I blame Grandma

This summer I became obsessed with garage sale-ing. And by obsessed, I do mean obsessed. Each week I would make a list of all the garage sales, look up the addresses, and figure out the best order to hit them in. Friday and Saturday morning would come along and sure enough I was the person I never thought I'd be; showing up early for the first sale.

Where does this obsession stem from? Her name is Grandma Pat. She is my mother's mother and is an avid garage saler. She taught me the ropes. Here are her top 3 rules, take note.

1. Never buy the price they have listed. You always offer less. If they deny you? Walk away. Usually about 4 minutes later, they will approach you and say, "Alright, I guess that'll work.."
2. Don't buy things you don't need. Otherwise you'll end up selling it at your own garage sale in 2 years.
3. If you're out running errands and see a sale, stop! Might as well, it's on the way home, right?

I bought a lot of things this summer and if I actually listed them out, my mom would probably faint. She's always telling me to stop buying things :) My favorite things I found are the unique treasures that I can redo myself. For example, I turned this boring coffee holder into a fun jewelry stand.

You just have to look past your initial opinion of the item and picture how you can put your spin on it. Here's another coffee holder I use to hang my necklaces on.

Garage sales are great for finding little gems you wouldn't find anywhere else. Or ugly pieces that you can put your magic on, like this fabulous little bookcase I flipped.

To spice up a simple painted bookshelf, add a piece of cardboard covered in fabric. That's what I did here. I took a $5 ugly bookshelf, painted it white, and added the fabric. I bought the fabric from Hobby Lobby and used it to cover a tri-fold poster board. Add your own personal touches and wha-la you have a new cute bookshelf!!

Another thing I always try to pick up at garage sales are books. Books are usually cheap and since I am studying to become a teacher, I just can't help myself :) I have such a great collection started for my future classroom (over 100 books!) My Grandma Pat is big into buying books too, but her favorites are the romance and mystery novels, whereas I look for children's books. There's always something for everybody!

I hope I've convinced you to start garage sale-ing. It's a fun summer hobby!