Top Ten Gift Ideas for the Garage Sale Lover

I admit it, I love garage sales. In some areas people call them "tag" sales, but here in California we mostly call them garage sales. Weird, though, most are held in driveways and not in an actual garage. In addition to typical garage sales we also have "rummage" sales which are generally put on by a local church or some other non-profit group. These are great because people donate their "good" junk to them and you can often find great bargains because the organization selling the items has zero attachment to them and wants everything gone by the time the sale is over.

I don't know if it is the thrill of the hunt, or the mystery of what you might find, but shopping at garage and rummage sales can really be a lot of fun. Sometimes you find a small sale and it looks pitiful from the car. You stop and find that they have everything you could ever want right there on that one little table. Or, you find a huge sale, stop, and find out that they only have total junk and are just trying to save dump fees by pawning it off on other people.

I enjoy stopping at as many sales in a day as possible and trying to keep an open mind about the things that I might need in the near future which I might be able to find at a sale for cheap. Some days there is nothing good to be found. Other days you find a ton of things that you can put to good use at some near time in your life. I outfitted my children for most of their younger years for very little money and some great garage sale finds. I also managed to keep my craft habit happy with the random treasures found on those early Friday and Saturday mornings.

Since garage and rummage sales generally start early in the morning, and often the first comers get the best goodies, there are a few things you could consider getting your favorite garage sale shopper this holiday season. These things would be:

1. Alarm Clock: You just have to be one of the first there to get the good stuff. It's important that you don't over-sleep.

2. Street Maps: A map book of your local area would be wonderful. I don't know how many times I thought I knew where a street was, only to get there and find out that was not the right street name after all.

3. Clear Contact Paper and Wipe-Off Markers: It's nice to be able to cover a map with clear contact paper and then be able to write on it with wipe-off markers and then you can reuse it the following week.

4. Magnifying glass: Let's face it, the print on maps can be awfully small for us aging people to read…

5. Subscription to the Local Newspaper: The local newspaper is the best place to find ads for upcoming sales and events.

6. Roll of Quarters: Many things are priced $0.25 or $0.50 at a sale and it's easy to go through all of your change quickly. Any garage sale shopper would love a roll or two of quarters to throw in the glove compartment of their car for unexpected sales. Nothing is more miserable than wanting a $0.25 item and only having a twenty dollar bill on you.

7. Fanny pack: Hands-free bags are a must for garage salers. It's important to keep your money safe and still have both hands available to lift up items and examine them. It's important to see if that vase is really Tiffany or a fake before making an offer.

8. Thermos: Getting up early in the morning is a must, and at that time of day so is a thermos of good, hot coffee. A nice thermos would make a thoughtful gift.

9. Basket of Portable Snacks: Along with the early morning coffee it's nice to have along some snacks to eat. No one wants to shop and walk around if they are hungry. Portable foods like granola bars, fruit, etc… make nice breakfast items for the garage sale lover on the go.

10. Offer to Go With: There is nothing more that I want than a friend to go out an hunt bargains with. Going to garage sales alone just isn't that fun. Offer to go along!