It’s that time of year again, the season of garage sales. I used to avoid them at all costs. The idea of rummaging through strangers’ old “stuff” was an unsettling concept to me. It wasn’t until I was on a desperate hunt for an old wooden ladder that I considered waking up at the crack of dawn to drive city to city for odd and random items. Now that I have experienced the fun journey and the dedication of going to different garage sales, I want to share my crafty knowledge with you. Garage sales are great for saving money, finding insane deals (a coffee maker for $2), and making someone’s unused item into your own treasure. I am going to show you a few examples of what I have found and how I have turned them into cute and simple home décor. There are a few things I’ve learned in the process of garage sales and searching for certain things.
- Don’t look at antique stores. They are over-priced and you can likely find items somewhere cheaper.
- Estate Sales are money! They are trying to get rid of everything they have and most of the time they will bargain with you.
- Look in the classified section of the newspaper for garage sales and estate sales. They will have descriptions of what will be there and where they are located.
The reason why I started going to garage sales was for an old wooden ladder. As an avid Pinterest user I saw a photo of a painted wooden ladder used as a blanket rack. I searched for one for almost a month and finally drove 20 minutes to find one for very cheap! We used 3 cans of white spray paint and it now hold three blankets in my room. It’s out of the way, a cute accessory and very easy to make.
Price: Ladder: $5 Spray Paint: 3 cans for $11.61
This currently is my mom’s newest obsession: File Cabinets. She uses them to store crafting supplies, hold all my old dance costumes, and I use one as a TV stand (I have also seen them used as a dresser). We painted over them and used chalkboard paint in the title box to label what things are. Most people get rid of them because they are dated and not used as often, so they are easier to find.
Price: Large Cabinet: $9 Spray paint: 3 cans for $11.61
Last year I bought an old dresser from a friend that had puff paint on the sides and carved names into it. I was slightly desperate and very thankful for it, but wanted to cover up the paint marks. I had to re-paint the dresser and got inspired from Pinterest by covering the drawers with fabric. I went to JoAnn’s and found four different pink floral patterns and bought some modge podge. All I did was put the glue on the dresser drawers, laid the fabric on top of it and cleaned up the sides. After it dried I put the handles back in and it now looks like a completely different dresser.
Price: Fabric: $4 Paint:$ 9.99
I am a huge fan of accessories and I had nowhere to put my necklaces or headbands. I found an old metal rake and took the handle off it, cleaned it up and nailed it on my wall. This, by far, was the easiest project I did. Now it holds all my accessories.
Price: Rake: Free, my dad gave it to me
Summer is the perfect time to spend some time finding new treasures and completing projects. What’s been your best garage sale find?