Junking Weekend, September 13-14, 2008

This was also a great junking weekend for garage sales and estate sales...

GARAGE SALES 

I hit a bunch of great garage sales early in the day. Yes, it does pay to get there early in many cases. I love when you find sales where people are really trying to get rid of things and that is reflected in the prices. It was rainy most of the weekend, so the items are stacked in the garage in a crazy configuration. No matter! That's the beauty of junk!

The coordinating lamp and board below are certainly not antique or even vintage. They look like Target items to me. I do like the fabric and they were a great price, so home they came! They are perched atop a metal cabinet from another garage sale. It was not actually for sale at the time, but the lovely woman agreed to sell it to me. It will eventually be stripped and painted.

This bird cage is made of brass and I thought it had great potential. It has since been cleaned up and is at home in my kitchen, which is currently accessorized with brass and copper items.

This is the top part of a coat rack. The hooks are rather square in nature and the bottom has some barbed wire incorporated. This is currently being used in the back entry.

This wonky stack of "stuff" is a treasure trove of great items! It was stacked in a hurry as it was raining like crazy outside. What's there? 

• Two metal lawn chairs, 
  
• a 60's/70's style hammock with the disassembled hammock stand, 
  
• a chicken waterer, 
  
• a trash can with a foot-pedal to open it, 
  
• a director's chair and stool, 
  
• a couple lights fixtures, 
  
• a box of old wood spools, 
  
• a couple anchors, 
  
• a wire flower, and 
  
• lots of miscellaneous metal pieces, parts, and tools.
  

 

This trunk was cleaned up and sold at the flea market on the 20th.

I also picked up these wood-handled and metal tools. Some will be put to use and others will go to market eventually...

ESTATE SALES & GARAGE SALES IN SUPERIOR

On Sunday, RJNJ and my friend, Megan, went with me to some garage and estate sales in Superior, WI. One estate sale was AMAZING! It was the last day of the 2nd weekend of this estate sale and the garage and house were still full of stuff! Talk about collections! Talk about JUNK! Other than wagon wheel (which was found at a garage sale), here is what we ended up with from this particular estate sale...

 

Here are some great vintage muffin pans and pieces from an old claw-foot piano stool from one garage sale.

Here are some more super finds from another garage sale. I believe the item on the far left is for carrying ice (?) and the stool is one that a railroad employee used to stand on for some purpose or another (?). Can anyone confirm these two things? The other items are a hand drill and a spotlight from an old police car. When you turn the handle, the light swivels.

POTENTIAL SLUGFEST

I almost got into a slugfest (not really, but he deserved it!) with another buyer at the estate sale where we bought the two pair of wooden skis below. The controversy was not over the skis...it was over a small marble-topped table. Now, if you are not an estate saler, you may not know that there is a certain level of etiquette to follow. For example, if you want to get in first, you get there early while they are handing out numbers. Another one is that if you want the item (specifically a bigger item), you remove the price tag and take it to the checkout person to buy the item. 

So, here I am with the price tag on my finger at the checkout table and the woman says, "Oh, someone just bought that." "But I have the tag," I said (upon deaf ears, apparently). It would be one thing if it were someone who didn't know "the rules," but the person who had purchased the table (along with his zillion other items) was just there buying everything up and he, I'm sure, is quite aware of the rules. 

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Now, am I crazy? Are there rules? I guess maybe it's just more etiquette. "The rules" aren't written anywhere...they are just the things I've learned in the trenches. What do you think? Are there rules of the junking/flea marketing/estate sale-ing/garage sale-ing road that you follow even though they are not written in stone anywhere? Do you break "the rules" in certain circumstances? Can't wait to hear what you have to say...