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flea market junkies


shamrockgirl18

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I love flea markets, thrift stores, etc, and could fill an album with my finds! But my favorite is a tramp art box I bought at a flea market. I saw the seller pull into his stall early in the morning, with the box in the window of his station wagon. I was there by the time he unloaded it and bought it from him for $5! He had no idea what it was, and I wasn't telling! I've had so many people try to buy that from me over the years, but will never part with my treasure. It's a big one (footstool size) with legs, and the original paint!

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I found a table to hold my Queen Anne at the Salvation Army. DH had to drag me in there to look though. I just can't wrap my mind around going to flea markets/thrift stores/garage sales.

Missymew, your husband sounds a lot like me. It gives me the eeby jeebies to think that I'm bringing home someone else's dirt/germs into my house. You should have seen me scrubbing that table before we brought it inside. Hubby thought I had gone insane, but he never mentions going to a thrift store anymore.

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Gee, if everyone felt that way, the dumps would be huge, and the upscale antique stores empty!

I treasure antiques, and hand me down dishes, furniture, and more. They are not only better quality in most instances, but they are part of our cultural history. If we all threw everything old out, and only bought new, a big part of our history and our knowledge of it, would be gone. I have a 1796 history of the American Revolution. It has information in it, and viewpoints that would not be known if people threw out the old books when they got a little worn. What if everyone in Europe refused to live in a used house or had to build new churches all the time? We wouldn't have Notre Dame or Windsor Castle. And so far, no one in my family has died from sitting on 120 year old dining chairs, or eating off my grandmother's china!

Not being mean to you, but I am a big believer in recycle and reuse. Folks having to have all 'new', is what got this country in the condition it is, now.

OK, I'm done with my soapbox speech, and nothing personal intended. This is just something important to me.

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Oh Sherry...I didn't take it personal. An opinion is just that..."an opinion" and we're all entitled to our own. It would be silly to take another person's opinion as a personal attack.

We all have our little idiosyncrasies, and this one is just mine. Admittedly, I'm a clean freak/germaphobe and I know not everyone keeps a clean home. So my hangup with buying used clothing/dishes etc. stems mostly from that.

Hope that cleared things up a bit... :blink:

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I found a whole collection of white enamelware pots and pans for $10. There were about 15 pieces and they were in pretty good condition. I also collect old planters and have had a lot of luck with those too. Talking about this has me ready to go shopping and see what good things I can find.

:hippi:

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Oh Sherry...I didn't take it personal. An opinion is just that..."an opinion" and we're all entitled to our own. It would be silly to take another person's opinion as a personal attack.

We all have our little idiosyncrasies, and this one is just mine. Admittedly, I'm a clean freak/germaphobe and I know not everyone keeps a clean home. So my hangup with buying used clothing/dishes etc. stems mostly from that.

Hope that cleared things up a bit... :hippi:

I don't think we are talking about the same thing at all, and better stop before someone does get their feelings hurt.

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I don't mind flea market stuff, but I will draw the line at stuff like pillowcases and stuff like that - I'm OK with bringing dish cloths home though, don't ask me why. I'm looney like that.

My best buys so far have been a Bank of America bank in the shape of a book with the old ship embossed on it. It was the kids' bank where the kids would put their money in and when they needed to get it out, they'd bring it into the real bank and the manager would have a key and open up the book bank. My operations officer actually had the key and no, my bank was empty, natch. My OO really liked the bank though and since I wasn't exactly in love with BoA, I gave it to her.

I also found a little Strombecker desk with the s-shaped drawers that pull out and a top that lifts down. I got that for $5.

Then I found something I'm not sure what it is. It's a coffee table of some kind, with a lifted end where the top lifts up and it's also set with three drawers in there. A cobbler's table, I think it's called. It's not an antique, but it's made very well - handmade, I think. All the edges are dovetailed and the three drawers will only fit into their own spaces. The screws look primitive and the 18" table top looks to be made out of one piece of board. It's neat, but I'm not attached to it, so if someone told me it was valuable, I'd sell it.

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We got started buying clothes from Good Will when I was an elementary school health nurse, because I needed things I could throw in the washer & dryer & disinfect the hoo-ha out of; what with the loving little children sharing all their germs, body fluids, etc, with me, you understand. It is so easy to clean & disinfect thrift store items, and you never know what treasures you'll find. I outfitted our travel trailer kitchen from Good Will. I will also buy old frilly lingerie, since the laces & embroidered ribbons, etc, are so useful for mini purposes. I suppose if I were filthy, stinking rich I might not enjoy it so much; but I learned thrift shopping from my grandma & her best friend, who WAS filthy, stinking rich...

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Going to flea markets, thrift stores, estate sales, etc, is my favorite way to spend Saturday morning! We go eat breakfast and then go browse the sales. That's how I find all the antiques that I have sold over the past 15 years or so. Everything has to be washed of course, except papers. I keep the stuff I want and sell the rest, either in a mall booth, or online for about 12 years. When Ebay was hot, I would make about 20 k per year, now it's just spending money.

But I have a house full of flea market stuff! I buy craft supplies at garage sales, fabric pieces, paperback books (better a quarter than the $8 they charge at the store), old buttons, minis, just all sorts of things!

I used to bid on jewelry lots at the Goodwills in austin, out in the rich areas of town as well as the older areas. I would get genuine antique jewelry, designer jewelry, Mexican sterling, Judith Ripka charms, it's amazing what people will get rid of. It's always an adventure!

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In my mom's neighborhood in Philly people used to go trash picking. We're talking about not just neighborhood folks spying a neat old desk or lamp, but people driving around in the wee hours of the morning in SUV's. One of the things mom dragged home one night was a pre Civil war desk. People throw away the darndest things.

One day, while I was living in an apartment complex, my friend and I were walking our babies when we found some neat stuff a neighbor threw out during her move. We were both young wives severly strapped for cash and decided to salvage what we could and take it to the flea market. Other neighbors showed up and dragged off what we couldn't carry. Amongst our loot were some nice lamps, vases, 2 hardly worn leather jackets, very nice costume jewelery, and about $12 in coins. That and the rest of the stuff we managed to haul off netted us a very nice bundle of cash.

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My mother started taking me shopping when I was very very young. She had only a few no-nos when it came to things she would not buy used. I follow her same logic.

I will not buy used shoes because everyone`s foot is different..you shape the shoe to your foot. Underwear..ewww! Bathing suits..another eww! And anything stained. You do not know what the stain is.

Other then that..if the price is right I will go for it.

Some people just do not DO second hand and that is okay. This is just the way it has always been for many of us. We live near a Navy base. So you can buy used appliances that are practically new. The families have been shipped out to another area, they own a 1-2 yr old washer and dryer and they sell it for $200 total. You really cannot beat that!

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Down here, it is in vogue with certain groups. There are some teachers at school who look like a store display and brag about buying all their clothes in the Hospice thrift shop or the one at LCC (college). They have $500 purses, designer clothes, that they bought for a fraction of their original price and are quite proud of their thriftiness. When we go to estate sales, the luxury cars are lined up at the curbs, and everyone makes a social thing out of it, while waiting for auctions to start. So it's not just a matter of thriftiness here, it's a fad.

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I was raised to cherish things from bygone eras - even recently "bygone". :p I love browsing through flea markets, antique stores, etc. It's so relaxing! I have the same basic rules as Heidi. Everything gets cleaned when I get home - my hands being first!! My children used to come browsing with me when they were young; it was a great pastime on a rainy day. Now, they are bargain hunters like me, and also appreciate the character and craftsmanship of vintage items. Yes, I like to find bargains - they suit my budget - but even if I was rich, I would still love to look through beautiful old things. :) I'm very happy to do my part in recycling and looking after our precious planet.

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  • 1 month later...

I love rummage sales, but as I get older, nothing much interests me there anymore, so I get stuff for the grandkids. I loved watching the show "Cash In the Attic" on HGTV and "Antigue Roadshow" on PBS. Alot of this stuff they have they find at sales or on curbs. Lucky for them!!

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Oh my, nearly everything I own came from a thrift store/garage sale/handmedown etc. Except my undies, of course, gotta draw the line somewhere. But everything else, yep!!

My sentiments exactly! :flowers:

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When we first got married, and when we had kids, bargain shopping was a necessity. Our first sofa was $25 at Goodwill and I bought another $25 worth of upholstery fabric at an outlet to recover it. We even had the cable spool end table! Now it's a challenge to see what I can find and what I can do with my thrift store and estate sale finds. That's also how you end up with a house that really reflects your personality-by converting things to suit your needs and painting, covering, or repurposing them to fit your tastes.

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That's also how you end up with a house that really reflects your personality-by converting things to suit your needs and painting, covering, or repurposing them to fit your tastes.

I bought a smoking/pipe table a few years back for like $5. It is round and has a door that opens to store smoking pipes. I painted it black and it has been a side table in my livingroom ever since.

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So, did you bring it home with you?
No, it's still sitting out in the camper. It needs a tad of Goo Gone or acetone to be good as new. I need to make toddler-friendly 1:12 dolls for it and get the two rooms of furniture we found at tuesday Morning and take it to Miss Grayson when we head up to VA the end of next month.
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I love flea markets, garage sales, thrift stores and so on.... My house is almost ALL handme downs or thrift, yard sale finds.!!

I wash everything as soon as I get home.!! usually outside if weather permits.!

I do not buy any furniture... chairs, couches, mattresses and so on because of bed bugs.! LOL, I always thought they were just something my Grandparents made up but recently found out they are real.. There was a huge outbreak up on campus. I will buy wooden furniture... dressers, tables etc.. but I inspect them very well.!! A friend & I were out yard saleing and she found a really nice dresser... with in a week of her taking it home she had Millions of roaches.!! very costly to deal with so I inspect it all.!! and if I get something like that I leave it outside for a few days spray the drawars and so forth with bug spray and pine sol the whole thing!!

I also get some of our clothing from thrift stores, put them in the washer with hot water and they are fine.!!

One of my best finds was 12 years ago.... when I got a crib,changing table, lamp, bumper pad, comforter & several sheets all brand new still in the original packaging except the lamp, chinging table & Crib.. but both were in perfect condition.!! for $30.00 !! I was pregnant for our first child and Hubby was so surprised I got all of that for the price.

I also bought my wedding dress at a thrift store... $20.00 and when I took it to have it cleaned the lady said it was very old probably from the early 1900s and that she would have paid a couple hundred dollars for it... when I told her the price she was speechless!! It has a long trane and was lacy on the sleeves and had like turtle neck where it came up high on the neck that was lacy like.!!

I love going to the thrift store and finding something that my Grandparents had in thier home when I was young... One thing I am looking for is a set of wooden utensils, they were wood and BIG, it was a spoon & Fork and hung on the wall.!

I am also looking for a poker chip carosel... we love to play poker and so did my Grandarents I just want one to sit in the dining room ! I have been looking for several years now and have not come across one. !!

Kellee

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