Yard sale, garbage fall fashion + more

Posted on by garbagefinds

My yard sale tomorrow will feature lots of clothes, many of which came from these two large bags I found in front of a house in St Michel. (I found a lot of other neat stuff there, but that’ll have to wait for another post).

Clothes aren’t at all my expertise, and I used to pass them by more often than not. However, in the last year or so I’ve been taking clothes more often, especially when a) the people who owned them were rich, b) I can be 100% sure there aren’t any bugs, and c) they seem clean and of decent quality at first glance.

I still don’t particularly like selling clothes – I have way too much junk to deal with already at my sales. However, I figured out a deal with my friend Sarah where she gets a sizable commission and I don’t have to deal with them. I like to think it’s a win/win situation, and she understands the clothing market better than I do anyways.

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Note that many of the next photos were taken with the aid of two mannequins I found downtown on St-Catherine. They weren’t really the right shape for the job (shoulders were too broad for one) but they were better than nothing. I mention this because the clothes will look better on real people than they do on the mannequins.

I found a lot of fall fashions in those bags, and thankfully the timing is right to sell them. This coat was one of my personal favourites. It’s vintage, 100% virgin wool, and I didn’t see a single stain on it.

These pieces were both made by a “Steve Man” company based in Montreal. The brand name was kind of unusual, so I looked it up and found the trademark claim, which was only active for a short period in the late 70s and early 80s.

Here’s a loud but cool blouse…

… a simple vintage t-shirt;

… a nice pink dress;

… another loud blouse;

… a nice old sweater (I actually found this one elsewhere);

… another sweater;

… and some other neat outfits.

That spot also provided several nice furs. Here, my friend Sarah models a fur collar…

… and a hat with another fur collar. These were all in very nice condition – I don’t often find furs in such good shape.

Here’s a little stop motion video we made featuring the clothes. Unfortunately it accidentally got saved at the lowest possible quality (garbage quality?), so it’s not as nice as it could have been. Still, it’s pretty fun!

As you can see there was a lot more that could have been showcased here, especially in the fall fashions category, but we both ran out of time and energy. You can see them if you come to the sale however, which will be tomorrow from around 11-5pm (maybe a bit earlier and later as well) on Mentana near the corner of St Gregoire. It’s right by Laurier park and metro station, so it’s fairly convenient to get there.

I’ve also been collecting lots of sewing and crafting material, so the sale will be of particular interest if you’re into fabrics, ribbon, lace, buttons, costume making, and so on. My friend is also helping me organize this section.

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We did a little prep work yesterday, and here’s just a (very small) sample of what we have in stock!

Otherwise, here’s some other stuff I saved last week. You may remember the roto-toms from a recent post – that same spot provided the roto-tom stand, and a bunch of other stands this time around. Maybe you can help me price this stuff… I think 10$ each for the stands is a good yard sale price (they’re in good but not perfect condition), but how much should I ask for that set of chimes and the roto-toms?

I also found a large collection of buttons, all of which seem to be from the early 80s to early 90s. There’s nothing particularly exciting here, but a few will definitely sell.

This stuff was in the bottom of their rolling trash bin. Unfortunately for me, the trash bin also contained a bag full of baby diapers, and I think these items spent a few days during the recent heat wave basking in their noxious odors. I don’t think any baby poop actually leaked out onto these, but they smell kinda gross even after being washed with soap and water. I’m hoping that exposure to fresh air fixes the issue, if not I’ll try baking soda or something. If you have any tips, let me know!

This might be a prime example of why a strong stomach is necessary if you want to get into extreme trash-picking; I wasn’t about to let a phantom smell keep me from taking that Land Camera. It’s not actually very often that I take items that are gross for whatever reason. However, it’s inevitable that you get your hands dirty somehow, either by opening a food waste bag, or encountering baby diapers / kitty litter.

Elsewhere, I found a nice mid-century chair on a nearby heavy garbage day. It’s labelled as being a Singer, though I found no record of Singer making these kind of chairs online. The wood is in good condition but could use some refinishing, while the vinyl is actually in pretty good condition. What do you think it’s worth?

I found an irrigator / douche can in NDG. It came with its original box. I had never seen the term “douche can” previously, and now I know what those other enamel hospital things I found were.

This box of dishes was also kind of gross, particularly the bag of stinky food waste that sat next to it. However, I took the vintage mugs home and cleaned them up. The short mugs with the blue trim are nice, and labeled American Airlines on the bottom.

I also found a nice late 50s / early 60s McGraw-Edison “Eskimo” table fan in Outremont. It also came in its original box. It’s a beautiful fan, but it’s not the type you want to have around small children or pets.

Anyways, I hope to see you at the sale tomorrow! My friend and I also have lots of furniture if you need any. Check my Kijiji ads below to see a partial list of what’s available, and keep in mind that if you come to the sale I’ll give you a better deal than what’s listed there.

Relevant links

1. Facebook page
2. My eBay listings
3. Etsy store
4. Kijiji listings
5. Contribute to garbagefinds.com
6. Follow me on Instagram

Email: thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com. I often fall behind on emails, so I apologize in advance if it takes me a while to get back to you.

20 thoughts on “Yard sale, garbage fall fashion + more”

  2. Those furs are crazy! I have no idea why anyone would throw out high quality furs (especially since an animal had to die for it). Great find with those mannequins! They’re awfully pricey to find new and it’s awesome to see them fo’ free in the trash. 😉

  3. Some nice duds there! I particularly like the virgin wool coat, and the vest in the next pic.

    I grew up with sweet-looking fans like that, and we had many, many cats … and none of us got our fingers or paws sawed off. They sure threw a nice wind. 🙂

    I’m thinking your business would make a great comedy series … with jokes about douche cans, etc. 😀

  6. If the last two outfits are xs or sm, or should you find quality , groovy clothing , please let me have first dibs

    An email from you is a happy occurrence..keep up the great work.

    Thanks for including your email at the end.

    later gator
    DM

  8. I’m so into everything that you do! For the diapers (if they’re cloth) are actually very valuable, like $15 per diaper. Wash in a vinegar solution and hang to dry in the sun. The UV rays will “clean” them for you!

  9. You haven’t smelled “noxious” odors until you’ve opened a bag of dog urine-soaked pee pads! It will literally knock you flat!

  10. I love the chair and that pink dress is actually something I would wear. And I would kill to ever find a mannequin.

  11. Great post! Each photo was more interesting than the last. LOL on the fan and small children. Wish I lived closer so I could come and shop your sale. I always find myself shaking my head that people toss this stuff away. Don’t you guys have Thrift Stores up there? Is this a Canadian thing to throw stuff away? Just kidding. I am sure Americans are even worse. I just can’t believe people toss usable items. And Vintage! So wasteful. Thanks for saving it all.

  12. If those items don’t get “de-smelled” in the sun, try putting them in a closed rubbermaid bin with a bunch of crumpled newspaper around them for about a week. And “douche can” is going to become my new go to insult 😛

    1. Lol. The smell did pass over time and after some soap and water treatment. A couple of them sold at my yard sale.

  13. What you do is terrific! Thank you for the video, too! I love reading your posts AND reading everyone’s replies. You have created a very interesting (and often very funny) community of readers. Your work is thought-provoking and inspiring. Ps: Did we get a brief glimpse of you in the video?

  14. I love your blog and I love hanging on to good stuff.Why do we not praise beautiful clutter and collections?Read this article from http://christinawaters.com

    In Praise of Clutter!

    by Christina Waters | Nov 8, 2016 | Home | 6 comments
    In Praise of Clutter!

    In our zeal to clean up, throw away, and streamline we are in danger of losing touch with important moments and aspects of our lives. Before you toss out that old theater program or cluster of dried leaves, step back, take a deep breath, and consider this:

    • Clutter preserves our Identity. Strip a room utterly of your familiar toys, tchotchkas, plants, post-its, notepads, and little nameless souvenirs, and you’ve stripped it bare of your unique personality. Clutter places you in the here and now, in the center of your life and your work. Things we keep around us are part of us. Even the scraps of paper, the little handwritten notes and doodles. These can contain special memories that love to be looked at and touched.

    • Clutter stimulates creativity! Ideas hide inside of clutter waiting to be released. Keeping pet objects around us is the sign of a playful imagination. Let’s face it — a clutter-free room is a room stripped of creative potential.

    • Clutter is fun for the eyes. They crave unusual shapes, colors and textures. Making sure your immediate environment is filled with visual “news” creates exercise for the eyes, and that means the brain too!

    • Clutter is like a mini city, filled with cultural richness and stimulation. Or like fine wines, assembled “stuff” suggests subtle and eclectic associations. These in turn lead to labyrinths loaded with potential discoveries, solutions, and just plain delight.

    • Clutter suggests alternative ways of doing things. Your eye snags on a bit of napkin from a cafe in San Francisco and you remember the decor and how you can translate that into your own home. A stray business card suddenly suggests a way of laying out your newsletter. Random juxtapositions of paper and pen, tissues and succulents can contain an internal logic waiting to be understood.

    • Clutter organizes and articulates space. The things we keep around us serve to punctuate our work space, giveing it multi-dimensional, multi-layered meaning. It makes the space in which we live and work more vivid, more specific. A bare workspace has all the ambience of solitary confinement.

    • Clutter kickstarts conversation. Our unique collections of this and that create opportunities for our guests to respond, “Where did that little glass globe come from?” or, “I used to have one of those. Why did I get rid of it?” The objects that make our lives ours can open portals of unexpected pleasure and discovery for everyone around us. Yes, clutter can even be inspiring.

  15. in terms of baby fumes or cat or dog fumes, lysol & sunshine! in my experience, it even works with futons! 😉

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