Exciting New Finds: Cleaning Out Old Barns

Ok I admit it.... the idea of "cleaning" an old barn sounds gross, looks gross and pretty much is gross. The things I find have an inch of dust or bugs hanging on for dear life or nasty non-mentionable crud that has to be scraped off.....But there are prizes to be had. Recently, on a trip to Madison County, I found at least 2 dumptruck loads of scrap metal (which right now is pretty profitable) plus other iron items that were pretty cool. There was at least a dozen horseshoes, some really cool spiral nails about 12" long, 5 metal milk crates and 3 wooden crates, metalware and two 5-foot chicken feeders. The feeders would look cool attached to the wall over a stove to put light cookbooks, oils, seasonings, etc. in. Another find that is hot right now is metal outdoor chairs and a swing... the metal swings are selling at flea markets for around $300 right now. All the time I am digging through this stuff, the old guy is saying, "Watch out for the spiders... Oh, and we have a rattlesnake that lives in here too....." Yikes. I also salvaged some barn wood that I will probably make benches or frames with. You don't have to spend money for cool stuff; sometimes just getting your hands dirty can be profitable.

Garage Sale Season!

After a long winter (it seems like) and 40 inches of snow (again, an overestimation), we have come to one of my favorite times of the year..... Spring!! And with Spring comes.... Garage Sales!! People are getting the cleaning bug or have a big Tax refund check or even just need to sell some stuff to raise a little money. Whichever it is, they begin to weed out unwanted items and I love to drive around looking for bargains. Because I prefer to deal with Furniture, I mostly look for wood items that can be repaired or painted, some metal or architectural and a few ecclectic knick knacks. My consignors bring in enough little items that I don't really need to shop for those. When we have too many small things, I think it looks crowded and junkie. So today I will get the trusty newspaper and scour through the few listings (still a little early in the year), and map out my path for early tomorrow morning.... hope I find some good stuff!