BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Budget Decor Off-season flea markets

If you are used to visiting outdoor flea markets and yard sales, that time of year is soon coming to a close in many areas because of cold weather.

What do you do to feed your flea market itch? Visit indoor markets? Antique shops? Craft fairs? Scour the newspaper for bargains?

Donna

We aren't fortunate to have cold weather markets or sales. I guess I just look forward to early summer and the garage sales!

I have a weakness for antiques, I love things like that however my house is stuffed to overflowing. Between what I inherited from my family AND what I have purchased, I am having to do a clear out.

Here in Florida its just the weather now that people WANT to have garage sales and such. Its starting too cool down enough so that getting up in my attic is actually posible now. Our neighborhood is organzing a HUGE one where people can come to our neighborhood and find several families who have a garage sale going on. I had been cleaning out to set things out for it, checking what things were selling on Ebay for to make sure I didn't sell something that was actually worth something for too cheap.

We have a nice little town called Mount Dora near us, they have some very nice antique malls when I need a fix, I go out there to soak up the atmosphere AND of course find something new and wonderful to bring home. Last time I was there I found these sterling silver charms that were flags, on the front the picture was done in enamel, I got one of Disneyland, one of Texas, one of Ireland, and I can't remember them all, I got 6. I have a collection of charms so they went really well AND they didn't take up much room like something bigger would.

A neighborhood garage sale sounds wonderful! Our town does a city wide one and you can stop at a convienience store for a map of the houses that are participating.

I have a charm bracelet I got when I was 15. My gramma would buy me new charms every year at Christmas. I still have it.

Hmmm...I'm wondering how long it would take me to get from VA to FL. Unloading an attic full of antiques! Wow!

I would love to buy every antique that I find, but just can't fit them, either. They'd end up in the basement where no one would appreciate them. But, I just love old furniture.

Donna

I don't have any old furniture to sell but I am selling alot of old porcelain and glass. I was taking some of it out of the attic just yesterday hoping that it would really sell for the garage sale and I wouldn't have to put it back up there.

Since I wrote last, I have been digging things out of where I put them away and my Dining room table is now FULL of dishes and glassware. I havne't even gotten all the boxes out of my attic yet.

I am SO hoping I get rid of most of it, I don't want to pack it all up again. The garage sale we are having is going to be both Saturday and Sunday.

Good luck with your sale Lisa, I hope that you can get rid of all your dishes and ect. This summer when we were cleaning out the basement and decided to do some major decluttering I did take some of my stuff to a local antique store (but she is more a lower end and has stuff like books and some arts and crafts supplies) and she let me trade for stuff. I thought it worked out great and I got rid of a bunch of stuff without having to throw it out.

Good luck with your yard sale, Lisa! I'm not sure you realize you are talking to a mosaic artist who lives for dishes? LOL I don't usually tell sellers (of dishes)that tho, bec it scares them away. Altho, I'm not sure why since they don't want them anymore. But, those that know and who have seen my creations realize they get more use in their new life as my mosaics then when they were stored away in boxes. Anyway...just said all that to say I'm still salivating over your yard sale! LOL

Connie - that trade idea sounds like a good one. Not everyone is willing to do that these days, but it is nice when it works out.

I'm hoping to clear out our basement this fall/early winter before it gets too cold, but after all the creepy bugs have gone into hibernation. My son came across a spider the size of the palm of his hand crawling across the living room sofa while he was watching t.v. My daughter and husband were in the room and saw it, too. They never told me until the next day. Shudder. I'm sure that thing crawled up from the basement. We live in the woods, so I know they are down there. As you can tell, I'm not a fan. Uh uh. Nope.

Donna

I think mosiacs are awesome. Everytime something gets broken I save the pieces because one of these days I want to make some mosiacs on stepping stones with tile mastik and grout.

I don't care what people do with it as long as they pay me honestly. Anything that I am sentimentaly attached to, I have kept. I have some kind of dishes displayed in just about every room. My Mom collected different kinds, in my office which is light pink and sage green, I have the dishes which have roses on them. The orienal things are in my living room. My blue and white Spode is in the Dining room. I actually have three china cabinets.

I am going to take pictures of it all and try to post them. I need to create a photobucket account and upload pictures.