'Tis the season for garage sales and live auctions, and they can be so much fun.
The search is on for our family to see which towns are holding annual town-wide yard sales, and we try to go to all of them that are in the area.
There are always things that we need or do not need but still take home.
I am always looking for old things that I can fix up or make look new with a coat of paint, and garage sales are the best places to look.
My husband searches for more tools, and my daughter is mostly in search of toys for her dogs, but in the end, we go home with new treasures.
It is not all about the deals that we try to make, there is also the social aspect of garage sales. We run into so many people.
Often when we pull up to a sale, the vehicle ahead of or behind us was at the last one as well, and as we all walk down the street to the next treasure hunt, we talk and get to know new people.
Several places have sales each year, and they always seem to have a pile of new and interesting stuff, and some people even know what we are after and bring us to the things that may be of interest.
One thing I am always looking for is work shirts for my husband. They need to have two pockets and buttons down the front. No point in buying him new ones since he just cuts the sleeves out of them anyways, and they get ripped on the job site.
Many of our neatest things come from garage sales or auction sales.
A live auction sale is great fun, and it brings lots of people that we only see at the sales.
I am not sure what will happen when live sales are no longer happening.
I help out Key M Auction Services and there is a group of people who will go to all their sales. This is the only time we see them.
We have told Dellan and Donna Mohrbutter when they decide to retire from the live auction business that they should either hold a consignment auction or barbecue at their place once a year, so we can all get together and have a wonderful social.
So many auction companies are going online, and I just cannot get into something like this. It feels impersonal to sit at ones computer and bid, when one can go to a live auction, have a coffee and piece of pie and bid away, while having a great time visiting the neighbours.
Chances are you might come home with some items that you had no intention of buying because of the social aspect and one was not paying attention to the sale.
Years ago, at a sale, I was not paying attention and was asked to bid on an item to get the sale going, so I did. I was not sure what I had bought, and it turned out to be a Christmas tree in a very beat up box. Of course, I suspected that it was not in good shape, but as it turned out, the tree was a seven-foot blue spruce, and we used that tree for many years. I paid $1 for this gem.
With the push of purchasing Canadian, plus buying and supporting local, what better way can this be done than through garage sales and live auctions?
Plus, you are helping recycle items that can easily be used in a new life at a much better price than new.
Next time you see a sale, stop on in, you just might find the treasure you have been looking for.
