Published: April 28, 2008 11:35 pm            

Cathie Shaffer: Making money by the yard: 04/29/08

My yard sale adventures have begun. I decided back in the cold depths of winter to reduce and recycle my unwanted, unneeded items by selling them. I even devised a game plan that includes the flea market, May’s Country Music Highway yard sale and a few sales in my driveway.

Since I have no earthly idea what anything I own is worth, I’ve been dropping in at secondhand stores, flea markets and the occasional rummage sale to try to figure out how to price things.

I drive past one of those intriguing used stores most days as I go to work, ofthen thinking I needed to go poke around in there someday.

That someday came on a Saturday after going out for breakfast. Not in the mood to cook, and with no one to cook but each other and one grandgirl, my daugther I decided to try anew eating establishment in Flatwoods, and passed right by the shop on the way home.

My daughter said out loud what I’d been thinking, that we should stop sometime. So we did. There was lots of nice stuff, some of which I might have purchased if I wasn’t on a mission to get rid of stuff, not add more.

Part of the fun in going to a place like that is recognizing things that you or someone you know already own. My daughter poked me in the ribs and said in a low voice, “Grandma’s dishes. Look at the price!”

As items caught our eye, we stopped to examine them, discussing how they might fit into the 1930s bungalows we live in, or if a particular piece matched something we already had at home.

I wandered toward another display area while my daughter sorted through linen tablecloths, one of her particular interests. All of a sudden, she was at my elbow, yanking me back.

“Look up,” she hissed, pointing toward a shelf. “There are Dad’s cigar boxes.”

Sure enough, a half-dozen cigar boxes just like Hubby’s sat on the shelf.

She took one down, her eyes widening as she saw the price.

“Five dollars?” she said. “They want five dollars for one?”

Hubby liked to buy his cigars by the box, so King Edward boxes are a part of her childhood. The kids used them for storing crayons, fashion accessories and GI Joe parts. Anyone who needed a nail or screw knew to go look in the cigar boxes in the garage, and Hubby kept one in his dresser drawer to hold silver dollars, collectible belt buckles and other precious things.

Last spring we tore down the old garage, taking out only things of value and leaving the rest. I know that, as we walked away from the store that Saturday morning, that both my daughter and I were both mentally calculating how many boxes had gone in the dumpster with the other junk, and how many dollars they represented.

The good news, though, is that cleaning the basement has never been a high priority in the 17 years we’ve lived in our house. And guess what are neatly lined up on a shelf by the washer, in perfect condition, holding odds and ends we’ve forgotten about?

CATHIE SHAFFER can be reached at (606) 473-9851.

        

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