My first estate sale

I had to resist the urge to put an exclamation mark at the end of the title on this post. First of all, I was so excited that I actually got to go to an estate sale, something I'd read about only on other blogs while salivating over other people's thrifty finds. Then, finding so many lovely things at my first estate sale made it almost impossible for me to contain my excitement.

Most estate sales in my area are typically held on weekends, when I'm usually out on family outings, but the stars finally aligned and I found myself sans kids early one Sunday morning. Off I went to an estate sale that I'd read about in my local Craigslist.

The home was small and the main rooms had been cleaned out almost entirely by other bargain hunters on the previous two days of the estate sale. Undaunted, I began inspecting every nook and cranny. I was amply rewarded when I found dozens of crochet hangers in a closet, even more so when the seller promised to give me "a good deal" if I took a bunch of them. I collected 30 of them and practically hugged everyone around me when I was told the price would be three dollars for all of them. (OK, I am again resisting the urge to put an exclamation mark after this last sentence.)

Even at thrift stores, these "granny chic" crochet hangers usually go for at least a dollar each. I don't crochet so I have no idea how long it would take to make one of these, but I do appreciate the thought and care that went into creating these, especially with those adorable pom poms.

This brings me to my next point, which is that I first had to get past the uncomfortable feeling I had rummaging through the belongings of someone who had only recently been alive to enjoy them. I finally reasoned with myself that I would love for my things to continue to be appreciated after I've passed on and my kids have had their pick. Also, I do believe that even the smallest utilitarian item can find a new home, thus preventing further adding to our landfills.

I might have mentioned before that I have a fondness for vintage office supplies so I had fun picking out a few items for my office. I fell for those small gummed labels shown above and have been using them to label files and other things around my home.

I also found a Pyrex lab glass and an unlabeled little box full of envelopes, each containing one or two dozen silver little letters. I can think of so many uses for these uniquely shaped letters, which came with a small bottle of adhesive. By the way, the striped black-and-white paper you see in the photos is part of a large roll of vintage gift wrapping paper, one of a handful I bought.

I also picked out a roll decorated with blue birds and bird cages. Both of these were quite hefty rolls and I do have projects in mind for them. As you can see, I also added to my dictionary collection and found a few other odds and ends. The wheeled magazine rack you see below was was part of the Craigslist ad, which prompted me to pick this particular estate sale. I had low expectations of finding it on the third (and 50 percent off) day of the sale, but I did and was able to take it home for $17.50.

In all, I spent about $30 for all the things I've shown you here and a few others. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been thrifting far less and found that an estate sale offers a more focused way of thrift and vintage shopping since most estate sellers offer preview photos of the goods they are selling.

Have you been to an estate sale? I do love the randomness of thrift stores but was so happy to finally hit an estate sale, one where I found so many things that I love.