This is me with my very first yard sale purchase! It was during my second year of teaching when a colleague, who was a yard sale fanatic, convinced me to go “yard salin’” with her. I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the notion of getting up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday, but I agreed nonetheless. (I’ll get to the hammer purchase in a minute. And just in case you’re wondering, it was for home use!) It was a morning I’ll always remember. I was a yard sale novice and I had no idea what I was in for. I remember clutching the armrest as my friend zipped and zagged through neighborhoods at lightning speeds. This woman was serious, and she had a plan. Stop one was at the corner of Oak Street and Hunter Place. Stop two was in the 500 block of First Avenue. And so we went. My head was spinning so fast I could barely focus on the merchandise. The morning ended at 9:00 a.m. sharp. She had a car full of classroom treasures; I had a hammer. (I was recently divorced. I’m not sure whether I bought the hammer because I wanted to hang pictures in my tiny apartment or wanted to knock some sense into a certain someone.) I still use the hammer today, in safe and productive ways. More importantly, this memorable adventure opened my eyes to a unique source of inexpensive classroom treasures!

Happy shopping (and please drive carefully)!
Diane

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