Where Have All the Yard Sale Reports Gone?

I know many of you that look forward to my weekly yard sale reports are probably wondering why there haven't been any for quite some time. In fact, the last report I posted was way back on June 30th!

I have still been getting out there most weekends (although there have been a few rainy Saturdays) but I've been coming home empty-handed. Last weekend I hit seven yard sales and didn't bring anything home, and that's been fairly typical of what's been going on in yard sale land for me all summer. At this point in my life, I'm pretty discerning about what I choose to bring home. In another month, both of my boys will be teenagers and the days where I'm in the market for all those "little kid" items so readily available on the yard sale circuit are long gone. We also don't need much in the way of general household items. I have a few specific items on my wish list (such as more cast iron cookware) but there are not that many things I'm on the lookout for. I always keep an eye out for men's clothing (especially now that my boys are wearing men's small sizes!) and giftable items to stow in my gift cupboard (meaning stuff that's in brand new condition and that I genuinely believe someone on my gift list will love to receive). Other than that, and my weaknesses for baskets, books and Pyrex cookware, there are not all that many things I am apt to hand money over for right now.

What all this boils down to is that this is everything I brought home since my last yard sale post:

And I actually found all of these items on the same week in the middle of August:
A "make-your-own-lip balm" kit for $3.00 (which ended up becoming a birthday gift for my 11 year old niece) and 6 plastic Mason jar lids for 10 cents each (these are hard to find and are very handy when you're using Mason jars for general food storage purposes). I also scooped up a blender for $3.00. You may recall that our trusty old Osterizer bit the dust after 20 years of service. We hadn't been able to find a suitable secondhand replacement and finally broke down and bought a new blender a couple of months ago (on sale for half price, with Canadian Tire money). Unfortunately, we have been less than thrilled with it, and the base (the part that holds the blade) has already cracked. Yes, I need to check to see if it's still under warranty, but when I saw this Cuisinart one I figured a backup plan for $3.00 would be a good thing (it actually runs quite well and I like it better than the one we bought new - argh!)

I'm hoping there will be a resurgence of good sales for September and October (I often do some of my best yard sale shopping at this time of year) although I may decide not to do another report until the end of the month unless I find something particularly fantastic.

Grand total spent: $6.60 for 8 items or 83 cents an item.

P.S. If you're reading this in your email or news feed, I wanted to make sure all my local readers know about my upcoming book signing and presentation. It's on Wednesday, September 12th at 7 p.m., at the Westdale branch of the Hamilton Public Library. I'll have copies of my book available to purchase for $15. I hope some of you will be able to join me!