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

[Darienne]

Yep, it is a tad far and we'll be home in the far frozen north by then and as for needing something...the only thing I need right now is time, energy, peace of mind and a new food processor which I'll buy back home...where at least I can return it if it breaks down in the first 30 days.

But many thanks for thinking of me...

Edited October 27, 2010 by Darienne (log)

[Nyleve Baar]

Darienne I found 2 - TWO! - very old Cuisinart processors (the original Robot Coupe model) at the "Cavan K-Mart" (if you know what I mean) less than a month ago. Two separate times! You just never know...

[Darienne]

Darienne I found 2 - TWO! - very old Cuisinart processors (the original Robot Coupe model) at the "Cavan K-Mart" (if you know what I mean) less than a month ago. Two separate times! You just never know...

We have always called it the 'Cavan Mall'. So, did you take them both and now are saving one for me?

[Nyleve Baar]

One went to my son, the other to his girlfriend. Sorry! I just couldn't LEAVE them there, could I?

[andiesenji]

Got this Made in USA enameled cast iron pot for $3.00 last Saturday.

Still trying to figure out the maker. Love the color.

Those side handles are like the ones on my much older cast iron Dutch ovens, made to hold a wire bail.

The handle is quite different - obviously no problem with high oven temps, it is cast iron too.

Made In USA

[AmbrosiaFood]

Nice pot Andie! That bail handle reminds me of my very old Vollrath enameled cast iron pots that have heavy wire bail handles.

Mine are a soft pastel blue enamel with white interior. They are extremely heavy for the size of the pot -- about twice as heavy as you would expect. Do you think your new pot might be a Vollrath?

[andiesenji]

It's possible. It is certainly very heavy. It is heavier than my larger Le Creuset.

[thock]

I've gotten a number of good things over the years from thrift shops, yard/garage sales, and from Freecycle. To name just a few, I got a Kitchen Aid K45 made by Hobart from someone on Freecycle. I spent about $50 on getting it tuned up, and bought a whisk for it. I got a pouring shield, NIB, from a yard sale for it. Don't remember how much that was.

I got a full set of stamped knives with a block for $5 a number of years ago. The chef's knife is pretty long, and I use it more than my Henckels chef, which is a couple of inches shorter than it.

I got a 27" square, one-inch thick slab of granite for $5 a couple of years ago. It currently sits on the kitchen table and is AWESOME for pastry. I also got two marble-topped end tables for the marble before that for $5 for the set. They currently house my indoors-for-the-winter bay laurels and aloes and other succulents, although I originally intended to use them for what I'm using the huge slab for.

I scored a West Bend breadmaker like the one I own for my neighbor from a thrift shop. $3.00 for that.

I've gotten a thick copper bowl (10" diameter), a set of two nesting copper bowls (7" and 8" diameters), and a flat-bottomed copper bowl over the years from thrifts or yard sales, but I don't remember how much I paid for them. Not more than $3 for either the single pieces or the set, I'm sure. I also got a thick copper-I-think stock-pot-shaped pot for $20 at a rummage sale. I have yet to clean it up or figure out what I want to do with it.

I got two dough bowls for $1 each a couple of years ago, and although some idiot painted them, I am working on sanding the paint off so I can use them.

I got 3-4 dozen old Mason jars at a yard sale this year for $5 for the lot. Some have cracks or chips, but will still be good for dry goods storage.

My dad gave me a set of wooden salad bowls and the large bowl that goes with it. I'm not sure what wood they're made out of, but I LOVE them. He also gave me the rice bowls and chopsticks that he got for my grandparents when he was in Japan in the 60's.

My grandparents gave me a bunch of cast iron before they died, including a huge Vollrath skillet, an aebelskiver pan and a chicken fryer that they'd had since my dad was small. They also gave me a bunch of linen calendar towels, which I haven't used, but are so neat, and some china, which sits packed away, at the moment.

We have a store called Cargo Largo, here, that sells salvage. I got a bunch of CrushGrind pepper mills, the type with the glass reservoir and the grinder on top, for $3 each. I gave several away, and kept the rest for salt, pepper, and spices, as well as for insurance, in case any of the ones in use get destroyed. I also got a new Presto pressure canner for less than $40.

I've gotten a number of other things, over the years, including all my linen napkins, tablecloths, and towels, at thrift stores and yard sales, but my all-time favorite find was a British Berkefeld Big Berkey at a Goodwill store, with four 9" filters, for $3.00.

But recently, I got a Pampered Chef apple peeler, corer, slicer from a thrift shop for $5, a Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan that looks like it's never been used for $3.50, and a Catskill Craftsmen pastry board, similarly unused, for $5. I also got a neat little wooden spoon for fifty cents. I've no idea what I'm going to do with it, but it's very smooth, and while the bowl is very thick, it holds a tablespoon.

[Anna N]

I've gotten a number of good things over the years from thrift shops, yard/garage sales, and from Freecycle. To name just a few, I got a Kitchen Aid K45 made by Hobart from someone on Freecycle. I spent about $50 on getting it tuned up, and bought a whisk for it. I got a pouring shield, NIB, from a yard sale for it. Don't remember how much that was.

. . . .

You are my kind of thrift shopper! Great stuff. Thanks for sharing your finds.

[thock]

Today, at a local thrift shop, I found a little bottle with 2 1/2 oz embossed on the neck. It was labeled a "vase." It looks like it might be blown glass. It was fifty cents, so I bought it. I think it's neat. It might come in handy, too.

[Kerry Beal]

A vinturi white wine aerator. Never out of the box. Appears to have CMA engraved in the unit - and amazingly enough I'm a member of the CMA - so I guess it really was made for me. $4.99 at Value Village.

[andiesenji]

Nifty find, Kerry.

I didn't take photos but found an 11 cup Cuisinart at the thrift shop when I was dropping off some bags of clothing (now too large for me, hooray!) and got it for $5.00 and gave it to one of my neighbors whose husband has been deployed to the mid east.

It included all the slicing discs and a plastic "cabinet" to hold them. It didn't look like it had ever been used. The only thing missing was the instruction book so I gave her one of mine and even found the video that came with one of them.

I gave her a brief tutorial and told her to call for help if needed.

It is usually the third weekend in January that the yard and garage sales start here, as long as the weather is decent. We had 5 inches of snow night before last but most of it is gone now here on the valley floor but mountains all around are covered and it is very cold. Nothing like your area but it is for here.

[Kerry Beal]

Nifty find, Kerry.

I didn't take photos but found an 11 cup Cuisinart at the thrift shop when I was dropping off some bags of clothing (now too large for me, hooray!) and got it for $5.00 and gave it to one of my neighbors whose husband has been deployed to the mid east.

It included all the slicing discs and a plastic "cabinet" to hold them. It didn't look like it had ever been used. The only thing missing was the instruction book so I gave her one of mine and even found the video that came with one of them.

I gave her a brief tutorial and told her to call for help if needed.

It is usually the third weekend in January that the yard and garage sales start here, as long as the weather is decent. We had 5 inches of snow night before last but most of it is gone now here on the valley floor but mountains all around are covered and it is very cold. Nothing like your area but it is for here.

Nice one - best I think I ever did on a never used (wedding present in the closet) 11 cup was $35. And no cutting discs!

[sparrowgrass]

Here is what I found at the thrift store before Christmas. The picture does not show the third pan, which is just a bit smaller than the larger one, and also has 2 handles.

They are cast iron, but not as heavy as some. There is not a mark on them to indicate maker or place of origin.

I thought they were a good deal, marked at $3 for the set--I gave them $10, because all the money goes to support one of my favorite causes--low-cost spay/neuter services.

Edited January 4, 2011 by sparrowgrass (log)

[andiesenji]

Very nice find. I often pick up odd enamel cast iron pieces so I can pass them along to friends and family who need one.

[JTravel]

Very nice find. I often pick up odd enamel cast iron pieces so I can pass them along to friends and family who need one.

This is my quest for 2011. Son put a 5 qt.enamel cast iron poton his Christmas list and I told him he'll get it when I find it. I have rarely if ever found a good one. Best I did was that mustard yellow "pate"? thing that I haven't used yet.

[robirdstx]

I visited a local thrift shop yesterday and brought home these three salad plates for $9 (hanger included). I love palm trees but finding out that these plates are selling for about $16 each at replacements.com just about made my day!

[andiesenji]

Those plates are lovely. A great find!

[Darienne]

Good going, Robin. They're lovely.

I went to Kijiji and found a brand new pressure cooker which the seller said had sat on her cupboard for a couple of years. Still in the box, with manual, etc. Know the syndrome only too well. Folks give you stuff you simply cannot work into your life. So the lady has $5, and I have what I want: not a pressure cooker per se, but rather a tall, straight-sided pot heavy pot in which to deep fry stuff. That's what I used my Mother's pressure cooker for.

[Katie Meadow]

Here is what I found at the thrift store before Christmas. The picture does not show the third pan, which is just a bit smaller than the larger one, and also has 2 handles.

They are cast iron, but not as heavy as some. There is not a mark on them to indicate maker or place of origin.

I thought they were a good deal, marked at $3 for the set--I gave them $10, because all the money goes to support one of my favorite causes--low-cost spay/neuter services.

My guess is Denmark. Very nice find.

[robirdstx]

Opinions, please. I saw this today but did not purchase it. There are three drawers and three canisters. I keep thinking about it and what I might store in it.

[AmbrosiaFood]

I love it!

BUY IT!

[DesertTinker]

If you "...keep thinking about it..." you really should get it.

If you don't you'll always regret it. (Remembering a silverplate and pressed glass butter dish I found 25 years ago and didn't get when I saw it, still kicking myself.)

[Pierogi]

Oh Lord, buy it ! I bought something similar about 5 years ago for a housewarming gift at Pier One, and paid almost a king's ransom. It didn't even have the canisters, 'though it did have more little drawers. I'm sure this one is much less pricey than the one I bought. It's just so cool. Even if you don't store anything in it ('though I'm thinkin' spices, salts, sugars, etc.) it just looks great.

[Kouign Aman]

rubberbands, kitchen twine, matches, empty recipe cards...

Every kitchen needs a place for those, and its so nice looking!