St. Paul's Rummage Sale in Chestnut Hill

If you have read this blog from the beginning (it has been a whole month now), you will know that the idea for me to do this started because I was always having people tell me I should start a blog to talk about bargain ideas.    That seemed like something everyone else has pretty much covered, but I did start this because my oldest son was going away for college, and I wanted to have a way for him to keep up with what is going on at home.

Well, this is one of those bargain idea/saving money posts (and I will be getting to my Target clearance shopping posts soon now that the Halloween/Christmas seasons are only a few months away).

Last night, my friend, Sheila, and I went to the St. Paul's Rummage Sale in Chestnut Hill.   I have been telling Sheila about this particular sale for several years, and she would never come.   Every year, she would say, I will go with you next year.   After 6 years, I almost gave up, but last night, I decided that I wanted to go, and I wanted to go with her!

The St. Paul's Rummage sale is one of my two favorite rummage sales each year (I am really down to only 3-4 a year now).   This one is always the first Saturday after Labor Day, but they hold a special preview night on the Friday night before where you pay $10, and you get in early to the sale.  There was a time when that would have seemed like not a good deal, but now that I have done this Preview night for the last 6-7 years, I realize what a bargain it is.

First, the folks at St. Paul's are amazing.  They make it a party.   There is a smorgasbord of appetizers, desserts, and unlimited wine and other drinks.   You could definitely go and eat yourself silly, and then go outside, have a few drinks, and go in for the shopping.    Second, for those of you familiar with this section of Philadelphia, you can get some amazing upscale items for a great price!   They even have a room that they call "The French Room" where they keep all the best women's designer clothes---Vineyard Vines, Lilly Pulitzer, Vera Bradley, just to name a few.    Plus, just having the first shot of everything is worth the $10 admission.   Back in the day when I was going to rummage/garage sales every Saturday morning, I would not have wanted to waste a morning going to one rummage sale,  so a Friday night preview night was appealing to me.

I have tried, in the last several years, to limit my buying, to only those things I really need.   I got a few lovely children's books for Lily, and a few XBOX  360 games for my boys--I can't stand the idea of them playing the video games, but these games were $2-3 each, not the $30-50 it costs in the store.  got a fluted glass Pyrex  pie pan for $2--not an amazing deal, but I needed one, and I saved a few dollars.   I also picked up a really nice Caphalon pot for $5.   It was in great shape.   Finally, I got some nice steak knives--we are down to one steak knife, with a broken top.   Pathetic.    So we needed those steak knives--a total of 8 for $4.

 I was really happy, though, for Sheila, who doesn't go to rummage sales as much as me, because she really had a great time, and got some amazing deals.   First, she got a Toro leaf blower for  $10.    It looked like it was in great shape.  New, it would have cost $60-90.    Great deal.   She also got an amazing HUGE stock pot for $4.   It would have cost $50-75 new, and it was beautiful.   She got a nice variety of other kitchen items, and a few clothes items for her son and a new skirt for her (which is going to look great on her).   I was so happy that she got such great deals, and we came back to my house and talked about the sale for longer than we actually attended it!!

I forgot to take photos--next year, I promise!   I keep on forgetting to take photos.  I have to start thinking like a blogger.