When I lived in Boulder, Colorado I went to garage sales regularly for years. People held them all over town and I often found clothing, housewares, books and little things for my child when she was growing up.  Now that I live back in Brooklyn, New York it is not so often that I go to garage sales however I always enjoy them when I see a good one and I have gotten a few nice things at them here as well.

I think the best garage sales are community garage sales. In Boulder for instance, the Mapleton Hill area would have garage sales and numerous houses all over that hill area would participate. These sales were always great fun for my daughter and me as we walked from house to house and gathered items we wanted. Last time I was in Boulder this Mapleton Hill garage sale was happening and I stocked up on several clothing items for work and sent them home to NY. Even with the shipping the cost was less than what I would have paid in NY for those clothing items at thrift shops. Plus I prefer the more earthy, sporty look of the women’s wear in Colorado as opposed to the often shiny, glamorous look that is popular in New York women’s clothing. As a result I often plan to buy clothes when I am in Colorado. I still know where the good thrift shops are in the event that I get there at a time of year where there aren’t many garage sales.

Flicker photo

From Flicker

In a place such as the city of New York one has to often resort to checking craigslist.org or sites such as gsalr.com that list garage sites by area. I still find I have the best luck finding nice items if I go to a neighborhood that is a more upscale neighborhood, unless you live in one already. Even in Boulder when I lived in a lovely neighborhood for some reason most of the garage sales were in the area across the main road and up towards the mountains. Otherwise they were in small clusters spread out further east in town.

It is always a good idea to bring your own bag to garage sales. Also arrive early enough to see the bulk of the items the person or family is putting outside. If you get there too early they might not be set up. If you arrive too late most of the good items will most likely be gone. If it a whole community having garage sales it can often be worthwhile to hang around the area and see what happens later on in the day. Often people start to have free boxes they set outside or if they are wrapping up their outdoor sale, or sometimes they ask for “good karma donations.”   My daughter and I have found some really nice items in the free boxes or once people are only asking for donations.

Blazer from a garage sale, new shirt was a gift, and a new skirt

It is a good idea to ask people if you think they might have something you are looking for but don’t see. I met a lady who had no vintage buttons out however I asked her if she had any and it turned out she had a whole box in her attic. She asked someone to watch her things and ran upstairs and I ended up buying a bunch of buttons from her. Once I met a lawyer having a garage sale when I was taking a paralegal course years ago. I told her that I was studying paralegal and she went inside and brought out some books for me to take. She just gave them to me and was happy to do so. So by all means open up conversation since it can often be helpful.

Generally I have found most people try to sale clean items however if you have any doubt obviously wash things once you get home and get a chance. I even wash new items of clothing since you never know about the dyes in them, etc… When I bought one coat last year I was slightly concerned because I did not know the lady selling things and had never bought from her before. Nowadays people are concerned about bedbugs since they seem to have resurged in a huge way.   I wanted to take the coat to the dry cleaners immediately but they were closed. If that is the case then you can always tie it up in a plastic bag and wait until the dry cleaner is reopened.   I later found out this lady had repeat customers coming to her garage sales and so far no problems for any of her clients.  In this post I have a picture of a pink Anthropologie top that I bought at a garage sale last fall. It still has the price tag on it. I haven’t worn it yet since spring just arrived but I am sure I will be wearing it soon. The lady I bought it from bought it at a half- price sale and never wore it. I bought it for about 1/6^th of the original price and it has never even been worn!

I have never had any problems with buying used items in terms of cleanliness. My grandmother taught me that even with new items to pull the seams, see if they are good and to check the corners of seams if things were used.

I was recently reading a post by Jessica Cangiano of the blog Chronically Vintage (http://www.chronicallyvintage.com/) and she was writing about going garage sale shopping and how she sometimes finds vintage pieces for her Etsy shop.  Here in New York vintage pieces can be expensive so I assume many shops owners travel to Vermont or Michigan where they buy vintage ta a better price.  Either that or they have to  sometimes buy at places that sell by the pound.

In Boulder, Colorado there are so many college students that move once the school year is over that the local young adults call it “Christmas.” The wealthy college students often leave behind practically new clothes, appliances, and other assorted items. They just pile them up near the dumpsters in boxes and then the locals, who know how often there are goodies in those boxes come by for “Christmas.” Really it is good for the environment to reuse these things as long as they are still in decent shape. So that day in Boulder is like a Freegan Day. If you don’t know about Freegans they aim to reclaim reusable items that others toss.

A small knicknack shelf from a garage sale.

Jewelry rack and hand fan from garage sales

Years ago I saw a television news program about a woman who has collected a beautiful wardrobe by taking things people had placed on fences as free items to take, or she had found them in bags left open in areas such as Soho, in New York, NY. She had clothing items that would sell for up to $2,000. Obviously one sets certain boundaries. She never took stockings for instance unless they were still in the package they were sold in.

Dress from garage sale

So if you use your common sense and good judgement there are many good things to be found for a good price at garage sales, or even things that people left out that they wish to donate or give away.  I have found that a lot of people who have garage sales, do so because they care about the environment and are eager to recycle things in a responsible way.

Coat from a garage sale

Garage Sale knicknack rack

I have been to so many garage sales through the years and I really enjoyed many of them. They were definitely a helpful part of how I survived as a single mother, raising my daughter on my own for so many years. If you choose to go garage sailing I hope you enjoy the ride and Bon Voyage!

 All material & photos (other than Flicker ones) written taken by: © Marilyn Lavender, 2015.  “All Rights Reserved.”