Estate Sale 101

It's been a while since we have been to an estate sale. Now, it has to be one where I see something in the preview that I really want. Then it's on. Will the item still be there when I arrive? Will the price be too high? Will I beat all the dealers who show up? So much uncertainty. 

So when I saw this picture on Thursday I knew this was the sale for me. 

Was that red Pyrex on the table there? Maybe, maybe not. But I was definitely going to find out. The sale was in Hemet which is about fifty minutes away. So I woke my partners in crime up early and we were on the road. There were also a couple of home decor pieces I was interested in, nothing big so we took my car for the gas mileage. Mistake number one. There is a "Murphy's Law" of thrifting though- the bigger the car, less of a haul." Which means if you are planning on finding a lot and bring the big car, you won't find anything. If you have never been to an estate sale before it can be kind of intimidating. 

Here are a few tips to get you started.

1. Get there early. If there is something specific you want, chances are someone else is going to want it to. I try to arrive 15-30 minutes before they open.

2. Line up. There will be a line. First come, first serve. Some sales have a list where once you arrive, you sign in and then you can come back when it opens and they will let people in in that order.

3. Bring your own boxes and bags. There are no shopping carts and you are going to want your hands free so bring your own shopping materials. Newspaper too if you think you might buy something you want wrapped,

4. There may be no negotiating. Especially, one the first day of the sale. Prices are usually firm.

5. Bring cash. It's just easier even though some places may take credit cards. It will tell you if they do in the posting.

6. If there is something big you want to purchase- don't leave it, but ask around for the person with the "SOLD" stickers. They will tag it with your name and you can continue shopping until you are ready to check out.

7. And my personal tip. Be respectful. These items belonged to someone who passed on. Treat the items with respect. Don't paw all over them. If you pick up something, especially clothes, put it back where you found it. Don't make comments about the person's taste. What may seem like junk to you was how they lived. I consider it an honor to purchase items that someone cared about. I'm preserving a little bit of their personal history. Be friendly to the people working the sale. It will get you a lot father than being rude or demanding.

I also like to choose sales that are a bit out of the way. That's why we went all the way to Hemet- not a lot of dealers in that area, especially when there are closer sales at the same time. I also look for sales in mobile homes or trailer parks, usually that's where the good stuff is. 

For sales in your area the best resource is www.estatesales.net

Once we arrived, I knew we were in pretty good shape. We were fifth in line and no dealers to be found. We divided up our jobs- Brian had seen a stereo cabinet in the driveway. His job was to get a sold sticker for it. I was going for the Pyrex and Davis was looking for the lamp. We were ready.

Davis is an awesome thrifter. She's been doing it practically since the day she was born. She has a great eye and loves old things. At the sale she said "Mommy, can you imagine your estate sale, it will be epic. Oh wait nevermind, I'm going to keep it all." That's my girl!

So in order to make a long story less long, I'm just going to let you know, we got everything we came for- and then some. It was a great sale. I didn't even get everything I wanted because the car was full. lesson learned. 

Always bring the big car.

I'm going to focus on the home decor items today. You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out if that red blob in the photo was really Pyrex.

So after we packed the car. It looked like this. Only my awesome spatial awareness and packing skills let us fit it all in.

We had to put both seats down, so I had no place to sit. This is me curled up in the back. 

Was it worth it? Absolutely!

Once we got home we spent time cleaning and moving furniture. It looked worse before it got better.

But then it was done. My new favorite spot in the house. I could stare at it all day.

The leaf sculpture was one of the items I went for, the stereo cabinet was what Brian spotted in the driveway. We had the lamp- yes, we collect those too. The dish was mine from thrift and the paint by numbers was from our friend's estate. I think it looks amazing.

Then we decided to take out the ugly television cabinet and replace it with one of our metal credenzas. yes, we collect metal, Steelcase furniture too. Brian had to do a little work on it so we would have holes for the cords. You can drill through metal with a special drill adapter- who knew.

Then we got it all back together and now our modern t.v. sits on our vintage credenza which kind of makes me giggle a bit.

The one other item I went for was this 1960's awesome hanging lamp. It goes in the corner near my hutch. It's beautiful but kind of hard to see in the picture.

Of course, no sale would be complete without Davis finding a vintage hat that looks adorable on her!

It was such an awesome family morning. I'm so lucky I have people to share my passion with who love it as much as I do.

Tomorrow, I'll show you the rest of the items. I'm still getting stuff cleaned up. I know I've been doing a lot of thrifting when my thumbnail is all ragged from picking off price labels.

Lots to do today to get the house back in order. I hope everyone has something fun planned for the weekend!

-Tricia