Happy Friday: Garage Sailing is WORTH it!

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Carly wrote:

I hit the best garage sale this morning. I was doing a little happy dance in my head the whole time I was shopping. I got the following: American girl leotard & skirt, Gymboree jacket, 4 dresses, 14 complete outfits (pants/top), 3 PJs, 5 skirt outfits (skirt/top), 3 pair of jeans, one pair of new Gymboree tights and 4 pair of Gymboree leggings. All for only $45 — Each piece was a dollar or less! It’s all name brand including Gymboree, Hanna Anderson, Gap, Carter’s and Children’s Place. And all in very excellent used condition. My daughter is completely outfitted to start kindergarten in the fall now. Woo hoo!

And come next year, I’ll be able to resell most of it for at least what I paid. So we’re talking essentially free clothes. Love it!

Happy Friday!

Do you have a fun Hip2Save picture or even a video to share? Let me know by emailing– collin @ hip2save . com (remove the spaces)! I’d love to share it with everyone in an upcoming Happy Friday post!

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Comments 57

  1. Nora

    I’m with you! Garage sales/rummage sales are the best. At a rummage sale a couple of weeks ago I picked up an Italian leather purse for $1. It turned out it was a luxury brand- Furla – and was orginally worth hundreds! And it was in perfect shape!

  2. Pam

    Carly you are so right! This morning I got a bicycle, a three-wheeler, a scooter, a helmet, skates, a baseball glove, a Cars car wash and an expandable ball for $7.25. Grandchildren are coming to visit, and I’m getting ready!

    • MoKeaton

      That’s sweet. ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. anonymous

    What great deals! I loooove a good garage/yard sale!

  4. Anon.

    I see a lot of Gymboree clothes in there! They all look cute! how fun!!! . . . . I wish I lived by you ๐Ÿ˜‰

  5. RNHelloKitty

    I love garage sales! I picked up probably 20 or more onesies, 10-15 white t-shirts, a huge bag full of socks, and a FP Precious Planet jumparoo (originally almost $100) all for $30 about a month ago! Between garage sale steals and consignment store bargains, we have spent very little getting clothing and gear for our baby so far!

  6. teresa longstreet

    wow good garage sale. i am so jealous. i buy alot of gymboree and hanna anderson and don’t see to many of them at garage sales. i have two girls getting ready for kindergarden. i need to start back on garage sales.

  7. Collin (Mrs. Hip)

    Hitting a good garage sale is the best!!!! I would be doing that “happy dance” too. You got an awesome clothes for an awesome price. WAY TO GO!!!

  8. Summer

    I have to laugh (or maybe cry!) when people comment that they resell clothes for their cost to purchase them. I buy name brand, quality clothes (always on deep sales) for my three…however, the clothes are destroyed after a year. Knees are grass stained, very worn, or completely torn. Shirts have leftover bananas (does anyone know the trick to getting banana out??), bloody noses and “washable” paint. Zipper pulls and adornments are missing…you get the picture. I like to consider myself pretty competent in the laundry room, but most of my kids’ clothes are in no shape for resale once they are done. And I swear my kids are (largely) well mannered and not running around like maniacs trying to see how dirty that can get. It only seems like that some days ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Pam

      Your kids are living life to the fullest! It’s worth it not to recoup your money – joy is priceless!

    • Collin (Mrs. Hip)

      LOL Are you sure you are not talking about my kids? My daughter will get a stain on anything withing seconds of having it on. My son is the cleaner one and since he turned 5, he does not have a pair of pants that don’t have grass stains and/or rips in them. That is why I mostly stock up on deep sales (like the Kohl’s $1 clearance Jumping Beans) and do yard sailing, but it’s kind of hard to find boys clothes after 5T that are in great condition.

    • Annette

      That is how I feel about my kids. I joke that my youngest wears clothes once and they are done and she is only 22 months old. I did just discover oxyclean powder. What you have do do is soak the stain/clothes in it for a good 5 hours. They say 2-6, but I let it really soak. Also do not put any type of shout or anything like that on it. This is my third girl and they are all the same size at the same season and my other two have warn these clothes and they look like new, she on the other hand has a lot of fun with food!!LOL Hope this helps, it really did work for me, grass stains and entire push up pop(refused to wear a bib) and blood.

    • Leyla

      That sounds exactly like my two little boys.

      • Angela Joy

        My daughter ruins her clothes “instantly” as well!!!

  9. Christina

    Off topic… did anyone else who ordered multiple Bliss products yesterday only get one $6 charge? I’m thinking they cancelled the rest… just wanted to see if anyone else noticed this as well. Thx!

  10. Collin (Mrs. Hip)

    WOW! Makes me want to go to one. But it wont stop raining here!!

    • Sara L

      me too!!! I’m in Seattle and can’t wait to see a day without rain to hit some sales ๐Ÿ™‚

  11. lana2201

    *applause*

  12. Takako

    I love garage sales, too!! My neighbor town will have city wide garage sale tomorrow so I hope I can get great sale like her. I’m looking for my daughter’s and my outfit.
    3 years ago, the annual garage sale at there, I scored Corelle by Corning dinner wears (more than 100 pieces of dishes, bowls, 9′ by 13′ baking dish, big serving dishes for $30. They are really super clean and I think it was great buy!!

  13. jen

    My way of shopping ๐Ÿ˜‰ I have a bin for every size & once my 2 girls are done I ebay what I can & sell the rest on Craig’s List… then use the $ I make to buy more!

    • Megan Passey

      I want to do that but my husband is against it. We’re not done having kids so he thinks we should hold onto it until we’re completely done having kids. I understand his point of view but I feel like I can get clothes so cheap I might as well sell these to have some money now and not to mention more space!

  14. Krista S.

    Congrats on the great finds! I look forward to warmer weather (crazy rain right now in Oregon) for the garage sales to start around here!

  15. Faith

    my best garage sale find ever was an electic leather recliner from lane furnishings for $15. It was practically brand new and probably retails for over $1000, but the family didn’t think it worked, and would have still been a great find as a leather chair at $15.
    Even better after plugging in the adapter to find it works like new ๐Ÿ™‚

  16. ANDREA

    I am a size 18 and clothes are a hard find for me. Last weekend I got 30 pieces of clothing for myself for 15.00!!! Almost all of them were Lane Bryant.. One dress still had the tag on it for 59.99. It so rocked.

  17. Julie

    Wow! Way to go! I love garage sales. I buy all of my son’s baby clothing at garage sales and pay under $1 for each piece and it looks like new. It is so fun saving so much money. And, I plan to resell it when he grows out of it for what I paid for it too.

  18. Lisa F

    I scored a kitchen set with food, utensils and pots this morning for $10 for my son. He has been wanting one for months and when we got out of the car at the sale he went directly to it and was so excited to show it to daddy when we got home. I have always found great clothes really cheap. I hate spending full price for Gap and all of those brands. Way to go everyone!!

  19. Lori

    Carly, now you know where to go next year this time.

  20. michelle

    I wish I had girls, you can never find boys clothes at garage sales. Even when they where baby’s I had a hard time finding stuff for them and now that there older, forget it.

    • Anon.

      true true. used boys clothes in such good condition are hard to come by.

      • Nancy

        I agree with both of you regarding used boys clothes. It is hard to find clothes for boys at a garage sale especially clothes bigger than 3T. If you do, they are all worn out. I have three boys so I know first-hand that boys are hard on clothes!!!

  21. Sonya Kosc

    How do you go about finding the right garage sales I’ve been trying to start this but never come across any with anything good so I feel like I’m wasting my time. Any hints on how to find the good ones?

    • Ashlee

      Look on craigslist. There is a garage sale section where people post pics of things they will be selling or at least a long list of what they have. I find that helps. Or wait for a city wide sale to hit some up. Don’t be afraid to do the slow drive by to see if anything catches your eye, if not keep on driving.

  22. Ashlee

    I love love love garage sales. Cannot wait to hit some of them up soon. Next week there is a city wide garage sale going on near by. Just love those. We have bought VERY little clothing for our son new, and even that was out of season clearance for next winter. I’m really hoping this year to find some baby gates and a new coffee table.

  23. Margaret

    Do do the same thing with finds at Garage sales and consignment sales. I save my tags and then when I am getting ready to price stuff I sell them for the same price (or higher) if I got a crazy good deal. My DD usually has enough clothes that those that she has don’t show that much more wear then when I bought them.

  24. Collin (Mrs. Hip)

    I am so jealous!!! I have gotten a few cheap baby bargains, but I can never find great clothes for my 5 year old now that she is in big girl clothes. The consignment and resale shops have gone really downhill in the last few years too… ๐Ÿ™

  25. Melinda P

    Wow, I wish I could go garage saling more often. I can’t take my 3 young children (ages 3, 1, and 7 months) all around town (that would be ASKING for it, trust me!!), and my husband works 6 out of 7 days, and Sunday mornings are for church, so I’m outta luck. And when I leave the kids with the husband on his days off (like Memorial day) for an hour or two, it seems like it’s a huge drag for him. So, needless to say, I am sooooooo jealous of other people’s garage sale finds!!

    • Pam

      Melinda, I used to put my boys to bed in whatever clothes they would be wearing the next day, get them up early and give them breakfast in the car. Make sure they have some toys and enough snacks and drinks to last for at least an hour or two. The older ones could have a quarter or two to use on toys for themselves. That helps get them excited about garage sales. Most people were very kind to my boys and would sell them things for a much reduced price or would just go ahead and give it to them. Give it a try!

      • Melinda P

        Thanks for the encouragement, Pam! That’s a good idea! It still seems a little crazy, me with the 3 on my own. But I know my 3 year old would probably get into it. ๐Ÿ™‚

  26. Dawn

    Does anyone know the name of the websites that the girl from Collin’s video of yard sales, that she used to input addresses to map out the sales??? I can’t view the video at work otherwise I would look it up myself. TIA!!!

    • Amanda C.

      gsalr.com and drivingrouteplanner.com

      Hope this helps! ๐Ÿ™‚ I just used drivingrouteplanner last weekend for the first time and it was awesome and saved me so much time!!!!!!! ๐Ÿ™‚

  27. Collin (Mrs. Hip)

    i have such a hard time finding a garage sale in my area worth a stop. most of the time they are hardly selling anything at all or the boys clothes are in bad shape. why something that has holes or stains. i guess i just need to keep on looking

  28. Heather

    I went to a garage sale this morning and they gave me a bag and said fill it up for $5.00 I did and I got 58 pieces and a pair of shoes for 5 bucks. I didn’t do the “greedy stuff” either I just filled it up. Not to mention I hit there free pile that was clothes that apparently had stains on them and got 10 pieces that had 0 stains on them. t was a great yard sale experience.

    • Melinda P

      NICE!! ๐Ÿ™‚

  29. Amy

    I’m so jealous!! I have been to several yard sales this year but haven’t been able to find clothes for my son…..he’s going to be 2 next week but he wears 5T and size 5/6 in boys. Only been able to find 2-4T at local sales =( However, I was able to score a little einsteins book bag for 25 cents!

  30. Desiree

    I am absolutely in love with Yard Saling.. My best find was a five dollar yellow large kitchen aid mixer…

  31. Collin (Mrs. Hip)

    I grew up yard saling! Absolutely love it! I would do it every weekend but my husband wont take me since we down to only one car and I cant drive a stick…:( Great find BTW! Cute clothes!

  32. MommySpendsLess

    Wow, you all are so lucky! My husband and I used to like going to garage sales but anymore they’re not worth the effort. Maybe it’s because Craigslist is so popular in our area or maybe it’s just bad luck but we find advertisements for sales that sound great only to show up and find just a few junky odds and ends or that everything is overpriced.

    Besides showing up as soon as the sale is “open” does anyone have some tips? How important is it really to be there first thing?

    Are deals like the ones people are bragging about regular occurrences? Or is it a case of finding one great sale after going to dozens of lousy ones?

    • Anon.

      Yea, you will end up going to lousy ones–but move on quickly. I think there are things you can do to get the best deals (i.e. get there early for sure, plan your route, . . . . . . ), but I think it ultimately depends on where you live. I guess I live in a low economic area and I miss going to the garage sales of the bigger city ๐Ÿ™ but this is where we have chosen to live . . . so goodbye fabulous garage sales for me (except I went one time while we were staying in the hotel & my husband was at a conference. I got TONS of Little People sets for $5. I was so excited but embarrassed because I didn’t know I had garage sale sisters out there–now I know). I guess you just have to rejoice in your deals and not feel bad about missing somebody else’s. Maybe you are able to hit super clearances on clothes.

  33. Sharon

    I love to go to yard sales! You really got some very nice items and so cute too! I buy alot of clothing for my grandchildren from thrift stores and yard sales. They are very well dressed children ~ thanks to a thrifty Granny!!

  34. Amy

    Very rarely do i find great finds like that at yard sales… I have a boy and it seems everyone has girls around here lol!…. but one thing we do have through out the year is Mom to mom sales. I dont know if it is just a michigan thing or if its all over… but… They are Great! one time when my son was 1st born, i got a whole GARBAGE bag full of clothes and a baby quilt for like 30-35.00… the lady was just wanting to get rid of it (she had TONS of clothes to choose from) and you know how much it would take to fill that bag up with 0-12 size ๐Ÿ˜€ …and if no one has mom2mom sales in their area, that may be a good thing to look into… that way bunches of peole can get together, sell kids clothes and toys and whatever, and help others out as long as adding back into ur bank accts ๐Ÿ˜€

    Thank you for showing us your great find!

  35. Holly

    That is so awesome!!! I love yard sales. Go Carly!!!

  36. Betsy

    My husband and I just went to a couple yard sales today for the first time ever. We’re expecting our first child in September, and we scored about 40 clothing items for just $10 – 25 or 10 cents apiece – wow! We’ll be continuing this trend as our little one grows – it such a better deal than buying clothes in the store. Plus we’re into all natural and organic stuff, and we’ve read that most of the chemical pesticides and finishes used in kids clothes are washed off by the time you get them secondhand, which is a bonus!

  37. Amanda C.

    My husband, son (5yrs old) and I love garage saling. I got into going with my mom when I was younger and then I got my hubby into going. We went last weekend for the first time of the “season” around here and had reallllly good luck. All 3 of us came home happy with our finds. Our son was happy after the 1st sale because we found the Shake and Go Race track for $4 in perfect condition! I looked online and it’s over $60 at TRU! ๐Ÿ™‚ We got lots of other stuff and were only out for about 3 hours by the time it got tooooo hot. Can’t wait to go again next time hubby has Saturday off.

  38. Julie

    I love yard/garage sales! Last weekend I bought a Speedo bathing suit (one-piece) new with tags for a QUARTER!! yippee This was a community thing so at another house I was able to score basically brand new Levi Jeans for my son who wears husky sizes (usually expensive) for $2 a pair. I do consignment sales every 6 months to clean out clothes my son can no longer wear and I use the “proceeds” to buy him new clothes or Christmas presents.

    • Julie

      I forgot to mention my son bought a Nerf Vulcan EBF blaster gun ($50-70) for a DIME.. I did have to go to walmart and buy the bullet refills which was another $8 but an awesome deal none the less!

  39. Joan Southwick

    we got a pair of nearly new aeropostale jeans for Skylar for $1.00 yesterday,, yup,,, cheap clothes make us do happy dances…

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