Garage Sales

No common phrase is more suitable for garage sales than "one man's trash is another's treasure." 

I have some fond memories of helping my mom with garage sales when I was younger, namely the time that my dad was out of town and we decided that the downstairs needed to be completely redecorated. We hauled the living room couch, the barstools, table and chairs, etc. outside and sold them for next to nothing. My dad wet himself with furry upon returning.

Sadly, the majority of the time it turns out that one man's trash is another man's trash. While the thrill of the hunt is enough to get most middle aged women off, nothing is more anti-climatic than showing up to a garage sale and seeing pure shit out on the lawn (or garage, rather).  Umm, I'm sorry, you spent more money and time making those neon posters that are posted around the neighborhood than all of these Taco Bell kids meal toys are worth. Turns out that "huge blowout" was referring to all of the diarrhea that those Chalupas once gave you. 

"Hi, I was wondering if you guys happened to have a box of kids meal toys and some rotten baseball hats with sweat stains on them?"

"You're in luck!"

Gross, people.

Because I have been in the market for a new piece of furniture to refinish, I thought I would bite the bullet and check out some garage sales in the area. I figured that people in the River Oaks / Heights area wouldn't be as bad. I found a townhouse in the Heights and stopped by in hopes of finding an old dresser. I arrived around 1:30 and it started at 2. The owner wasn't home, so I was awkwardly standing outside in the heat with literally 20 people that were all south of the border. The house opened at 2 on the dot. I suppose Garage Sale was the wrong term to use, because some lady that lived in this home was moving to another country and EVERYTHING in her house was for sale. Designer shoes, Prada bags, unbelievably expensive tables, couches, chairs, bedroom sets, etc. Not to mention that her taste was exquisite. 

It was amazing, but it was a nuthouse. People were raiding the house left and right. The place was 4 stories tall and I just asked where a dresser was and sprinted up the stairs to the 3rd floor and stumbled upon an old dresser that had great potential. She was asking for $200, and I ended up paying $100 for the dresser, and she threw in a free fancy wine opener (that I gave to my parents). I thought I would make good use of the people around me, so I solicited 2 guys to help load the dresser in my car for me, only to find that the broad still had all her belongings in it.

Because she was about to lose her mind shouting out prices to people on 4 different floors (nothing had a price on it), I just told her I was going to get all of the stuff out of it myself, so I just threw everything out of it, helped the guys load it in my car, and got the hell out of there. I was dripping with sweat as I rode off into the sunset with my great new buy. 

I'm looking forward to starting the dresser makeover during the July 4th weekend, and will hopefully have some pictures to show soon. 

Bonus from today: I found what I was looking for.

Bonus #2: I got to see the inside of an enormous, exquisite home in the Heights.

Bonus #3: No Taco Bell toys - quality all the way.

Happy hunting!