I love the look of a collected home. A home filled with items that have thought & history behind them. I like it when a room looks like it’s been added to over time-not just decorated with a bunch of brand new things bought from one shopping trip to Target or Hobby Lobby. That’s especially tempting to do when you just bought a house-like us! It’s easy to run to a few stores & pick up a bunch of things to start filling up the rooms! That’s why I’m so thankful I’ve been collecting things along the way. 1. Because it saved us a lot of money. 2. It feels way more thoughtful. Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely a time & place to buy new items from big stores! It just makes a home so much more cozy and welcoming when there’s layers of character to it. One of my favorite ways to add that character is through decorating with things I find at yard sales.
I’ve always had a love of shopping for home items…which I proudly attribute to my mom. Starting in middle school, I started to tag along on her Saturday morning yard sales & quickly began to look forward to those mornings each week. She’s always had an eye for making a space beautiful & envisioning the potential beauty in old things. Every Saturday morning, she would find a few random treasures & add them to our house. Getting rid of old things & refreshing with new. Making our house a little homier & warmer each time. What I love is that her finds don’t just sit pretty on a shelf, they’re used for friends weddings, hosting people for dinner, decorating for birthday parties, creating beautiful table-length charcuterie boards…& the list goes on. I’ve grown up in a house where there’s no lack of cake stands, baskets, dinner plates, candle sticks, or picture frames! We can whip out a dinner party or freshen a room in no time, ha! I’ve totally become my mom in that sense. Oh goodness!
In fact, I have an entire wooden chest in my room that was built by my grandfather & I’ve filled it to the brim with things I’ve picked up along the way. I’ve been curating my collection for years now. It’s nothing crazy, but just enough to move in our house & immediately be able to start decorating with! (The funny thing is, everything goes together! It’s funny how that works, I can see my consistent style through what I’ve picked up starting in the 8th grade.)
Now that I actually have a house to decorate, going to yard sales just became immensely more fun.
This morning me & mom headed out to yard sale around 7:30AM. The forecast had called for rain all day, so I wasn’t sure if we’d find many, but of course it ended up being beautiful this morning with full sunshine! We hit some yard sales close to our street & then came back to the house around 9 to get Elijah & Dad to join in the fun! (They’re sweet guys to join. 🙂 )Not only was it a fun trip, we ended up with some good things!
Though yard sales are like second nature shopping to me, I realize that a lot of people don’t really know how to navigate them or know what to look for. I thought it may be helpful to share what I’ve learned over the years & how I filter through the junk to find the things I like! Literally anyone can do it! Below, I shared all of my finds of the morning & exactly what I paid for each item, so you can get an idea for yard sale prices, including the prices I consider a yard sale “splurge”. Hope the pointers are helpful!
$5 Old Screen Door! It came off of a house that was 200 years old! I want to hang it in the house over a bed or the couch! Always ask the history behind a piece that you know is old! Sometimes there is a story.
- Grab a cup of coffee & start early in the morning. Most yard sales open around 7AM. Going early means items are less picked over. However, if you are feeling up to it, keep going till around 10:30AM. As it gets later, people are willing to mark down the prices to get rid of things! And it is amazing what people look over!
$10 Copper Plated Tea Kettle! This is an example of a yard sale splurge! I would pretty much never pay $10 for any one item at a yard sale, but I’ve been on the hunt for copper pieces & you rarely ever come across a kettle!
2. To find yard sales, we pull out of our driveway & look for signs on the road! Facebook is also a great way to find out what is out there in your area. It’s as simple as that! Definitely go to areas with a lot of neighborhoods around. Make a loop around town, so you don’t miss any! If you are up for the drive, head out towards the country because you’ll occasionally find a treasure like a “Barn Clean-out Sale.” Sometimes, it’s just a long drive with no luck! Worth the risk in my opinion.
$2 (Total) Set of Milk Glass Vases! I’ve been collecting milk glass for the wedding, so these were added to the collection!
3. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Go to all of the yard sales you find! My mom’s classic story is when she & a friend drove out super far following yard sale finds & ended up at a run-down house. She wanted to give it a drive-by & not hop out to shop. Luckily, she was with a friend who made them get out. It just so happened that the lady was getting rid of the 2 entire sets of her grandmothers china for $30. You truly never know what you’ll end up with!
Photo Source: https://orangeblossombride.com/wedding-inspiration/mid-century-modern-farmhouse/ 
$0.75 (Total) Brass Candlesticks!
I’ve been collecting brass candlesticks for a while. 1. For tablescapes! I mean, look how beautiful that table is! 2. For our wedding!
4. A yard sale can be overwhelming! Shop with a filter in mind. I do this by thinking of some of my favorite stores or brands, like Anthropologie, Magnolia, Urban Outfitters, or Schoolhouse. Think, “Would ______ carry this on their shelves?”
Wooden Bowls! $1 for the set of 5! We want to put open shelving in our kitchen, & I love the way these bowls look stacked!
5. Be patient. It’s okay to leave with nothing! Some mornings we end up with no finds! Others, we leave with a car full!
Pair of 8×10 Frame! $1 Each.
6. Stay consistent. Only buy things that are your style! A lot of the times I see super great deals that are tempting, but ultimately just aren’t my style!
$1 (Total) Pair of Wood Candlesticks! Our new house has an old fireplace in every room with a mantle, so I truly believe now more than ever that I can’t have too many candlesticks…
7. Shop with a few things in mind. I always have a little list of things to look for-now more than ever. For the wedding, I’m looking for milk glass, china dinner plates, & brass candlesticks. For the house, I’m looking for frames, cake stands, & copper pieces for the kitchen. At the same time, keep an open mind! You will always find something you weren’t looking for.
I cracked up when Elijah made a duck hunting metaphor for yard saling. You gotta wake up early & no matter if you find something or not, it’s always worth the hunt!
Hope this little Yard Sale Guide was helpful! I would absolutely love to see the things you find, tag us so we can see, @fernwayhome!
Daisy Sue
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