Garage Sale Addiction

By Amy Coward

I have a genetic condition few know about. I got it honestly from my grandmother and there appears to be no overcoming it. It’s an attraction to garage sales. Estate sales. Yard sales. And consignment stores. Oh my gosh – it’s really bad.

Simply put. I love a good deal. I love to sort through items and find that forgotten treasure (a.k.a., someone else’s trash) and brag about the great deal I got on such and such. Shopping retail? Forget about it. It makes me break out in hives. There’s no sport in that. No hunt. No bartering. No additional 50% off at the register high. Where’s the fun in that? No. You have to hunt. You have to find that jewel with the amazing price.

Our church recently held its annual garage sale to raise money for missions. I arrived to find the gymnasium wall to wall with items of every description – household goods, furniture, books, clothes. Be still my beating heart. I walked slowly through the aisles examining the choices, hoping no one would want to stop and talk.

By the time I left, my tote bag was full of finds, things I couldn’t live without. Things I got for next to nothing. Hardback books for $1.00. A bracelet for $3. A blender for $5. It was an adrenaline rush for sure.

I’m not the only one in my family with the affliction. My husband is the world’s best treasure-seeker there is. He seeks out valuables at thrift stores and yard sales and resells them online to collectors and the like. It’s not exactly lining our pockets with gold, but who knows? Maybe the NEXT item will be the ticket – the lost and forgotten $10 million painting. Find that and we’ll move to Fiji to live happily ever after. Ahhh…nothing wrong with dreaming, right?

My children have not been spared the condition either – this intense desire to find a deal like no other no matter how much searching is required. Mention half-off day at Goodwill? We’re there. Mention a bag sale at a local consignment store? We’re there. While we won’t shove you out of the way, be forewarned this is serious business for us and we’re likely not to be too chatty.

So thanks, Grandma. I rather like this quirky gift you passed down. You couldn’t pass by a flea market and apparently neither can I. And I can’t wait to gloat about the amazing things I’ve found.

Amy Coward is a public relations professional in Columbia, SC. When she is not managing the madness of event planning at Palmetto Health Foundation, she is turning her empty nest upside down looking for fun and finding it. 

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