How To Find a Great Items At Yardsales

I'm so sorry that I have not been able to do a new post in awhile, I have been busy prepping for my big debut at a large flea market this upcoming weekend. During this past week I have been going to as many yard sales as possible to have quite a bit of pieces for next weekend.

When it comes to yard sales there are many ways to find them. The first way I find them is the old fashioned way through the classifieds of my local newspaper. For the area I live in, I used the Frederick News Post or the Washington Post. Both papers usually have large sections for yard sales and I tend to look for either community yard sales or estate sales, since there should be a lot to look through to find the treasures. The second place i use to find yardsales is Craigslist and is labeled garage sales. Most people who post about them will create a list of items that they are selling and I always look for the words furniture or antiques. The next best website I use to find yardsales is www.yardsales.net. I think it is very helpful, since not everyone posts on Craigslist or in their local paper. If not the last way I find them is just by driving around and seeing one. Once you have found the yardsales, it would be best to create a list where they are located and what time they start. I think you will be able to find the best items at the earlier time and you have the higher possibility of fining great quality tressures. 

Now on to the actual yardsaling. If you are looking for furniture, it's best to pick out the wooden pieces over plastic. I myself have had the issue of thinking it was real wood instead of faux wood until I started to sand it, which turned into a gigantic mess. I think it sometimes take a couple of tries to learn the difference. I think the biggest difference is with weight. The faux wood will seem to be lighter than what it should be. The next part when it comes to looking for furniture is to see if there is any dovetailing on the piece. This is a sign that it was made really well and is a great quality piece to work with. The dovetailing could be with the drawers on a desk, table, dresser, on the end of the piece, etc. 

If you are looking for knicknacks or things to decorate your house with, you may have a better time finding your treasures. I have started to look at old glassware and have found pieces that were made in West Germany, so it predates WW II, and different old French bottles from the 1800's. These were by far the coolest finds I found. But when it comes to yardsales you may never know what someone has for sale until you look. More people are selling smaller items than bigger items like furniture.

I suggest that when you want to go yardsaling one day to create a list of items you are looking for and go on an adventure trying to find your buried treasure. If you have any great finds you have found in e past, please post in the thread below today's post.