Adventures in garage saling

I want to start this post by saying that I understand garage sales aren't for everyone.

I get it. Not everyone has the desire to pillage through complete strangers' expired goods, nor the wilingness to put a little elbow grease into a no-longer-loved piece of furniture, nor the stamina to roam streets, dodge cars and race other avid sale-seekers to the treasures awaiting them.

I, however, enjoy the hunt. This past weekend, I headed north to God's Country (a.k.a. Minnesota) to spend some quality time with the family for Mother's day and for a day of garage saling.

Thinking back to my experiences as a garage-saler-extraordinaire-in-training, under the watchful eye and caring wing of the "best of the best" (mom), I remember WONDERFUL times. Let's put this in perspective. My parents grew up with parents who were recession-era children. Their learnings became mom and dad's (mom literally didn't have indoor plumbing until she was 13), and eventually mine. When you can conserve, reuse or find a bargain, by all means... do it, silly!

Now, just like with everything, there are rules to garage sales. Here are a few:

1. Do not judge a garage's holdings by its appearance from the street. (The book and cover analogy has proven true on several occassions. Some of the most humble looking sales have turned into the biggest "treasure troves.")
2. Do not scoff at something because it's a bit used. If you can clean it up (i.e. no set-in stains), if it is still functional (batteries are meant to be replaced) and if it makes you smile thinking about how you'll use it... it's probably worth the modest fee on the price tag.
3. The best finds are found early - so no sleeping in, slackers. Suck it up, grab some coffee and get ready to rock.
4. Patience is of the utmost importance. Just because you may have a list of "wants" doesn't mean they will be met. This isn't like apple shopping at your favorite orchard. This is all about the hunt. It may take multiple sales - perhaps even a few days to cross everything off your list.

One of the garage sales I remember fondly was when I was about five years old. Mom and I left the house early (we're rule followers, you see) and were on the hunt. I don't recall having a "wish list" - but I remember knowing the minute I laid eyes on it, that I needed to own that musical jewelry box. It was off-white, it had a bear in a tu-tu that spun to the music when I turned the crank on the bottom and three drawers that lined the left side. The best part was what was in those drawers. The epitome of "treasures" - various beautiful buttons, some colorful pencil erasers, a couple Canadian coins, a Barbie hair brush and some other trinkets. I LOVED it. I had the perfect use for each of the baubles. It was an absolute steal at $0.75 of my hard earned cash (er... coins). I kept that musical jewelry box for years and it held a prime piece of real estate on the shelf above my bed where I could proudly display it for all to see.

When it comes to teaching values to Baby Beck, you can bet that the little bean won't scoff at or turn a blind eye to the bevy of wonders that lie in garages across the land.