Getting Garage Sale Finds Home In One Piece

WOW! What a weekend for "Fabulous Finds" and "Fun Picking." In my business this past Saturday was like a dream come true. I went to Belmar, a small town at the Jersey Shore, for their Annual All Town Garage Sale. It was a two-day event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. I had no idea what I was in store for. The weather forecast was calling for rain on Sunday, so I knew that Saturday was the day; and I had to be their ready to"Pick" first thing in the morning.

I met my dear friend Wendy Helfer at 7-Eleven where we grabbed some much needed coffee and started on our mission.  I have never seen anything quite like it before!  Every street and every other house was having a Huge Garage Sale;  it was better then any Flea Market I had ever been t!  By the tenth garage sale my car was packed to the brim with unique furniture, lamps, crystal, china, artwork, mirrors, etc. Just too much to list, but the best was the prices!  Half of it was FREE!    

We would walk into a garage sale and the owner would say, "Anything in the attic or basement is free." It was a free-for-all!  It was scary when you either got to the attic or basement because it was dark and filled with god knows what. There were old bed frames and mattresses, furniture, and boxes filled with surprises. People were pushing and grabbing to get to the cool stuff.  I was overwhelmed and excited at the same time, but thats where the work set in and you became a true "Picker." Some of my best finds that day were from the unknown.  

But, my favorite find that day, was from this really nice guy, Doug Bessemer.  He owned a very old, beautiful home a block from the beach on 9th Street.  What I bought from him was a set of old porch doors that were perfectly weathered and had the original glass.  They were in perfect condition and must have been at least 120 years old.  So cool! I can't wait to restore these doors and I will talk about what I did with them in a future blog.   

However, the real story that day, was getting those doors home in one piece! We couldn't get another thing into my car, it was like a scene from the TV show Sanford and Son. I was already coming back tomorrow to fill my car again with the rest of my "Finds" that I had bought.  I only have a Jeep and they definitely weren't fitting inside.  This guy was so nice and helpful.  He said, "Why don't I just tie them to the top of your Jeep." Wendy and I looked at each other, laughed, but both agreed that it was a great idea.  He spent over a half hour tying and securing those doors to the top of my car.  He said, "You are good to go, these doors are tied so secure and are not going anywhere." We thanked him and started on our way home.  It was time.  We had been there for over 4 hours, laughed like there was no tomorrow, had been to over 50 garage sales, and were physically exhausted.    

I dropped Wendy back at 7-Eleven to get her car. We said our goodbyes and I started on my way home.   As I got onto the highway, I picked up my speed;  forgetting about what was on top of my car. Moments later, I heard a snap and looked up through my sunroof to see what you can only imagine. The porch doors that were tied so securely were in an almost vertical position. I didn't know what to do and I was now by myself.  People were honking at me and moving out of my lane.  I felt like "Jaws" where nobody wanted to be in my path of destruction.   I was scared to death and pulled over and tried to secure the doors again.  Never a dull moment for me! 

I ended up driving home going 10 miles an hour and praying the entire way.  It took me over an hour to get home and over two hours to unpack all my finds, but thank god everything was in one piece including me!   I learned a valuable lesson that day and probably will never forget the experience!  

A valuable tip for anyone who goes to Garage Sales or Flea Markets:   Always have rope and bungee cords in your car! And always prepare yourself for the unexpected!  Stay tuned it should be a great week of Fabulous Finds.   I will be displaying some of my "Fun Finds"  this week at the Summit Soiree on Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the in Summit. It is a girls night out event!