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Fun Junking Stories This story was sent in by EvaBNor, via email Margo, I have a kind of "one that got away" story, only in reverse. I, being a junker and not having a piece of furniture in my house that's less than 50 years old, bought an old small chiffarobe to put in our guest bathroom when we lived in Texarkana, TX. While I was slowly redecorating that bathroom, I accumulated "just right, one of each kind" off white bath towels, hand towels, and wash cloths. I'm kind of a penny pincher, and I wanted beautiful towels that would cost more than I wanted to pay, so I had shopped at places like Tuesday Morning and T.J. Maxx to get better prices. Being my mother's daughter, I had tucked all those nice towels into the drawers of the little chiffarobe, to be used only when I was finished with the bathroom. About the time that happened, we sold that house and moved to a small town not far from Tyler. Moving into a smaller house meant getting rid of some things, so we decided to have a garage sale. I accepted what I thought was a fair price for that little old chiffarobe, only to find out later that my husband, in moving it outside, had not taken the towels out. When the lady asked him about it he told her that he didn't think I wanted them.... He sheepishly told me the next day. $150 worth of towels in a rickety $25 cabinet... I bought cheap towels this time. Junking can be hazardous, but it helps to know Spanish Teresa Cano Shares this funny Junking Story, and she keeps a blog here
I have a really funny story to tell, but at the time it wasn't so funny. I had been searching for an metal light with flowers for a long time. Well, we were at this sale in Rosebud Tx one year and right there on the ground was this light I had been wanting. So, I bent over to pick it up and saw it was a $1, well I couldn't pull my money out of pocket fast enough to pay the lady, when a woman that had had her backed to the lamp, suddenly turned around and said "that lights mine". I just looked at her because her hand wasn't on it and it really wasn't near her and I just ignored her and went to pay the lady. Well, she starts calling me names and telling me she's going to beat my a#$ and is still cussing me as I went to leave. I just looked at her and said in Spanish that I didn't speak English so as not to cause a confrontation. She had a lot of people with her. As soon as we got in the truck, my husband said "I couldn't believe she was willing to beat you up over a $1 lamp." We laugh about it now and the lady that had the sale still remembers me. And, yes I still have the lamp.
This story is submitted by reader, Joy, and she keeps a blog here
Last Saturday's yard sales were turning out to be a lunchbag-let down. Until I found this baby..
You see, I knew only hubby could help me with this one, I needed his strength to get that baby from her porch to mine. But I thought it would be better to make sure he liked it before I purchased it. What restraint on my part! Anyway, hubby did like it too and it actually took him and another strong brute to lift it into the truck - where it is still sitting until I make up my mind where exactly I want it to go. I am famous for moving things around but this clam shell is way too heavy for nonsense like that. It probably weighs close to 400 pounds! So Saturday's yard sales didn't turn out to be a bust afterall. Hubby is always amazed at the treasures I unearth. My favorite part of a Saturday has to be the look on his face whenever he sees what I have dragged home. :)
This story is submitted by reader Michele S. And she keeps a blog here
The wife of a Navy pilot, accustomed to criss-crossing the United States, I struggled to make each new duty station a real home on a shoe string budget. Flea markets, dumpsters, and garage sales substituted for high-end show rooms and department stores. Possibly my biggest – if not my best – find was a huge 60’s French reproduction armoire discovered at a run down Central California second-hand store. I used our entire tax return check ($150) to buy the lumbering yellow and green piece, complete with psychedelic floral material stiffened by age peeking through chicken wire doors. After the delivery truck pulled away, my husband shook his head and the neighbors stared in astonishment at the hulking piece, just a few inches shy of the garage ceiling. With my husband due to leave on a 6-month deployment, I reasoned it would give me something to do in his absence. With two toddlers under the age of three, I’m not sure why I thought boredom was an issue.
For months, I applied stripper and
scraped off layers of paint. After finally reaching bare wood, I started on the painted chicken wire. After days turned into weeks, I discovered the “carved wood” was really some kind of weird composite material that slowly melted if the stripper was left on too long. Swapping the cheap door pulls for a couple old front door plates and knobs found at a junk shop I begged my friends to help haul it into the living room, days before my husband was due to arrive. After lots of welcoming hugs and kisses, my husband eyed the handsome piece taking up way too much of the small living room. “It’s great to be home. I’m so glad you got rid of that piece of junk in the garage and bought something decent,” he said. Aaah sweet revenge!
The Ones that Got Away By Margo
As you all know I go to lots of Garage Sales. Sometimes the Husbands and Wives do not agree and I get myself caught in the middle.
The first story, was at a sale that had items in multiple buildings. I was told to feel free to roam the other buildings
for more things, which I did. In one of the buildings I found a basket that I wanted. It was one of those tall skinny, oak slat,
baskets that is great for holding tall items, or as a hamper. I picked it up and headed for the building with the
wife in it, to pay for my new find. She sees me coming through her window, and as I open the door I hear "GEORGE! WHY DID
YOU PUT MY BASKET OVER THERE???" Well of course my heart sank as I knew that this sale was not going to happen. She continued
to read George the Riot Act as I politely handed over the basket and excused myself.
Table of Contents: How to make lamp from almost anything Projects for Old Balusters, Spindles, and Porch Posts
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Decorating with Music and Instruments
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