Yard Sale Treasure Map App

This Saturday, one of the stops on our yard sale route was an estate sale. The sale was scheduled for 10:00 AM so we hit a few other stops before heading there. As we were pulling up to the house, I told my husband I hoped the line at the estate sale would not be too long. I quickly learned that the yard sale odds were not in my favor on this one. There were so many people waiting to get into this sale, that it looked like the line outside of a concert venue. I was more than a little disappointed when the guy guarding the front door handed me the number "89", and no one had even entered the house yet. As you can imagine, as the 89th person being permitted to enter the home, I had plenty of time to kill while I waited for my turn. What I did to pass the time was strike up conversations with all the other junkers on the lawn. I talked to a bunch of people about a lot of different topics, and during my conversations I discovered something that surprised me. I thought everybody knew the secret to finding all the best yard sales using their smart phone, but I was wrong. Not one of the devoted yard sale shoppers I talked to on Saturday knew about the Yard Sale Treasure Map app, and that got me thinking that there might be a lot more people out there who were still yard saling in the dark ages. If that's the case for you, prepare to have your mind blown.

When I started going to yard sales on Saturday mornings fifteen years ago, the system I used to find nearby sales was complex and labor-intensive. I searched for sales on Craig's List and selected the ones I thought were worthwhile. Then, I planned a route in my head and used Google Maps to construct the route. First, I entered my home address and the address of the first yard sale and printed those directions. Then, that first sale became the departure location in the second set of printed directions and the next yard sale became the destination. This process went on for the better part of Friday evening until I had directions to all the sales I wanted to visit the next morning. It was a true labor of love and clearly illustrated the depth of my devotion to bargain hunting.

The Virginia Slims slogan, "You've come a long way, baby," is the first thing that comes to mind when I think about how much my yard sale mapping experience has changed since those early days. Getting a GPS navigation system for the van many years back was the first major advance in the process. Typing addresses in the GPS was a thousand times easier than the old printout system, but I was still devoting a good part of Friday night to locating the right yard sales on Craig's List and making a list of addresses for the GPS. Then, I got an iPhone a couple years ago, and my world was rocked by one trusty little app.

Shawn Kolodgie may not have any idea who I am, but I am forever indebted to him. Shawn is the creator of the Yard Sale Treasure Map app. This app, available for iPhones and Androids, is designed to help users access local Craig's List garage sales on their mobile device. Users can view local sales in map or list format, view sale details and photos, get directions to the yard sales from their current location, and take advantage of in-app organizational and route planning features. In my opinion, this app is a game changer for yard sale enthusiasts. For me, personally, it revolutionized the way I "do" yard sales on Saturday mornings.

That little blue dot in the photo above represents your current location, and the green pin is your home location. The blue dot travels with you as you move along your route, and the green pin is stationary. You can change the location of the green pin by entering a different zip code into the app when you are looking for yard sales. This is a useful feature if you are home in Philadelphia on a Wednesday, and you want to see what the sale prospects look like at the Jersey shore on Saturday. You just enter the zip code at the shore and violá, you can see the sales that are listed there for Saturday. Each of the red pins is a yard sale listed on Craig's List. When you click a red pin the address of the sale pops up in a tab. When you click the tab, the app takes you to a description of the sale including start time, items for sale, and photos if the yard sale host has posted them.

If you like the contents being offered at a certain sale, you can click the arrow in the blue diamond on the bottom of the screen, and you will be taken to the maps system on your phone. On an iPhone you are taken to Apple maps and Siri takes over at this point giving you turn by turn directions to the yard sale you've selected. This system allows you to plan the most efficient and time saving sale route possible. Yard sale diehards know how important it is to maximize your time when you are trying to squeeze the greatest number of sales in, in a four hour or five window.

The Yard Sale Treasure Map app has only been reviewed 23 times. 20 of those reviews are 5 stars, and that number will be 21 when I get around to adding mine. However, the one user who gave the app a 1 star rating does bring up a good point. In order to access all the necessary features of the Yard Sale Treasure Map app, you do have to pay a $1.99 subscriber's fee. Some people have strong objections to paying for apps on their phone, and if you are one of those people it's not really worth downloading the app at all. What you get for free is not all that useful. It's really that $1.99 fee that unlocks the magic. I'm not going to tell you how to spend your money, but I will say this was the best $1.99 I've ever spent in my life. It helps me find great items like these with ease, and that makes me very happy.

Boonton Melmac Dinnerware

Samsonite Train Case

Cast Iron Ice Wagon 

I'd love to hear from you in the comments below. Do you already use the Yard Sale Mapper app? If so, what do you think about it? Are you going to download the app now that you've read this post? If so, please stop back and let me know what you think about it.

From Yard Sale Hobbyist to Fledgling Small Business Owner

My name is Stacy, and I'm a sixth grade teacher by trade, and a vintage resale enthusiast by choice. When I'm not busy teaching lessons and grading assignments, I am on the hunt for vintage treasures at local thrift shops, estate sales, and yard sales. Here's the story of how my obsession with all things vintage came to be.

Yard sale shoppers know this image all too well.
Good thing my van is a Stow 'N Go model.

Fifteen years ago, I went to my first yard sale with my sister-in-law. She was a seasoned veteran with an impeccable knack for finding incredible bargains, and I wanted in on the game. Saturday mornings became my escape. I left my husband and four kids at home and hit the yard sale circuit in earnest. I shopped for my home, my family, my classroom, and my friends.

If you're in the Philadelphia area and you get the chance,
visit Bargain Thrift Center in Germantown. You won't be disappointed.

I was content in my role as yard sale hobbyist for many years, and then something amazing happened. I ended up working at Bargain Thrift Center, my cousin's thrift store, on Saturdays. One thing lead to another, and before I knew it, I was a listing manager for Vintage Character, her Etsy shop, and we were making the rounds on the local vintage market circuit together. I had found my "thing".

Taking a break from "Antiques Camp" in Michigan and visiting a 4-H Fair.

Fortunately for me, Sue is an accomplished business woman and a virtual fountain of vintage knowledge. I spent several years under her expert tutelage, learning the tricks of the trade. Sue even took me to "Antiques Camp" in Michigan once to help me learn how to determine the value of vintage items.

Taken on move-in day at Capt. Scrap Antiques, Collectibles and More in Woodbine, NJ.

Then, in February of 2017, I got the opportunity to join a vintage resale co-op called Capt. Scrap Antiques, Collectibles, and More near the lake where we vacation. I decided it was time to venture out on my own and give small business ownership a shot, and I am so happy I did. Capt. Scrap's is amazing: six buildings full of the best vintage and antique vendors you'd ever want to meet. I am happy to report the co-op endeavor is working out very well. I love tending my small space and sales are solid. Luckily for me, my biggest challenge is space. I find so many awesome treasures that I don't have enough room to display my entire inventory. Eventually, I realized opening my own Etsy shop would allow me to be able to bring even more of my vintage riches to a much wider audience, and VintageVagabond1967 on Etsy was born in June.

Pyrex Casserole Dishes available in my Etsy shop.

Its been a most enjoyable journey going from a yard sale hobbyist checking items off the wish lists of my family and friends to an independent small business owner offering my vintage wares to a global customer base, and I look forward to building an extensive and amazing shop inventory for both my local and world-wide customers' shopping pleasure.

If you are in the South Jersey area, check out Capt. Scrap's in Woodbine.

Route 90 50 Mile Garage Sale Along Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes Region of New York

This family on the yard sale route was ready for business.

This past weekend I attended my first (hopefully of many) multi-mile yard sales. We camped for the weekend at Oak Orchard Marina and Campground in Savannah, New York near the Montezuma end of the  Route 90 50 Mile Garage Sale Route and turned the trip into a little midsummer getaway. I highly recommend exploring the Finger Lakes region if you are going to hit this mega garage sale which is held the last weekend in July every year and is confirmed for July 28-29 in 2018. It's a beautiful area with lots to offer in addition to miles of yard sale bargains.

Oak Orchard Marina and Campground

Our home for the weekend.

This is what I learned at the Route 90 50 Mile Garage Sale:

1. 50 miles is a lot of yard sales. On Saturday, we started promptly at 8:00 AM and hunted nonstop until 4:00 PM and only covered 25 of the 50 miles on the garage sale route. You can end up walking for blocks at a time when you hit a cluster of sales along the route so wear comfortable shoes. I wore new shoes that I THOUGHT were comfortable when I tried them on and ended up buying a pair of flip-flops along the way because my toes were so sore.

2. This sale runs from Homer, NY to Montezuma, NY along the Route 90 Scenic Byway that hugs the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes Region. Route 90 is a two lane road. You can drive in either direction along the sale route. If we go back next year, I would love to stay near the midway point on the route which happens to be the quaint little town of Aurora (population of 724 according to the 2010 census). That way we could cover 25 miles of the sale route in one direction the first day and 25 miles in the other direction on the second day. However, there are no camping accommodations in, or close to, Aurora so we'd have to stay in a Bed and Breakfast or rent a private vacation rental, and I am committed to getting Wanda, our vintage travel trailer, out as often as I can.

It's a pull over and park when you see a sale kind of system.

3. Plan your picking carefully. There were a lot more sellers out on Saturday at the Montezuma end of the yard sale  route.  We only went out treasure hunting on Saturday, but we had to travel along the garage sale route to get to our Water to Wine vineyard boat tour (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) on Sunday, and we noticed there were not as many sellers out on the second day. I don't have any first-hand knowledge about whether the bargains were better on Day Two, but I suspect they may have been judging from the smaller number of sellers and buyers who were out doing business then.

Our transportation to the wineries on Sunday. 

Such a fun way to get to the wine tastings.

4. You don't need to pack a lunch on garage sale day unless you really want to. There are lots of organizations set up along the sale route with a variety of yummy food offerings at reasonable prices. Between the four of us, we had pierogies, Italian sausage and peppers, hotdogs, and BBQ chicken while we were picking. All of it was delicious and easy to eat on the run.

5. What you won't find too many of along the route is restrooms. We eventually ended up finding facilities at a gas station along the route, but we were several hours into the trek before we happened upon the place. I don't really have a solution for this problem, but it's something you should be aware of heading into the experience.

6. Dress in layers. We were stoked about the forecast for the weekend of our trip because there was no rain predicted and high temperatures were only supposed to reach 77° on Saturday, our shopping day. The forecast turned out to be accurate, and the weather was gorgeous all weekend. However, 77° with no cloud cover along an asphalt road heats things up pretty quickly. Shedding the flannel I threw over my outfit in the morning was an absolute necessity by noon.

"Boy, it's hot out here."

7. If you decide to start at the southern end of the garage sale route, you'll be in Homer which is about 40 minutes from Ithaca. There are more lodging opportunities in this area than there are in Aurora or Montezuma. If I started at this end of the route next time, I would stay at Pine Creek Campground, but there are plenty of hotels and other lodging options here, too.

8. If you want to eat out while you are in the region, there are many delicious options. During the weekend, we ate at Parker's Grille and Tap House , Deerhead Lakeside Restaurant and Bar, and The Farmers Market Buffet at Del Lago Casino. You could try any one of these establishments (I highly recommend all three.), or you can do some internet research and discover a gem of your own.

Deerhead Lakeside Restaurant and Bar. Great food and an awesome view. Ask for a window seat.

9. Don't worry about packing any wine for your trip. There are over 100 wineries in the Finger Lakes Region. You can visit them by boat, van, or Volkswagen Bus. Just make sure you check some of them out while you are there.

Great spot for photos when you get off the boat at The Thirsty Owl winery.

10. Finally, bring a pickup truck or a car with plenty of trunk space because there are tons of great bargains to be had. I found all of these great items, and tons I haven't shelved or listed yet, while I was there. I am so glad I followed through on this trip. My "working vacation" ended up being an enjoyable weekend getaway for me and my traveling companions. The only problem is I have a dilemma now. Do I go back to the Finger Lakes next summer for the Route 90 50 Mile Garage Sale or head south for the 127 Yard Sale? Only time will tell.

Dive Mask

Hors D'Oeuvres Forks

Noisemaker

Fedora