Yard Sale Woes

My neighbor and I try to walk at least three days a week. Everybody needs exercise, right? Last week, she mentioned that she was going to have a yard sale on a Thursday and Friday. Mr. L and I had plans for Friday, but I asked her if she minded if I brought some of my stuff down and tried to sell it on Thursday. "Sure!"

I've had boxes of stuff sitting in my garage for two years. That was the last time I attempted a yard sale. (It got rained out.) While Mr. L is fine about going to yard sales, he's not keen on hosting them. He says we never make any money, and it's a lot of hard work and time wasted.

But, all I had to do was fill the van, drive down the road, and unload it. That was the first fly in the ointment...setting up. I had three card tables, a folding metal shelf, and a tarp, and I needed all of them. There was so much stuff--stuff I considered to be "good stuff." That's the kind of stuff I look for at yard sales. Pictures, picture frames, kitchen stuff, and a lot of what we called "smalls" when I had a booth at the antiques arcade. And at 7:30 am it was HOT and MUGGY. By the time I finished setting up, I was soaked with sweat. (Well, we didn't get to walk, so that was my exercise.)

Before we had even finished setting up, we had a few people stop by--either on their way to work or just coming off the night shift. Right away, my neighbor sold a kid's wagon for $20. Was this a good omen? Well, not exactly. It was another neighbor coming home from work.

We also had a strike against us. We live on a quiet street that is connected on both ends by very busy roads. Unfortunately, there's a bridge under reconstruction at the end one of those busy streets, so the road is closed except to "local" traffic. So possibly thousands of cars never passed our street by the south side.

Highlights of the day:  A woman who bought a sign that said LET IS SNOW. She was visiting our area from Florida. "Hey, we decorate for the holidays," she said when my neighbor laughed. In fact, she lives on the Intercoastal Waterway and said everyone decorates their docks and yards.

Neither my neighbor or I had breakfast, so around 10 o'clock she brought out these JUMBO cinnamon muffins. Holy cow, I haven't had a BIG muffin in a long time and this was REALLY good! And we were sucking back water like crazy, although the humidity did lessen as the day went on.

Around 1 o'clock, another neighbor and her adorable Westie (Cooper) came to visit. So we're sitting there shooting the breeze when something crawling on the garage floor catches my eye. At first I thought it was a cicada (although we mostly see them in August), but then I saw ... THE TAIL.

EEEEEK A MOUSE!  It came in from the side of the garage. My neighbor leapt from her chair (I'd already done so and was going EEEEK EEEEEK). The mouse changed direction and ran outside, and my neighbor tried to chase it into the grass, but the mouse panicked and ran back into the garage. Cooper (a terrier, and they were bred to kill rats) wanted to attack, but his mother held him back. My neighbor had the coolest head and took care of the situation.

Around 4 o'clock there was not much happening, and I wanted to pack up, but my neighbor convinced me to hang on until 4:30. We had one more customer -- and I made $1 and my neighbor made a quarter. Woo-hoo! It took 45 minutes to pack everything up (and not as neatly as it was in the morning). My earnings for the day: $39.20. My neighbor did much better.

My take?  The reason I find such good stuff at yard sales is because the average yard sale attendee doesn't care for that kind of stuff. It seemed like people were looking for children's clothes, toys, tools, and cooking utensils. Not much in the way of decor, and nobody wanted anything Christmas (In July, no less).

Back home, Mr. L made me a refreshing adult beverage and since we hadn't seen each other all day, we just sat and talked for more than an hour. It's amazing how exhausting it is just to sit around all day doing nothing. I sit around all day working, but it's different. My neighbor was SOOOOO glad to have company that day. (She'd done the yard sale last weekend, too.) She was going to do it again this morning for 4 hours and then call it quits because the heat index is up in the 100s today and that's just too hot.

Meanwhile, Mr. L is took me to a rummage sale.

The stuff that's leftover? My neighbor is donating hers to a church rummage sale. My stuff is going to Goodwill.

And Mr. L and Mr. H both said -- NO MORE YARD SALES.

Neighbor and I will just have to go to them instead.

Have you ever done a yard sale? Was it worth it?

My weekend thrifting haul--check it out!

Just a few things I got this weekend while thrifting. The little candle rings with the bird ornaments were in a $1 bag along with little mercury glass balls that I will transform into earrings for my November craft show. I think they look adorable and I’m going to use them as is to decorate one of my coffee tables. (Um, doesn’t everyone have five separate sitting areas?) The tray is unusual in that it has feet.


The little vase was choked with roots and dirt. That took a little work cleaning up. The mug is Syracuse China and I already had a small bowl that matches, so this was something I wanted.  Mr. L collects vintage cocktail shakers, and he didn't have anything this one, which looks like it might be from the 1950s.


This darling little needlepoint pillow came from the good rummage sale for a buck. It really needs to be cleaned, but I’m not sure what to use. This is where a girl needs her Mother. My mother had so much knowledge, especially about the “domestic arts.” She did every kind of needlecraft there was, from sewing, to cross stitch, to knitting—she did it all and well (although quilting was her favorite). The back is velveteen and the pillow inside is going into the washing machine with my towels. My Mum had this special detergent (very gentle) for washing sweaters and you don’t even need to rinse. Just soak. I wondered if that would be something to use on the needlepoint. Please, let me know what you think about that. Thanks.



This adorable little bucket and the two pumpkins were part of two displays at one of the sales and the sign said, “10¢ to $1 – Pay what you want.” Holy smoke, did they have a lot of cute stuff. I paid $5 for everything and the woman was happy to “get rid of some of mom’s crap” and I was happy to get so many silk flowers and other cute stuff. I love the little bucket. It’s adorable and something cute (and probably silk) will go in it.

To see everything else I found, check out my Facebook Group page, Lorraine's Perpetual Tea Party Page. Here's a link.

So, what's your favorite?

Decorating for fall

Happy Tuesday! I haven't hauled out all my "fall stuff" (and I haven't got much more than this), but this is the start of my fall decorating. I never thought to do this before I saw "Hillary from Old World Home's" seasonal $5 Goodwill Thrift Store Challenge on Youtube. Basically you spend $5 and add something to your decor. Everything here except the fabric pumpkin (which belonged to my Mum) I got at yard sales. The flowers and vase were bought within the past couple of weeks. You might remember the little "boo" and the gold tray were found this summer, too.

Here's a link to Hilary's challenge.

Do you decorate for the seasons?

P.S. My Mum made the runner for me.

Who knew? I've been Trendy for Years!

Okay, I lied in the subject line. I've never been trendy ... until now, I guess. Why?  

I've been going to yard, garage, estate and rummage sales for years. I always assumed it was because I was cheap. Now it turns out I'm "thrifting."

I admit it. Before I had a booth in an antiques arcade, I rarely went to such sales, but when you need stock and have a weekly rent to pay, you visit these sales and thrift shops. Since then, I begrudge paying retail. And since I'm into recycling, etc., I like the idea that things aren't ending up in landfills when they can be used and/or repurposed.

It was only a week or so ago when I was looking at decluttering videos on YouTube that I learned about thrifting.  I've subscribed to a few of those channels.  My favorite is Thrift Diving (by Serena Appiah -- she's funny, knowledgeable, and knows how to use power tools!).

Another one I like (because of her Thursday Thrift Store Hauls) is Robin Johnson's Happy At Home channel.  She likes white rooms, which aren't my favorite, but she has lots of great tips for repurposing items.

I like shabby chic, but not too chippy when it comes to paint.  For one, they might have lead paint, and for another ... some things look like there was a reason they were discarded in the first place.

I'm a sucker for teacups, china (particularly square plates and brown transferware), and doilies, but lots of other things tickle my fancy.

Yard sale season starts in a couple of weeks. I've signed up to get a weekly email announcement that tells me where all the sales are within a five mile radius of my house. Can't wait until tomorrow to see if it comes.

Do you go thrifting?

Who knew I've been trendy for years?

Okay, I lied in the subject line. I've never been trendy ... until now, I guess.  Why?  

I've been going to yard, garage, estate and rummage sales for years. I always assumed it was because I was cheap. Now it turns out I'm "thrifting."

I admit it. Before I had a booth in an antiques arcade, I rarely went to such sales, but when you need stock and have a weekly rent to pay, you visit these sales and thrift shops.  Since then, I begrudge paying retail. And since I'm into recycling, etc., I like the idea that things aren't ending up in landfills when they can be used and/or repurposed.

It was only a week or so ago when I was looking at decluttering videos on YouTube that I learned about thrifting.  I've subscribed to a few of those channels.  My favorite is Thrift Diving (by Serena Appiah -- she's funny, knowledgeable, and knows how to use power tools!).

Another one I like (because of her Thursay Thrift Store Hauls) is Robin Johnson's Happy At Home channel.  She likes white rooms, which aren't my favorite, but she has lots of great tips for repurposing items.

I like shabby chic (but not too chippy when it comes to paint.  For one, they might have lead paint, and for another ... some things look like there was a reason they were discarded in the first place.

I'm a sucker for teacups, china (particularly square plates and brown transferware), and doilies, but lots of other things tickle my fancy.

Yard sale season starts in a couple of weeks for now. I've signed up to get a weekly email announcement that tells me where all the sales are within a five mile radius of my house.

Do you go thrifting?

Hurry Yard Sale Season

by Lorraine Bartlett / Lorna Barrett / L.L. Bartlett

This time last year, Mr. L and I were snowbirds for the first (and possibly last) time.  Of course, the current weather (with temps as low as the 30s) in Clearwater, would have made it rather unpleasant.  When you have cats, rental possibilities aren't that frequent and we were STUCK with a terrible rental house.  (The world's most uncomfortable beds, a house surrounded by millions of LIZARDS, and nightly kitchen visits from palmetto bugs, who usually died overnight -- but not always. That was the house from hell.)

Paid $2 for these three cocktail shakers for Mr. L's collection.

Good things?  HGTV. Publix. The Cricketer English Pub. And thrift shops and yard sales. There were scores of thrift stores near where we lived, and we visited every one. And then eagerly searched the online listing for sales in our area.  We learned Clearwater pretty quick driving around town looking for sales.

Our first weekend there, we went to five yard sales and a rummage sale.  IN JANUARY.  Now that's one part of the Florida lifestyle I could get used to in a hurry. We won't see a yard sale here until at least mid- to late April. *Sigh*

A prize from my holiday FB event.

No doubt about it, I'm a collector of many different items, but I also subscribe to the "catch and release" program. When I had a booth in an antiques arcade, I would buy stuff, live with it for a while, and then sell it. Now ... I mostly give stuff away.

I especially collect teacups and occasionally give them to readers via events on my Facebook. I should give away more of them, but have you seen the weather?  I haven't taken my car out of the garage since before Christmas. I probably won't need gas until at least March. But getting to the PO this time of year is proving to be a problem.

A rummage sale find.

Another problem I have with all this stuff is storing it so I can actually see it. I'd be giving it away. Wayfair had a great sale on storage cabinets back on Black Friday and I thought I had ordered one. But apparently I didn't finish all the steps.  Say goodbye to that cabinet.  They don't stock it anymore. It was perfect for a spot in my basement. Haven't found anything the right size since. Right now most of the teacups and plates are carefully wrapped in paper and sitting in boxes. I don't have x-ray vision, so to find everything, I need to haul them all out and unwrap them. Kind of messy. I need to come up with a new system.

I love cookbooks and last summer I bought more than 24 of them. I sorted through them the other day and today those that didn't make the cut (for one reason or another)  are going to the Friends of the Library bookshop. (When I left Florida, I left another 10-15 of them at my favorite thrift shop so that someone else could enjoy them.) They cost as little as a quarter and as much as a dollar and gave me many hours of pleasure.

If you'd like to see some of my yard sale treasures, you can find them on one of my Pinterest boards.  This one is called (funny enough) "My Yards Sale Finds."

For now, I'm going to start dreaming about the upcoming yard sale season. Maybe I'll write a short story about going to yard sales so I can live vicariously through a character.

What do you look for at yard sales?

Adding real life to my writing

One of the fun things about writing is you can incorporate tiny pieces of your life into your stories.

There was a time when I hated to shop. (Yeah, sounds weird now.) Of course, I still hate to shop for certain things. (Like clothes. No matter what I buy, I always look like a barrel. Yeah, hate clothes shopping.) One of the reason I became a vendor at an antiques and crafts arcade was because I loved to shop there. I was furnishing our home and they had the best stuff! That's about the time I also started to go junking (which sounds a lot cooler than saying I went to yard sales).

You can get all kinds of GOOD stuff at yard sales.  I was recently in Florida, and they have yard sales ALL YEAR LONG! (Imagine that!!!!!) Mr. L collects cocktail shakers. I found these three shakers for $2 -- TWO BUCKS!!! (Love that the left and middle one are etched. I figure the one on the left is from the 1950s; the other two are much newer, but were unique enough that he wanted to add them to his collection.)

But (as usual) I digress.

I'm working on my second Life on Victoria Square story (A companion series to go with The Victoria Square Mysteries) featuring a minor character who has shown up in a couple of the Victoria Square Mysteries. We're talking a walk-on character who never even had a line of dialogue. But she stuck in my mind and I knew she had a story to tell ... I just didn't know what it was until this week, that is. She didn't even have a name. They just referred to her as "the woman who never pays more than a buck for anything." And what's her claim to fame?  A rose made of crepe paper. I'm having fun describing all the treasures she's picked up while shopping at Artisans Alley and I hope my readers will enjoy getting to know her, too.

The first Life on Victoria Square story goes on sale on Tuesday. It's called CARVING OUT A PATH, and features Ray Davenport, the cranky police detective who clashed with Katie in the first three novels.

A young shoplifter not only swipes a couple of hand-carved figurines from Ray Davenport, owner of Victoria Square’s Wood U gift shop, but barrels into and injures Katie Bonner, manager of Artisans Alley. Upon his escape, the police are called, but before the ink is dry on the report, the boy’s grandmother drags the would-be thief back to return the purloined items. She’s got an agenda and great expectations. Can Ray come through in a pinch?


Kindle US | Kindle Worldwide | iBooks | Nook | Kobo

I have plans to write about all the merchants on Victoria Square.

(P.S. So happy my cover designer could add three of my Dad's carvings to the cover.  Aren't the Santas adorable?  At the end of the story, I added the Story BEHIND the Story to tell readers about those carvings.)

I hope you'll give Ray (and later Karen) a chance!

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

For most people, the most wonderful time of the year is the holiday season.  Okay, I love it, too, but my second favorite season is Yard Sale season, which in these parts is from May until early October.

Weeee! What a lot of fun it is to go on a treasure hunt.

Last weekend was the BIG Browncroft bi-annual sale. I haven't been to it in many years and felt the need to treat myself. Of course, the last time I went, I was still a vender in an antiques arcade, so I was shopping for bargains I could turn around to resell. These days, I have to be a lot more discerning.

In the old days, I could buy what I wanted, live with it for a while, and then sell it on a kind of catch-and-release basis.  Today, I had better have a specific purpose in mind. Okay, I'm still buying pretty teacups and square plates, but I'm also being practical.

I needed a new egg timer. I keep one in my office to remind me to let the cats in on a cold day. (Or to remind me to get off my duff and go do my exercise or GET OFF THE INTERNET.)  I found a super-duper one that not only goes for an hour (on the right side), but has a 20-hour timer on the left.  Well, I HAD to have that!  (And for the bargain price of only $2.)

I have NEVER seen my (good) china pattern at a yard sale before, so when I saw the Royal Albert Silver Maple sugar bowl (again for the bargain price of only $2), I bought it in a heartbeat. I asked the woman collecting the money if she had any more pieces and she said her daughter "got it at a yard sale."  (Obviously another catch-and-release item.)  Of course, I already have a  Royal Albert Silver Maple sugar bowl and oddly enough, I don't take sugar in my tea, so it doesn't get a lot of use.  But hey, I might one day, right?

The square plate is from Germany. It's just pretty.

The little elephant has a broken tusk. (He's showing his "good" side in the picture at right.) The person at that sale wanted 50 cents. I said, "But he's wounded."  Okay, then a quarter.  (Hey, I'm into saving elephants, whether they are alive, or tiny orphans like that little guy.  I have a whole herd of wounded orphaned elephants. I love them.  (Somebody has to.)

The pansy picture under glass with copper tape holding it together is a Christmas tree ornament. I'm a sucker for pansies, so ...

I also bought a couple of bangles.  Hey, bling is quite fine. I particularly love the one of the left with all the little hearts and the tiny rhinestones.  The woman selling them said she was doing a whole-house purge and was selling a big box of jewelery for 50 cents each.  I wish I'd taken more time to go through it. She had some really nice "chunky" necklaces, too.

And I bought my very first painting. It's an original watercolor (I just love watercolors). I'm in the process of  redecorating my enclosed porch, and I'm doing it in BEACH style, so this picture should work out nicely.  I also bought a rug for the porch, and a heater for my office.

In all I spent $26.  Not a bad haul for my first yard sale foray of the year.

What do you look for when you go to yard sales?