Fridays are one of my favorite days of the week, for numerous reasons. One reason in particular is that I get my plan together for my yard sale shopping which will take place the next morning. Usually, I get up quite early on Saturdays to do said shopping, so I have found it best to devise a plan of action beforehand. I suppose you could just wake up, grab your local paper, find the sales, and hit the streets; however, I tried to do that, and it turned out to be quite the disaster. I was criss-crossing all over town, I couldn't find what I was looking for, I kept loosing pieces of the paper in the car...after that mess, I decided to put just a bit of preparation into my game plan. So, without further ado...this is what I do...
1) First things first, I search the local papers for all advertised sales. We have two local papers in our area, so I search them both. Because I just copy and paste the adds to my list, I have found it much faster to view the adds online, but I am sure you could view the paper copy as well and it would be fine.
2) Narrow the selection. Depending on the time of year, there can be hundreds of advertised sales. Obviously, you wouldn't have time to go to all of these (nor would you want to), so I narrow the selection somewhat. I make rules about which sales I will and will not visit based on neighborhood, passed experiences in that neighborhood, time restraints, etc. For instance, if I have to be somewhere that morning, I will usually only select the sales that are in the general vicinity. Also, if you are new to your area (or maybe just haven't been out and about in your city), you may not know which areas are better for what you are looking for, but don't worry, you will learn very quickly. Personally, I like to look for antiques and vintage items, so the neighborhoods where the older people live are always the hot spots for me. One of my friends prefers the newer neighborhoods because she is always looking for kids clothes, so which sales are the best is really a personal preference and matter of opinion.
3) As I mentioned earlier, I just copy and paste the ads to my list. I have a list that I use each week that has the neighborhood/areas already listed, so I just go in and delete last weeks ads, and copy and paste the new ads into the appropriate place. This helps keep me organized when I am trying to decide which neighborhood to visit and which houses in that neighborhood are on my trek. Once this is complete, I print out the list, and I am ready to go for Saturday morning.
4) Now it's sale time! My goal is to be on the road by 6AM, but that doesn't usually happen. I just go with it though. If I'm a little tired or whatever it's fine...I don't want to stress myself out over a hobby. I always make sure that I have my coffee and a snack or two with me. It can be a long day without a little nourishment (especially if you don't usually get up that early), so it is best to be prepared. I also bring my GPS along as there are still some neighborhoods I am not entirely familiar with.
So, that's it. I just follow the list, and just go with the flow. Sometimes I decide not to visit a sale that I put on the list, and that's fine, and sometimes I decide to visit sales that maybe were not advertised or that I didn't have on my list, and that's fine too. I just try to have fun and see what I can see and enjoy the morning.
One last note...while you want to be careful that you are not wasting your time, do not judge a book by its cover. Some of the most amazing sales I have been to have been at the ones you would least expect, and visa versa. And, don't get discouraged. Just because you haven't found anything wonderful in the last few stops doesn't mean your next stop won't be a gold mine!
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