How To Get Fantastic Yard Sale Bargains Without Actually Getting Up At The Crack Of Dawn

There are many, many, many times when I intend to go yard saleing (saling?, whatevuh) on a Saturday morning and it doesn't quite happen. It may be that I was overserved the evening before. It may be that the idea of putting on proper undergarments at 7:39 a.m. and sallying forth is just too much. Occasionally I am diverted by the promise of bacon and french toast prepared by Travis McGee. Whatever the reason, any seasoned veteran knows that the best stuff is gone by 8:30. Or is it?

I have been observing yard sales lately and have come to some new conclusions. First, long gone are the days when everything is out and priced by 7. I am apparently not the only one who is overserved on occasion. The neighbors straggle around, adding stuff to the pile until noon. The sister who is supposed to be there at 6 shows up at 9 with a minivan full of crap. No one person is in charge and proper change is hard to come by. Rarely will anyone thoughtfully provide Krispy Kremes, priced at $1.00 each. Everyone knows that a Krispy Kreme eaten at any outside morning event doesn't count. That includes walk-a-thons and yard sales.

Second, 10 a.m. is a perfectly good time to score stuff. I pride myself on not really liking what everyone else likes, so it makes sense that the thing I can't live without is sitting there waiting for me at a sane hour.

Third, anything that doesn't sell is going straight to the thrift store and you should, too. I hit a
Goodwill at 3 this past Saturday and there were 10 perfectly serviceable bicycles lined up outside that had just been dropped off. My Monday lunch routine is to hit the two Goodwills closest to my office and load up on books. Books that were $2 at the yard sale are now in the bin for .50. I am, as you know, too frugal to buy almost anything for full price but I picked up another hard bound copy of The Poisonwood Bible on Saturday to give away to a friend for a half a dollar.

In conclusion, as we beat ourselves up over dwindling bank accounts and lackluster jobs, remember this; you don't have to get up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday to score a good deal. Get a little extra sleep, read the paper, then go find a bargain.