Yard Sale, Thrift Store, Junk Heap Shopping (Part 1)

[sazji]

My best were not books but:

-Large warming/serving tray, .50;

-Wok, $2; and (ta-DAA!)

-Still-in-the-box "Little Pro" Cuisinart with chute and juicer attachments, never used $15! (Evidently had been a birthday present that was given shortly before a marriage, and one of the gifts was also a Cuisinart, and they didn't need His and Hers...)

[ghostrider]

I have two gorgeous Hall teapots & one McCormick that I found at various street fairs (hoping that they qualify for this topic) over the years. I don't recall the prices but to me they were all bargains. (I got the most recent Hall in a twofer deal along with a no-name heavy brown pot; I offered the lady $10 less than the total of the marked prices for the two & she took it). I use one Hall & the McCormick daily, and keep the other Hall in reserve in case of, heaven forbid, breakage.

[I_call_the_duck]

Oh, I have a love-hate relationship with yard sales. During the summer, we can't go two blocks without stumbling onto one. Our house is bursting at the seams with street finds as it is. And as much as I whine that we don't have the space for anything else, we still trudge stuff home.

Previous yard sale finds:

a clay roaster, hand mixer, two wall clocks, a set of cheese spreaders, candlesticks, and a cast iron grill, all for about $20;

10-cup rice cooker, six glasses, box fan, over-the-sink shelf for free;

a sewing machine for free. Non food-related, but still a great find, because I almost bought one 10 minutes earlier;

mandoline (still in box) for $5;

a Sunbeam waffle iron/griddle (c. 1950) and slow cooker for $20;

a pot rack for free;

two very well-seasoned cast iron skillets left by the previous tenant;

a waffle iron that my friend "forgot" to take home;

and of course, various cookbooks.

The list goes on and on.

I don't have anything particular on my wish list, but I'm sure I'll stumble upon something good...

[Chezkaren]

I just recently found a first edition of Mastering the Art of French Cooking for $7.95. I was giddy for the rest of the day.

[jilli42]

My best find was a large cast iron chicken fryer. It was in excellent condition. It cost me $1. I use it all the time, it makes the best fried chicken.

My grandfather is a great "yardsaler". He is always buying cooking related things for me & my granmother. Recently, I have gotten cookbooks, cake pans, a set of vintage glassware and a curly fry maker. The kids love it !

[zoe b]

this is a topic after my heart--I LOVE to search out stuff--garage sales aren't so great around here, but i have some good thrift shops--and really, almost everything I use in the kitchen is from the thrifts

cast iron pans

a beautiful gigantic Magna Lite roaster that weighs about 50 lbs and looks like Calphalon

all my appliances--I have a fancy Italian coffee maker, a vintage chrome Waring blender, an enameled cast iron Hamilton Beach stand mixer.

a set of Denby stonewAre

Danish modern stainless flatware

all of my French jelly jar kitchen glasses

wine glasses--I break em constantly

funny and ultimately useless gadgets that I can buy for a dollar and try out and re-donate

baskets and plates and tins for gifts--for the same price as the aluminum pans you can put a food gift in something fun and nice

many, many cookbooks--and i agree with the Microwave Gourmet positive assessments--the risotto and the green beans are both wonderful, also the polenta is great.

Zoe

[Terrasanct]

The yard sales in my town are very good; this past weekend I found a few more things--a Calphalon One 7 quart sauteuse pan, huge and wide, for two bucks; it's going to my daughter. A cast iron chicken fryer, which I didn't know what it was until I looked it up. I have a nice set of cast iron, all bought very cheaply from yard sales and re-seasoned. Within the past few weeks I've also found a flame Descoware pot that matches my Le Crueset, a 3-piece oval cake pan set, and several really nice Pyrex pieces. I also bought my daughter a set of vintage Fiestaware for $20 for her birthday. I had to clean out my cupboards to find room for all the new stuff! I'll probably end up giving most of it away to my kids.

I don't remember if I posted about it before, but I also found a Bosch mixer for a few bucks and it works great.

[gia]

My only real "find" was at a thrift shop, where I found Julia Child's The Way to Cook for $8.

Edited June 6, 2006 by gia (log)

[Rebecca263]

My latest deal, a 1960's Heller plastic tray, designed by Vignelli, 50 cents.

[racheld]

a beautiful gigantic Magna Lite roaster that weighs about 50 lbs and looks like Calphalon

all of my French jelly jar kitchen glasses

Amen to both, Sister!! My first ML was a birthday gift from my parents---I saw my Mom's set, admired and coveted, and mentioned how much I'd like the big one. I DID NOT KNOW until after the birthday that the thing had cost nearly a hundred DOLLARS!! I was SO embarrassed. I still have it, MANY years later, and have now acquired two smaller ones, for a grand total of fifteen dollars at a yard sale, though it took DAYS to get the wide tape off, as they were all banded together in a bondage worthy of mummy status. Might one ask what YOU paid for your big one?---I love a bargain.

And we have a great cabinet full of the jelly jars--both sizes...I love the mouthfeel of the lip and the hot/cold capacity of them. The clink of Summer ice rattling in a glass of lemony tea

Yesterday's find at a distant Goodwill as we traveled was sixteen gorgeous jewel-toned dessert plates---eight ruby, four ambery gold, four sapphire. They were stacked in sets of four, with $1.99 stickers, but the color was half-price this week, so I got all sixteen for FOUR dollars!! What a find! I'm having a lawn tea for my DEAR neighbor's eightieth birthday in a couple of weeks, so they will be perfect on the dessert table. Also found a beautiful white satiny damask cloth for one of those horrid "banquet" folding tables I plan to use for the savories...will disguise it nicely and add to the pretty of the day.

More anon, I'm sure...'tis the season.

edited for a missing "a" in front of "non"---a logical slip of the keys, for my High School best friend is a master seamstress, and in our daily e-correspondence, I sign all my posts: moire non

Edited June 7, 2006 by racheld (log)

[Toasted]

This hasn't been a great tag sale season because of the rain. I'm very jealous of all of your great finds, although happy for you, of course! My latest find was at the goodwill, three small fish shaped serving dishes. I think they're be fun for outside this summer.

[Anna N]

Not much this year so far but I fell in love with this

Don't need it, don't have room to store it, but couldn't resist it.

[racheld]

It's a MOWWWWW-ESSSS!!!! I couldn't have resisted either! Does it have a water-track?

[Kouign Aman]

Someone is about to buy a '70s vintage hand-thrown vegetable steamer, 'cause I'm about to put one in the charity-shop box. I suppose that should be on the gadgets you dont get rid of thread.

[Anna N]

It's a MOWWWWW-ESSSS!!!!    I couldn't have resisted either!    Does it have a water-track?

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I'll admit it - I have no idea what a water-track is!

[racheld]

It's a little groove in the plate that you can pour a little cold water into---from all those days of fending off ants in the kitchen. They can't get past the moat. Also reputed to keep butter fresher.

[Anna N]

It's a little groove in the plate that you can pour a little cold water into---from all those days of fending off ants in the kitchen.  They can't get past the moat.  Also reputed to keep butter fresher.

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Maybe... I am not sure but here's a photo of the plate. I guess you could put a little water in there.

I have been storing small tomatoes in it and leaving it on my breakfast bar and they keep amazingly well.

[andiesenji]

It is a cheese and butter keeper and indeed yes, the groove is supposed to be filled with water to which you add a couple of drops of white vinegar. As the water evaporates, it will cool the entire plate which will, in turn, cool the cover.

It is a very attractive (and unique) piece of pottery. Does it have a mark like a beehive on the bottom?

[Anna N]

It is a cheese and butter keeper and indeed yes, the groove is supposed to be filled with water to which you add a couple of drops of white vinegar.  As the water evaporates, it will cool the entire plate which will, in turn, cool the cover. 

It is a very attractive (and unique) piece of pottery.  Does it have a mark like a beehive on the bottom?

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Wow! It will be great if I can use it as a butter dish.

The only thing on the bottom that I can see and it's very faint is "Lorraine" in beautiful script and the date "1981". This appears to have been written in the wet clay with some sort of stylus.

[christine007]

Anna that IS cute!

It reminds me of the ceramic dish I have for homemade baked beans, the handle on top of it is a piggy!

Today's garage sale day here, I'm gearing up. Looking for some nice fry pans.

I scored a microwave a few weeks ago (mine died) for twenty bucks.

[Anna N]

Anna that  IS cute!

It reminds me of the ceramic dish I have for homemade baked beans, the handle on top of it is a piggy!

Today's garage sale day here, I'm gearing up. Looking for some nice fry pans.

I scored a microwave a few weeks ago (mine died) for twenty bucks.

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Good vibes go with you! I've seen some very nice fry pans at sales but have sufficient in my cupboards to cook for a small army.

[andiesenji]

It is a cheese and butter keeper and indeed yes, the groove is supposed to be filled with water to which you add a couple of drops of white vinegar.  As the water evaporates, it will cool the entire plate which will, in turn, cool the cover. 

It is a very attractive (and unique) piece of pottery.  Does it have a mark like a beehive on the bottom?

←

Wow! It will be great if I can use it as a butter dish.

The only thing on the bottom that I can see and it's very faint is "Lorraine" in beautiful script and the date "1981". This appears to have been written in the wet clay with some sort of stylus.

←

I would advise you to do one thing to "treat" it, prior to use. Give it a soak in enough water to cover them (I would put them in separate plastic bowls or containers) and add a bit of bleach to the water, about an ounce for a gallon of water.

Allow to soak for about an hour.

Then rinse well and again soak it for 30 minutes in clear water then repeat.

This will make sure that any mold spores that might have been introduced in years past will not be able to transfer to anything you place in it.

I have successfully used this method with crocks (some huge) that are over 100 years old.

I have several Bauer crocks, from when the company was still in Paducah, KY, long before they moved to Los Angeles and became famous for their colorful "Ringware" tableware and bowls which are so sought by collectors. Bauer jugs and crocks rarely come onto the market - in fact, most pickers and dealers I know buy them and keep them for themselves.

I have a big old butter crock that holds a gallon of butter. Not much use today, but I use it for "raising" cream in non-homogenized milk after I have pasteurized it.

I know that many people are afraid to use bleach - however I long ago had several discussions with the expert in the local Farm Bureau office who has every publication imaginable about treating anything that comes in contact with food. Even though some pottery and similar materials are fired and glazed, they still have "pores" in the surface in which mold spores in particular can hide and they can survive for years until conditions that are optimal for growth occur.

You can test the porosity of a piece of crockery by immersing it in clear water. After a couple of minutes you will see trails of tiny bubbles streaming to the surface and this indicates the pores where the water is displacing the air.

[Kouign Aman]

Interesting and helpful.

Why are people afraid to use bleach?

It breaks down to salt and water fairly quickly, plus its easy to rinse off.

Lovely effective stuff too. (Ok, its tough on clothes when it splashes).

[JanMcBaker]

I've had good luck with a local thrift store-- stuff I bought and stuff I let get away for some crazy reason! Stuff that I got includes a Maganlite Dutch oven for about $7, and 3-4 knives for about $7 total--- a Wusthoff serrated knife, an F. Dick butcher's knife, and a Wester Brothers knife. The one I let get away was about $300-400 retail worth of Le Creuset pieces that I could have gotten for about $80 total, but I figured my sister would have killed me if I brought more kitchen ware home. So all I bought was an oval casserole for $7. It's a couple years later and I'm still kicking myself over not getting the rest.

[zoe b]

Rachel said

Amen to both, Sister!!  My first ML was a birthday gift from my parents---I saw my Mom's set, admired and coveted, and mentioned how much I'd like the big one.  I DID NOT KNOW until after the birthday that the thing had cost nearly a hundred DOLLARS!!  I was SO embarrassed.  I still have it, MANY years later, and have now acquired two smaller ones, for a grand total of fifteen dollars at a yard sale, though it took DAYS to get the wide tape off, as they were all banded together in a bondage worthy of mummy status.  Might one ask what YOU paid for your big one?---I love a bargain.

DOUBLE AMEN, SISTER--it's great to find soul mates here

I think it was $8--and I just heard from a thrifting list I'm on that Magna-Lite is going out of biz--so we must rescue and cherish M-L when we can

And we have a great cabinet full of the jelly jars--both sizes...I love the mouthfeel of the lip and the hot/cold capacity of them.  The clink of Summer ice rattling in a glass of lemony tea  

my preferred tipple of iced tea has mint in it, but otherwise--I so agree!

Yesterday's find at a distant Goodwill as we traveled was sixteen gorgeous jewel-toned dessert plates---eight ruby, four ambery gold, four sapphire. 

They sound fab--why is it that glass dessert plaes are so lovely? I wouldn't like them for the main course, but they are charming for dessert.

I'm curious--when you say "we" does that mean there's a significant other of the opposite sex involved in your thrifting? If so, I will die of jealousy right this minute.

Zoe