Yard Sailor's Guide to the Universe

There's an unwritten set of laws about yard sales for the sellers and the buyers. There are many that I can go into, but let's just start with one set. I'm most often the buyer, surfing around with my wife looking for something we needed but didn't know it. This might include a list of stuff we want but don't want to pay retail for. Then there's the seller. In my mind, there are a couple of reasons to have a yard sale. First, you want to recycle your old stuff, an earth-friendly thing to do. On the other hand, there is the non-earth-friendly option, which is easier and opens up your weekend: taking it all to the dump. For me, this is not an option, so on to selling your junk in your front yard. Ideally, on Sunday at the end of the sale, one sells or gives away everything or has only a small box left to take to the Salvation Army on Monday.
     As a seller, however, you must understand this one simple concept: yard sales are not for making money, or at least not enough money to make up for tying up your weekend. To have a yard sale you need to believe in recycling and the simple pleasures of community relationships. This week, we went to a sale on Cape Cod for which the proprietor has been forever cast in our minds to the Yard Sale Hall of Shame. The seller turned away early birds (another topic for a later date) with a rope and sign across the driveway, and she ignored the eager people waiting to relieve her of her stuff. Not even a greeting! When the sale opened at 9 am (way too late), we found the prices to be off the charts. As if this seller's worn and stretched out Cape Cod hoodie -- priced at $15 -- was once on the back of suburban nobility. So remember, the items sold in a yard sale aren't gold, they're no longer wanted, its just more crap. It all needs to go on its way to make space for the new yard sale finds.
     Here's an example of how yard "sailors" should roll. We set sail by 8 am after surfing Craigslist to chart reasonably close yard sales that didn't include words or phrases like "baby clothes," "children's items," "maternity," "exercise and fitness equipment," and "self help books."  When heading for the first sale on our list, we always detour to the "pop-ups" (unlisted, rogue sales) along the way. To save time it's within the rules to do a "drive by" when the sale looks potentially bad enough from a distance (e.g., the presence of the aforementioned items). And don't be in a hurry to spend. Anything priced over 10% of retail should be left for the fools.
     Our big day started with three large 4-gallon clay pots for our tomatoes, priced at $2 each. They were on our wish list and well below the 10% of retail threshold. Then, about two or three sales into the day, we scored a pop up beach shelter for a buck and well-made beach chair with wooden arms for $3.  Since we were on the Lower Cape and didn't own these items and planned an afternoon at the beach, it was a great score. After we reached our tolerance for yard sailing (about 11 am), we headed off with the dogs to Head of the Meadow Beach, where we put to full use the new shelter and chair for a couple of hours. We ambled out to the beach with the dogs and set up our camp alongside the identical set ups by fellow beach goers who were non the wiser that our day at the beach began at a yard sale. On this day, yard sailing provided the shade, wind protection, and safe den spot for well behaved hounds, and a comfortable home base for my family, making the day truly epic.

Why would you want to read this blog? Well, here goes... 

If you've ever been a detail person who always thinks about how to take the better path not traveled and not always follow the heard, enjoy problem-solving, and pride yourself on resourcefulness, this blog may be for you. I'm not talking geodesic dome housing, Feng Shui, colon cleansing, crystals, reinventing old traditions that died because they needed to, but rather blending new with old to get what you need cleverly, to save money (maybe not time), all the while causing your detractors to tilt their heads and say "Hmm?"  Sure, living off-the-grid and eating grubs will help you find your inner child, but that is not what this blog is all about. "Gaffers Tape & Epoxy" is about living in the current culture you have and enjoying some detours that you might find rewarding. Maybe we'll hit upon some fun stuff; maybe you'll be bored to tears.