What is Yard Sale Chic?
When the Snow Thaws...
There is hopefully a day coming in Michigan where I will no longer hear or read “Winter Storm Warning” and the weather will open my favorite hunting season…Yard Sales and Flea Markets season! That is when all the people cleaning out attics and basements discover their trash is a fool’s treasures, and yes, I’m that fool. I am still rather particular over what I am looking for at these pop-up stores though, I don’t buy just anything with a cheap round colored sticker somewhere on the item.
I ask myself how I can repurpose it, is there a value, a use in it’s current state, how much cleaning goes into this, is it for holidays, homeschool, fun, and lastly does it fit my hunt for vintage cookbooks. The problem becomes though can I sneak this in past my husband and into a relatively hidden space until I can incorporate it into my very eclectic decorating style? I know when he smiles and says “wow good find,” he is secretly thinking to himself how he can ditch the item 6 months from now without my noticing, or will he be able to find room in our storage for the item. I am not a procrastinator EXACTLY, I do get around to whatever I intended for the item, it’s just I can never decide where to start.
Currently, I have a large collection of corks and wine bottles people have given me or I have found. There are many projects I can do with them…. I just not ready to get started. It takes a certain feeling, a certain magical moment when the bargain item can be transformed.
Of course, there are some items that do not get transformed because they have a character all their own, and for me that is ANYTHING 60’s 70’s and Flamingos. If it has polka dots and tassels it belongs on my couch, even if it makes my husband cringe. I honestly do have an eye for décor, I just do not want to use it, because some of it gets all stuffy and full of rules. While we live in a world of rules, my décor dreams and artistic whims scream to be let free and LIVE.
The great thing about Yard Sale chic is that if it is still in fair condition it can be donated, repurposed or even re-yard-saled (for want of a better word). If it gets broken or lost, you can rest easy because it was not a Staffordshire or some other valuable item that once had it’s beginning as a dime store thing. Plates do not necessarily match, so long as maybe they have the same colors. Those old shoes can become the cutest little decorative phone holder or jewelry holder, the possibilities are endless.
Then there are Flea Markets! Rows and rows of vendors selling everything from old Golden Books to barn doors. Some pieces may have collector value, but I avoid those things. I have 6 kids in my home and even if some treasure has survived 100 years on this earth, nothing lasts long once it makes their acquaintance. Maybe if I keep a piece longer than 5 years I can attempt to attach some sentimental value to it, “But honey, sweetheart, I can’t possibly get rid of that tangerine and avocado cat figurine, it’s lasted 5 whole years and I am attached to it now!”
In my area Flea markets are more than just junk-mart, there are also Amish and Mennonites selling breads, pies, fruits, vegetables, jams, and rugs. Other small farmers bring their items out to sell, and I can even get good bargains on home grown seedlings to add to my garden or indoor plant graveyard. There are also some crafty vendors selling homemade jewelry or other interesting items. Of course, there are the food wagons that offer all the carnival fare foods and it just adds to the festivities (as well as the hips), but that’s ok because these markets are often large and you’re walking, walking, walking. I have a wagon for such adventures. I also like flea markets, because there are portable “potty-barns” I call them, which you do not find while yard sale hunting. Some home-owners are nice enough to let you use their facilities, but I feel all weird.
Sometimes I do have to clean it out and reorganize and sell, donate, repurpose or get rid of something. I at least can make room for more. I do not like to hoard too much, so every now and again I just purge things. As my mother calls it “pitch ‘n’ toss” which she coined when it was time for dad to make another Army move, funny as a kid I always thought it was “pigeon toss.” Silly I could never figure out why she wanted to toss a pigeon but there it is.
Sometimes there are items that I can also pass on to a family member for a unique gift. I once found a large ceramic Viking ship for one of my now adult sons. He really did like it. So, if I hunt carefully I might find that special poetry book, sheet music, Christmas decoration and on and on. I will justify anything.
I do have a rule, all clothes and cloth items gets washed, and I only buy old shoes for projects not to wear. It is just ewwwwww. I am not afraid to wear some of the clothes even if a little dated if it fits my style and I can re work that into a more modern twist to vintage. I love saying vintage, it makes the whole bundle more “chic.”
And that is Yard Sale Chic in a nutshell. So, while it is the middle of April and we are still covered in snow and ice in my part of Michigan, I will just sit and look over projects, drink some hot tea, and dream of those warm days and full tables.
