The Junk Buddy Circuit

I started my week off by bagging up a bunch of things that I wanted out of here.  I was on a roll - rearranging, tossing things, clearing out some space and making room for some new projects I have locked up in my noggin.  But, then.  The junk started to flow on Tuesday.  And it continued every single day until Saturday.  Lord a mercy. Now, mind you - I am not complaining.  But this junking thing is hard work.

Tuesday:  I sold a few things on ebay and as luck would have it, I ran out of ink in my printer.  So, I had to go to the library to print out my ebay shipping labels.  It's right across the street from the post office, so it's easy enough to do that anyway.  When I walked in to the vestibule there was a FREE cart.  And, what was on that cart?  Reader's Digest Condensed Books!  The good old ones with the pretty colors.  And there were fifty of them!  50!  I asked at the desk if there was a limit on free books (sometimes there is a limit of five) and they said, "Oh, please!  Those are impossible to get rid of - take as many as you want!"  You can probably guess how many I took. All.of.them.

I cut the covers off the ones that had broken spines, dirty end pages or that weren't that attractive and saved only the prettiest of the books.  I still find it a horrible thing to cut books up, but, I tell you - once you start slicing those covers off.....it's really quite exhilarating.  Like you are being naughty.  :)  

Wednesday Lara and I had an invitation to go to a fellow junkers yard sale a few days before she actually had the sale - first pickings!  Woot!  It was in a storage unit in a town about 45 minutes away.  I went one way and Lara went the other and we met up at the sale.  You guys  - there was so much good stuff and the prices were right.  I bought a big basket full of ephemera, spun heads, wooden heads, millinery flowers and on and on.  An old metal camp stove thingy, some great old tins, a fabulous folding rack and some other things.  I hate to tell you that I have hardly any photos from that load. 

I spotted this old swim cap cardboard advertising topper on the wall and knew immediately who needed it - Magpie Ethel!  I spent a bit more on it that I normally would, but I was sure she would like it.  And she did!  It is enroute to her as we speak.  

 Here's the folding cart I got - all folded up for easy storage.  But......

Open the sides and BOOM! it's a handy dandy shelf.  This will be great for The Junk Ranch or for shows.  I could cute it up with paint, and I might.  But then I just KNOW people will want to buy it.  It's too handy to sell.  

* On an unrelated junking note after the sale and a thrift store stop, I went to the Casino to eat and play a few slots.  I left $320 ahead!  Yay me!  The junk, the buffet and a day of fun for FREE plus money in my pocket.  Why can't every day be like that?

Thursday morning my Dad called to tell me about an old clothing store/beauty salon that was going out of business.  He thought I might be interested in the clothes which were all $1.00.  I decided to make a quick trip there to see what it was like.  You guys, this place was frozen in 1972.  Thick orange shag carpeting.  Big mirrors with peacocks on them.  1960's display cabinets.  Wood paneling. It was amazingly awful.  I went back to the Beauty Salon and it was equally outdated.  The man running the sale told me that it had been there 65 years.  I remember it always being on that corner, so I knew it had been there a long time.  

There were two vintage barber chairs and two fabulous old hair dryer chairs for sale cheap.  I had no way to haul them or store them, but I wish I could have gotten them.  There was a fabulous old display cabinet with glass doors that held all the beauty products - they thought a lady was coming back to buy it (FOR TWENTY DOLLARS) so they were holding it for her.  I gave them my name and number in case she didn't come back.  But she did and it's gone. BOOHOO!

You could dig through all the drawers and the cabinets and pull out whatever you found.  I loved all the old packaging - the farther back you dug, the older stuff was - which is, of course, what I LOVE!  I would have dug out lots more, but there wasn't any place to move things out of the way to see what was really far back in those cabinets.  Plus it was only me shopping and four people watching me shop.  They were super nice and interested to see what I found,. but it was still odd to have four sets of eyes on me and the whole place was mirrored, so I kind of panicked.

I bought an old cigar box full of old make up - it has the prettiest packaging.  I also found the business stamps, receipt book stack of old business cards and a box of greeting cards.  

This sweet Santa's Beauty Salon is my favorite.  It's a pop-up card in the middle, but the front is just the best,  

I bought an old curler cart - I think I can use it for my piddly junk in the booth and price it for sale too.  Vintage packaging, the Thanks! Sign off the door, an old Barbicide Comb Sanitizer (found that in the way back of the bottom cabinet!) and a few other goodies.  I had to really persuade them, but in the end I managed to buy the sign off the store!  After all that persuasion the price was only $2.00.  It will go to The Junk Ranch.  But, I really, really like it.  *sniff*

The worst thing about the Salon was that it positively reeked of smoke.  Like 65 years of continuous smoke embedded in the carpet, the walls...everywhere.  I am super sensitive to smoke and after about an hour of digging, I could barely talk or breathe.  As I was shopping, a lady in there with an equally husky voice dropped down into a chair and said, "Do you mind if I smoke in here?"  Uh, lady.  I think it's a requirement!  Amazingly enough when I got my things home, they didn't smell at all.  

So, Friday was "stay home, don't go junkin' and find homes for all this stuff you drug home all week" day.  I was plugging right along when I got a text from a fellow junker who was coming buy to pick up something I had for her. "Do you have room for a few things from me?" she asked.  Well, sure.  A few things.  

BOOM! (again!)  A truckload of vintage goodness that she no longer wanted from her booth. All for me and all for FREE.  Crazy, right?  I managed to get her to take three of my feedsack necklaces, a set of old bedsprings and an arm full of old rake heads and things like that she can sell in her booth.  I know I got the better end of the deal on that though.  I mean, LOOK AT ALL OF THAT FABULOUSNESS! It took me the better part of the day to go through it all and look at it.  That's not a complaint.  That is FUN!  Two good junking buddies in two days to share their stash with me.  I'm in a good circle of friends now.  (EVEN IF THEY DIDN'T SHARE WITH ME!)

In one box was a waffle maker - very old and very ornate and very black and smelly.  I can only assume it was in a house fire at one time.  Well, I love a good project.  So, I soaked and scrubbed and polished and guess what I found?

BOOM!  (Again)  Shiny silver waffle maker with BAKELITE handles and feed.  I mean, come on!  It's a work of art.  I do have the cord, but I would never ever plug that thing in or advise anyone to do so.  I think it is just lovely on a shelf.  

Two of my favorites from the surprise drop-off.   The little handmade doll in the gingham dress makes my heart sing.  And that little breakfast set (albeit missing a footed saucer and salt shaker hat) is totes adorb.  (Too much?)

Saturday was Family Day and we were to meet up with my Mom and Step Dad at a Kite Festival. We were all getting ready when I got a text from yet another junkin' buddy who said there was a pretty good sale around the corner from me and I might want to check it out.  Well, you don't hve to tell me twice!  Off I went!  

I got a huge vintage suitcase in lovely condition, bags and bags of old letters, papers, and ephemera, some vintage Christmas with spun heads (!), vintage baby clothes and some other great old stuff.  As I was shopping, I realized that a lot of the fixtures and racks in the yard looked familiar.  I asked if they happened to pick all those up on the curb at a house a few blocks over recently.   She said,"Yes! That's my favorite house!  They have all the cool old stuff in their yard and on their porch. I'm always driving by to see if they have anything out at the curb."  "Well, that was my house!" I told her.  After that she even went in the house and found another big bag of old letters and gave them to me.  Man, I really AM in a junking circuit!  

So, now this really MUST be "Stay home, clean house, put this stuff away, price a ton for the booths and make a path in the office" week. There is a 90% chance of flooding rains, so it sounds like a good plan.  As long as I don't get any text messages!  :)