Church Sale Time

I’ve been inconsistent in recording my garage-sale finds this summer. Rest assured, I go to garage sales every weekend that we’re here; and rest assured, I always buy something. My greatest joy, however, is the church rummage sale. I’ll do anything to ensure I make it to a rummage sale, and already this summer my determination has caused marital unrest. A case in point: three weeks ago. Sure, we had eight people coming from Brooklyn for lunch; sure, we had to get everything ready; sure, the girls were whiny that morning, trading meltdowns. But a synagogue nearby was having a rummage sale, and I went, leaving Andrew and the girls behind, just an hour before our friends arrived. Andrew wanted to kill me. Moral to the story: Andrew got over his anger, and I got a pile of great kids’ books for 10 cents each, several hundred envelopes (white and lavender) for $1.50, plus a large, eclectic mix of butter-yellow Fiestaware for $10.

My true love is the annual “turnover sale” at a church just down the road. You might remember my rapture last year, when I went five separate times and filled the car about six times. Sadly, this year we were out of town for the first three dates. But Tuesday night, I left Andrew to fend for himself with the girls’ bedtime, and I headed over. And today, I left the girls with a sitter and went once more. We’ll fit in a final trip on Saturday.

Though last year is unbeatable in sheer volume, I’ve gotten some great things this year so far. A partial list:

7 small glass apothecary bottles, $5 for all

a discontinued LeapFrog fridge word game, $3 ($90 on Amazon)

a bag of marbles, .50

20 picture frames, $15

2 packs of vintage ribbon Christmas tree ornaments for craft purposes, .50

12 eensy-weensy yellow chicks for Easter Bunny purposes, .10

a bag of glass stones, $1

a large bag of foam shapes, .50

fleece-lined leggings, $1

a bag of buttons, $1

2 minimally used sets of watercolors, .50

a bag of pom-poms for crafting, .25

3 children’s books, .75

5 puzzles for my aunt, $2.50

Busytown board game, $2

2 princess puzzles, $1

a set of Step2 cupcakes with display stand and tray, $2

And more that I’ve forgotten and which has now been absorbed into our home, surely to be cherished forever.

Such a sale is not for everyone. And the people in front of and behind me in line are surely on the more eccentric end of the personality scale…Then again, I probably am too. No matter. There is true fun to be had in a rummage-sale hunt.