Yard Sale Fun Finds: UGG Boots For My Daughter

My daughter has 3 (yes, THREE) pair of UGGs. Two of these pairs are boots, one pair is shoes—they are all different, and they are all from yard sales! The two better pairs, Thing 3 (my daughter) only wears for special events, for a few hours at church, or for pictures.

The first pair is like new. They are UGG “Honey B” shoes, and retail for $40 on the UGG site. I purchased these for $1 at a yard sale.

The second pair is for PLAY, around the house. They are NOT in as good condition as the first pair, but are still soft and warm. Thing 3 loves the comfortable feeling of these boots. They are the pink “Erin” boots that retail for $50 online. I got these free at a yard sale—the lady who was selling them just threw them into the bag with a few other items I was purchasing as a bonus!

Finally, the third pair is the pair Thing 3 wears with a lot of her fall and winter outfits when going out. These are the more neutral chestnut-colored “Boo” boots, retail $60 online. I paid a bit more for these than I would for most things at yard sales, but they were like new (when I bought them) in the original box—I paid $15.

Once, an older lady who did not know me well commented (when she saw Thing 3 wearing her UGG boots) that she could not believe that as a parent I would spend/waste so much money on a clothing item for a baby. Little did she know how very LITTLE I paid. Side lesson: Never judge!

As a bonus, after Thing 3 is done wearing all these UGGS this year , I plan to resell them on Ebay where I will make a huge profit—I will get close to retail for the nicer pairs. I will probably get $20 on Ebay for the more worn pink pair, as well. UGGs have great resale value online, even used ones. So, if you like UGGS for your children, watch for them at YARD SALES!

Read Full Post »

Yard Sale Decorating: Welcome to Our Living Room!

Decorating with yard sale items is actually fun! We bought a house last year in this (expensive suburban) area (those of you who live here will totally “get” the expensive part).  It was a great deal— FOUR bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms,  a basement (FINALLY, no more toys everywhere!), and a family room where we could put a pellet stove to save on heat.

However, it was very ugly inside. For some reason, the previous owners painted the interior with some odd colors. Our first step was to repaint most of the house. For those of you who are bargain-minded, I found much of the paint at Lowes (“oops” paint that was returned) for $5 a gallon! Of course, that wasn’t enough to cover the whole interior, so we did end up buying additional paint to finish.

Here are two “before” pictures of the living room:

So, after painting the living room, we decorated and furnished it MOSTLY with all YARD SALE items. Some items were from Freecycle and Craigslist. Let me take you on a tour, and tell you what I paid for my yard sale decorations and furnishings in our living room.

Below is our “new” sofa. This is part of a 2 piece set. We got this on Freecycle. It is a “This End Up” sturdy wooden sofa (retail $620). We paid NOTHING for the sofa and loveseat set. The cushions were ratty, so we bought new cushions on Craigslist for $40. Total spent on sofa/loveseat–$40.

Throw pillows were free. CURTAINS on window were $5 from a yard sale–still in the package. They were BRAND NEW, and the retail price on the package was $150.

Mirrow on the wall in picture above and below was $5.00. It is nice and solid and of beautiful quality. Chair in picture above was $1.00 from a yard sale (but we have since moved it upstairs–we bring it downstairs for extra seating when company comes). Magazine rack/end table in picture below was $5.00 at a yard sale.

In the corner of our living room, we have a beautiful floor lamp, that came with 2 brand new shades. This lamp was $11 at a yard sale. I looked it up online, and it is a $200 floor lamp when bought brand new!

This sofa on the opposite wall coordinates nicely, and was FREE from Craigslist (it is a sleeper sofa, that pulls out to a double bed!). I bought the white crocheted throw pillows for $3 (total) at a yard sale.

This artwork on one of the walls was $2.00 at a yard sale. My husband found this, and we both loved it. It is a beautifully framed picture of Savannah, Georgia.

On the far wall, sits our matching This End Up loveseat from Freecycle. The pillows were $.50 total at a yard sale! We have had the beach painting since we first got married, but the mirrors on either side were $1.50 each from a yard sale. Beside the love seat sits an authentic LANE Cedar Chest from 1949 with the original paperwork still inside–yard sale price $10!

Finally, we have our coat rack in the corner. Although we do have a coat closet, the coat rack is easy for the children (and us) to access for everyday use.  We paid $5 for the coat rack, $3 for the little decoration with the mirror, and $5 (total) for the authentic framed Hawaiian prints on either side–all from yard sales!

Thank you for visiting our living room–almost entirely decorated with yard sale items! I hope to share the other rooms in our house with you, and my other great yard/garage sale finds; as well as tips on how YOU can find such great bargains.

Do you have rooms you decorated with yard sale items? Feel free to leave a comment below to share.

 

Read Full Post »

The Chair: My Nostalgic Yard Sale Find

This summer, I’ve been spending my Saturday mornings going to yard sales (no different than usual), BUT, the one difference is that I’ve been going with my husband (hereafter referred to on this blog as DH).

Because with three young children, time together is sparse, I found a Saturday morning babysitter, and DH and I spend our “date mornings” yard saling. We actually enjoy it. We each hunt/look for different things, and we get time to talk in between our finds.

This past Saturday, we were at a community-wide yard sale, walking from house to house, when we stumbled upon an estate sale (more on estate sales to come in future posts). After pondering purchasing some old conch shells (which I decided against), and DH deciding against an antique and slightly rusted lawn edger, I stumbled upon IT. . the CHAIR.

When I was a child, at one of my grandparents’ houses, they had two of these chairs. They are vintage and hard to find– step stool style chairs, with steps that can be pulled in and out. The one I found happens to be a COSCO brand chair.

As a child, one of the fun parts of visiting Grandma’s house was playing on/sitting on the chairs. A little girl, after all, could spend a good deal of time climbing up and down such a chair. And pulling the steps out, and pushing them back in, and then pulling them back out again.

If I discover something that brings back a good memory, it has value and I want to hold on to it.

When my grandmother moved, after my grandfather died, the chairs disappeared. However, I always wished I had been lucky enough to inherit one of them.

So, when I found the chair and showed DH, he agreed that it was a good find. Most surprising, though, was that the sellers wanted to move the estate items and were only asking $3 for my chair! What a steal! I was quite happy.

It turns out that DH sat in chairs like this, also, when he was a child.

I would like to refinish the chair, particularly put new vinyl and padding on the seat and back cushions at some point in time. But for now, the chair is sitting in my home, ready for a new generation to discover.

Yesterday, my son (Thing 2) discovered the chair while helping DH cook in the kitchen. This morning, he climbed up on it to sit before school.

And,  my daughter (Thing 3) has discovered the chair. She enjoys pulling out the steps, climbing them, and ascending to the top—hey, that’s a big task for an 18 month old baby girl!

And so, THE CHAIR, lives on. . and creates more good memories.

Read Full Post »