Saturday, April 22, 2006

Yard Sale Down The Street

I just ran to the yard sale down the street. I paid 25 cents apiece for the Tupperware lidded containers, and 5 cents each for the 15 oz spouted ones. (Does anyone know exactly what they're used for? Salad dressings?) Pretty soon I will have a whole kitchen full of bulk items stored in Tupperware, just as I read Emilie Barnes organized hers. The owner also threw in a huge bag of realistic insects for a nickel. Won't these be fun crawling all over a platter of chocolate cupcakes? Sterilized first, of course! My son scavenged the couch cushions before leaving and spent his 25 cents on 5 nickel toys. She had so many, I'm thinking of sending my husband to pick out a selection for post-baby surprises for Andrew. Cheaper than a Happy Meal!

13 comments:

Kayla said...

I want to come to your yard sales! Ours here are WAY overpriced for JUNK! $3-5 for a staines torn up pair of jeans! My Mum and I only charge 1-2 for excellent condition jeans, among other stuff. I don't understand how ppl could think others would buy JUNK for the same price you can get something on clearnace at Walmart or a good outlet mall. And what's sadder is the people that DO pay that much for JUNK..... So when we going next? HUH HUH HUH??? LOL

Catherine at Frugal Homemaker Plus said...

Yeah, I went to one today where they were asking four dollars apiece for tupperware! But I've been hitting a lot of overpriced ones lately.

Anonymous said...

It's interesting that you mention Emilie Barnes. She is a lovely lady and I love all of her books. I used to live in CA and one time I was blessed to be able to go to one of her seminars at her home. It was just lovely and she let all of us tour every part of it and yes, her pantry was organized beautifully with Tupperware! I so wish I was able to take pictures, but nonetheless that was a fun & special day. :)

Meredith said...

Wow, Lyn!

I go to my share of high-priced yard sales, too. I call it the Ebay effect: between that and Antique Roadshow, people are convinced that their junk is worth more than you think it is. Still--there always seem to be a few odd-priced items I can find. That's one reason I like church yard sales best. When more objective (or very busy) people are tagging the items, the more low prices I see!

Anonymous said...

I had a BONANZA garage-sale weekend!! I am expecting my fifth child this fall, and because I had pretty much gotten rid of all my baby stuff, I am going to garage sales to restock. I found a HUGE amount of beautiful, nice, and stain-free baby clothes for 25-50 cents per item!! And some of the "sets", that had several items together, were a whopping 75 cents! Honestly, I truly felt blessed. I have no idea what we are having, boy or girl, but I scooped up pretty much everything nice, and will pass on what I don't use. But I ran into garage sales, too, where everything was way overpriced. I guess you always need to approach garage sales with the same attitude that you take when you go shopping anywhere else- shop carefully, because not everything you see will be a bargain! (and Meredith, I am a big Tupperware fan! I love the rectangular containers you got for a quarter! They were originally made to store a half gallon of ice cream in the freezer, but I use them for that and a million other uses as well. And as far as being organized in your pantry, my brothers and husband tease me to no end because I have my entire pantry organized, labeled,...and almost ALL of it is in Tupperware!)
Susan

Anonymous said...

Spouted Tupperware are kids' sippy cups. Great buys.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone else find that when they store noodles and such in tuppereware that when they later open the container they notice a distinct plastic smell? I store lots in tupperware but have found I like powdered milk stored much better in glass. Seems to keep even longer. I have a Food Saver too I use for some things. Great finds Meredith!

Catherine at Frugal Homemaker Plus said...

Alex, I store my powdered milk in plastic, and I have never noticed that. The thing I use is not tupperware, it is just some cheap-o off brand from Wal-Mart.

MommyLydia said...

I noticed that with my pasta, and so now leave them in the original bag (open) - which isn't a good choice either.

Meredith said...

You know, I'm not sure these are sippy cups. They hold 15 ounces apiece and the spouts have flip-top lids.

MommyLydia said...

They don't look like sippy cups to me either.

I know I've seen them before. But not sure where. They are too big for salad dressing, i think.

Maybe juice?

Anonymous said...

I have used the spouted containers for sugar and the dry type of creamer, and keep them near our coffee supplies. They can also be used for spices, etc, that are bulkier and bigger, or for something like salt, etc, that you keep in your pantry and use for cooking. The pour spout makes it easier to use, and it flips open with just one hand.

Anonymous said...

I think the spouted things are for gravy. My mom has one and got it out at Thanksgiving - mixes together your flour and water before you add the pan leavings. :)