Ah, the good old yard sale. Stick a sign up in your front yard and people will beat your door down to get your junk before you can even get out of bed. (note to self: put yard sale signs up the morning the sale is actually happening, after I’m awake and have coffee in hand)

I need to get rid of a lot of stuff myself — it’s mostly things I’ve collected from other people’s yard sales. The frenzy hits me when I go  — one good sale leads to another one. You never know what kind of bargain you’re gonna find. It’s like eating potato chips. You can’t stop at one or two. Same way with a yard sale. I get a Kate Spade purse for two dollars and I can’t stand it. I have to go to the next sale to find a dress to go with it. It doesn’t even matter if the dress is too big for me. That’s what the belt I found at the last sale is for.

So it is with me and yard sales. A fifty-cent shirt here and a dollar pair of sandals there, and I’m hooked for the day. The last time I went yard sale-ing I got two metal sunflowers for a dollar each. These were the big nice ones that don’t bend with the first wind that comes along. A DOLLAR! Never mind that I had to buy three dollar’s worth of yellow paint to refurbish them. They’re now nicely displayed in my yard to greet visitors. So there; I’m actually using them.

The yard sale to end all yard sales is the big one we have here called the “Tree Street Sale”. You can find basically anything your heart desires along the lines of dishes, collectible figurines, pots, pans and old coffee pots that may or may not work. There’s usually a note somewhere near the small appliances that says, “we cannot guarantee this works.” My yard sale buddy, Greg, won’t let me forget about the door I bought one year. I still haven’t done anything with it.

Hungry? At the Tree Street extravaganza, there’s always an assortment of  bake sale items alongside the slightly used tupperware.  You’ll also find coolers of cold drinks with the pricing guide on the lid and Mexican food at lunch time. Everybody gets in on the action.

Getting out early enough is always key in finding the best bargains at any yard sale.  That’s always my holdup — I don’t like to get up early on Saturday. Though, if you’ve recently moved and  you can get going at the break of day,  you can outfit your house or apartment with furniture, curtains and an assortment of artwork cheap.

I really do need to have my own yard sale to get rid of the some things that have piled up. I don’t like having yard sales, but it’s  good way to get rid of things and make back a fraction of the money spent buying the stuff in the first place.

Maybe I’ll start my own version of a mega yard sale — an evening yard sale would suit me. Be sure to follow the signs and come on out.  You just might get a good deal on a door…