Shopping and junking in the coulee

Hello shoppers! Did you miss me? Detective Frankie D. here at The Star again after taking a break for summertime activities like broiling up some hamburgers and hot dogs and hanging out on Lake Roosevelt. The truth of the matter is, and the matter in this instance is braving the high temperatures to be in the first wave at 8 a.m. yard sale start times, it takes a little bit of effort to get going on Friday or Saturday mornings. But like always the hunt for those bargains waiting to be snapped up and finding the good stuff makes it all worth while.

So now that you’ve waded through that profound lead in, let’s get on to some really important news about recent Coulee Country yard sales and a word or two about junky stuff.

Last weekend, Mary, of Coulee Dam, hosted a two-day sale in her front yard, where ladies purses and DVDs brought in some bucks and were her best sellers. Out near beautiful Rebecca Lake off highway 155 was one of those memorable super sales where brand new clothing, purses and hats were presented a la boutique style with other goodies like cosmetics, jewelry, shoes, home decor, furniture, stuffed animals, toys, some furniture, and men’s clothing in the mix.

This sale was a one-stop shopping paradise, thanks to Brianna’s hard work to put it all out in her front yard. The gal shoppers who made the drive to shop there went home with some choice, best-selling stuff — clothing, jewelry and purses. Did Frankie D. buy any thing at this sale? Yes, Ralph Lauren perfumes for $3 and $5 each. These high-end perfumes were nearly new and such a sweet deal, normally selling at $80 and more for a bottle at Macy’s.

Have you heard the sales pitch — to the walls? Well, that usually means that a sale, similar to a store going out of business, and frequently called an estate sale, can be a huge undertaking where everything displayed in a house, garage and other outbuildings is up for sale. The goal is to have nothing left when the sale is over. If you like shopping at yard sales, you’ll also find some great bargains at estate sales here in the Coulee, where getting there early is a good idea. A recent estate sale in Electric City was swarming with shoppers who took a look at all kinds of household items, some furniture and collectibles. The volunteers helping at that sale were great too.

So let’s wind this up with a quick reference to junky stuff. Is it true that junky stuff is out there in the world of yard and estate sales? Yes. But get this: Junky stuff has turned into something else — not great stuff but cool stuff. So when you shoppers see a sales pitch that claims the stuff is cool, you’re in luck; some of the stuff could be really be what we all want — other people’s rusty junk!