Every Saturday morning my mom and I have a standing date where we go scour the yard sales in our town. She picks me up at 8am, and we spend 2 glorious hours sifting through trash and treasures!
And every week, I am almost ALWAYS asked (vis IG or in person) how in the world I am able to find such beautiful pieces amidst such junk.
While it is a known fact of yard saling that you WILL sift through a ton of trash, I'd love to share my go-to secrets that always guarantee me a stellar find!
1) GO OFTEN- frequency matters! I mean, think about it...if you had a goal of getting in shape, and only took a walk once a month, you would be no where near your anticipated outcome. The same is true with yard saling. If you stop at one yard sale per month, you will more likely than not completely strike out. My mom and I go EVERY week, to MULTIPLE yard sales. And usually one or two will be decent enough to find something worth taking home!
2) MAKE A LIST/HAVE A PLAN- Over 20 years ago when my mom and I first started yard saling when I was in jr. high school, the only way to find a yard sale was to look in the newspaper or to just drive around. But now, you can find out about yard sales via SO many places (Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and yard saling apps). My mom sits down on Friday night and checks multiple sights. She groups the sales by geographical neighborhood, and then makes a route. We get the most bang for our buck this way!!
3) LOOK FOR THESE ITEMS- I am constantly drawn to items that are in their natural state...
- Wood- candlesticks, trays, bowls, etc
- Rattan & Wicker- BASKETS are my love language and they are at almost every yard sale! Tune your eyes to scope out the baskets!
- Metal & Ceramics- Give me ALL the copper teapots, and ceramic mugs!
4) DON'T BE AFRAID TO DIG- This may have been too much for my jr. high self, but Lord Almighty, I am an EXCELLENT digger now! Loads of people hosting yard sales are too lazy to pull everything out of boxes, and you never know what gems might be lurking under the surface, haha! I find that clothes are often buried in boxes or bins, and digging will reveal some treasures.
5) DON'T BE AFRAID TO BARGAIN- Lots of sellers just want their junk gone! They are more than happy to go lower than their listed price. And if you offer a lower price, and they say no....no big deal, you're back where you started. No harm done! But I'd say about 90% of sellers will accept the price you offer!
6) IF YOU SEE A PICTURE OF A GOOD YARD SALE ONLINE, START THERE FIRST! This one is fairly obvious, but if there's something in an online listing that catches your eye, go directly there in the morning.
7) MOST ESTATE SALES WILL OFFER 50% OFF ON SUNDAYS. I find estate sales to be priced more expensively. So, often if I find something I like (but that is out of my price range), I'll wait until Sunday to purchase it, because everything left on Sunday goes on sale for 50% off!
8) GO WITH A BUDDY! Even if the yard sales are a total bust, at least you caught up with a good friend!
Happy Yard Saling friends! Hope this was helpful!!
