Gayle!” she said. “I know her, I took a class from her.” She had made a wonderful vest of her own handwoven fabric in this class, but alas, the first time she went to wash it she found she was out of Woolite. Off to the store for more (leaving the vest lying on the washing machine). When she returned she found her lovely husband had done the laundry for her. Yup, including her vest, which did not take kindly to the experience. It sounded like it came out doll-sized. Sigh. But at least the purple handwoven scarf got a good home. Where it will only be hand washed.

We had a pretty good list of sales, but at least four of them turned out to be nonexistent. Annoying. I'm just glad none were far afield. One that did exist had a trash pile with an old light fixture lying on it. KK took it home…and now it is a bird feeder! (When Judy saw the picture, her response was “That's just for the upper class birds 👑 Too fancy for our birds!”

We were almost through the list when we came to a moving sale not far from my house. I spotted a pretty sheet right away and noticed it was marked 50¢.

The fabric is wonderfully soft; turns out it's a king-size Ralph Lauren flat. (Which would have retailed between $125 – 185. For one sheet.) I've been wanting to make a kimono jacket to throw on these cool mornings (it's still getting down into the forties at night here) and thought this would be good fabric to try. In the same box I found a duvet cover for the same purpose. It's only a twin size, but a double layer of fabric. Lots to play with.

While I was looking at sheets, KK was going through a rack of clothes. I heard her ask the guy holding the sale how much they were. “A quarter each,” he said. I headed for the clothing rack! Found a pair of Ellen Tracy linen pants that fit, just need to shorten them.

Forgot to get a picture of the navy and white striped Ralph Lauren shirt I gave my SIL (told her if she doesn’t like it she can use it for a rag – since it cost a quarter). Also picked out a boiled wool vest that’s a little small, but could be fun combined with some kind of sweater.

This sheer cardigan is knit of linen and was probably purchased at Nordstrom.

I brought home this Jones New York blazer because I like the wool/silk/linen fabric.

Could be fun to upcycle, but before I do I might try to resell it…since it still has the $229 hang tag on it!

As we headed to the car with our arms full, KK said, “I'm betting he just got divorced and wants her stuff gone.”

She was probably right. Or maybe it was just a hundred percent Rhonda.