Memorial Day Treasures

On the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend my Mom and I planned to spend the morning hitting yard sales and seeing what kind of treasures we could find. Our first stop of the day was at an estate sale- my first one, but hopefully not my last.

We weren't sure what to expect, but ended up doing really well... so well that after that one stop the trunk was full! After "hitting the jackpot," we just stopped at one little church sale and to get flowers for Mom's new raised garden beds.

I'm not going to share until the end what this pile of treasure cost. Things may look a little dingy in this photo, but after some cleaning up and sorting out, there is no denying we got a great deal.Included in the treasures were the set of drawers. The drawers themselves were fashioned out of cardboard boxes and were filled with various paper ephemera, including old ledgers and needlework books.There was a set of plastic containers filled with various glass pieces, all included as a lot. I chose this lot for the green glass and the little aqua planter. I will be sharing at some point where the items ended up in the condo... you know, once I actually find a place for them!

There was this jewelry box filled with beaded treasures and other accessories. Mom picked this up, but I'm hoping she'll share some of the broken pieces for a project idea I have.
And mabye best of all is the stack of trays...

We laid them out and counted them up and there were more than 30 of them! Several of them alone were nearly worth what we paid in total for all of our prizes of the day (based on Mom's "that's what I'd pay for a tray like this" price) .Because it was an estate sale, most of the items were in lots. The glassware was in one lot, the majority of the trays were from another lot, the jewelry box and jewelry were considered a lot, and then the box seen to the bottom right in the second picture was a lot (minus the jewelry box).

The prices as marked were as follows:

* Glassware in plastic container lot: $1

* Jewelry box and jewelry lot: $5

* Set of drawers with ephemera: $5

* Box of miscellaneous items (including several trays): $3

* Stack of trays: $10

* Child-size ironing board (seen to left of drawers): $1

* Total: $25

But wait! When the guy added it all up, he told Mom the final price was $15. I heard him say this and then saw her not argue and as we walked to get the car, I asked, "Mom, are you ripping him off?" I was joking of course, I knew she wouldn't do such a thing, but she just said that he got up, looked it all over, and named that price. Of course she wasn't going to argue, but we definitely walked away quickly so he wouldn't change his mind!

Mom took most of the trays, as she collects them, but I got away with a few and have a couple projects in mind, which I'll share once they're completed. It was an awesome experience and I'm looking forward to future estate sales now that we know they can definitely carry bargains for your bucks.

This post is linked over at Southern Hospitality, which is a blog I read at least once a week because she does "Today's Thrifty Treasures" on Mondays and it's fun to see what other people are finding on their "treasure hunts."

Blessings and Happy Monday!