Rummage Sales

Welcome to May! That is... THE BEGINNING OF GARAGE/ESTATE/RUMMAGE SALES! Today I went to one rummage sale ($3 for a bag... I got two bags full of stuff), and it was awesome. I got

1. A denim (DENIM! *is in love*) comforter for my bed.
2. One sweater made of wool, which I am cutting up right now to unravel (so I can knit the yarn again),
3. A bunch of t-shirts to refashion
4. one long sleeved flannel-y shirt that I can just wear
5. One sparkly gold sweater/shirt that I wore to my piano recital this morning.
6. One pair of white keds I gave to Valerie for her to graffitti.

And that's about it. :)
Now, I've been going to rummage/garage/estate/yard sales for as long as I can remember. There's just something about them that I love. Maybe it's the stuff for 50 cents. Or maybe it's the fact that the stuff is weird. Or because you meet weird people. Or because it's just fun.
But either way, I feel very privileged to be part of the second hand sale community. I am, however, aware that not everyone has that. Therefore, here is an excerpt from my Guide (see post below this) which I am sharing for all of you poor deprived readers.

Chapter 6: Second Hand Sales

   If you're at this section, it is very likely that it is sometime between the months of May and September. You're driving along in your car, and you are suddenly being blinded by the obnoxious neon colored "GARAGE SALE", "ESTATE SALE", and "HUGE KID'S SALE"* signs. You go to church and are blinded by the not-so-neon "RUMMAGE SALE" and "BAG SALE" signs. You don't know what these mean, and you are frightened. Suddenly you're seeing zombies around every corner, the Earth has become flat, and people you thought were sane are all of a sudden freaking out about these mysterious sales you see!

   Stop what you're doing!

   Here is our easy to comprehend guide for these sales you see everywhere. First, we will define the types of sales, then we will break them down into two general subcategories.

*Though I'm not sure why anyone would be selling "Huge Kids", it certainly seems to be quite common, at least around where I live...

1. Garage Sales.  These are probably the most common types of summer sales you will see. They usually take place at someone's house, with the family living at the house running the sale. It is also usually the family's belongings that are for sale. They are pretty much the same thing as Yard Sales, and most usually take place in the garage and the yard.
2. Estate Sales.  These are pretty awesome. What this means is that there was someone who had an "estate"... That is, a household of junk. When they died/moved away, they or their relatives sold pretty much everything to an estate-sale-expert, who then held the sale. Estate Sales are virtually always held at the person's house, and you normally have to go into the house and through the rooms to find the stuff. Things are often more expensive than at Garage Sales, but there are often far cooler items for sale.
3. Rummage Sales. Our personal favorites, Rummage Sales are usually held at a public area such as a church and are, in essence, a blown up Garage Sale. You never know what you're going to find here, and often the items are priced at a very low price. In fact, the last day is usually a Bag Sale, where if you fill up a bag with items**, it will cost a certain amount of money- $5-$3 is the norm.

**With some exceptions. Once I went to a rummage sale, and for some inexplicable reason you weren't able to put shoes or belts in the bag. You weren't allowed to put the piano in one... I cannot imagine why!

   Now that we have broken the sales down into their first categories, let me add the two subcategories.
  There are two types of Sales:

• The Money-Making (MM) ones
• The Get-Rid-Of-Junk (GROJ) ones.

   The difference is quite important. MM sales are ones where the items are usually priced higher, and the stuff is far less interesting. There is often fewer items for sale, and the people are not nearly as willing to bargain with you as the ones in the GROJ ones. The GROJ sales are as they sound- some person has a whole lot of crud in their basement, and they're trying to sell it for as cheap as possible*** before they have to give it to Goodwill.

***Which type do you think my family usually has? 

   Now, go forth and conquer them Sales!