My Best Estate Sale Finds for only $12.25!
Recently, I spent a Saturday morning going to estate sales with my mother-in-law and my husband in Knoxville, Tennessee. I give myself a pretty tight budget when it comes to yard sales and estate sales, and, honestly, what I found this weekend was pretty amazing! Vintage fabric, sewing notions, and even a lamp from the 70’s – all of this for just $12.25! Let’s dive in and see how we did!
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My Best Estate Sale Finds
Here’s what $12.25 bought at several Knoxville estate sales.
Sewing Notions & Fabric
At one estate sale, there was a plastic Walmart bag of thread and sewing supplies in the garage. There was no price, so of course I had to ask. She came back with a number – $5.00 for the bag. But the fun part is that since it was Saturday, this estate sale had everything marked 25% off. So I was able to get nearly 40 spools of thread plus vintage sewing notions for only $3.25. Even buying one new spool of thread today would have cost many times more than that number.
Then at the next estate sale my mother-in-law saw a large glass jar that was made in Italy for only $2.00. That was the perfect storage container for my spools of thread.
One of my favorite finds of the day was three large pieces of vintage fabric for only $2.50.
The fabric is easily large enough to use for the back of a quilt. From what I can research, I think this fabric is probably from the 1950’s. Talk about an amazing find! Buying vintage fabric by the yard can easily cost $10–20 per yard online, making this one of the best bargains of the day.
At another estate sale, there was a big basket of scrap fabric. The sign advertised them for 4 for $1.00. I dug through the basket and found several pieces where the former owner had been starting a quilt project but never made it past the early piecing stage. There was no way I was passing these up for that price. I don’t know what they will be repurposed for, but the fabric is beautiful, and they’re going to be fun to work with.
Another sale had this small child’s pillow with a hand-stitched doll. I have a doll quilt that my Grandma gave me years ago, so this pattern is just special. I couldn’t pass this up, although I’m not really sure what it will be used for. There was no price, so I offered fifty cents, and the lady said sure. Isn’t this the sweetest thing!
Vintage green working lamp
We’re being pretty particular about what we decorate our home with, but when my husband dug this out of the bottom shelf at one of the estate sales, this was a no-brainer. We didn’t know if it would work, but for $3.00, we had to take a chance.
We brought it home, wiped off the dust, screwed in the light bulb, and carefully plugged it in. It was missing a piece to hold the lampshade in place, but the first step was checking to see if it would work safely.
Imagine our excitement when it turned on with no problem. My husband picked up a globe from the store, set it in place, and now we have a functional, unique lamp for our living room!
Total Cost
| 1970’s lamp | $3.00 |
| Italian large glass storage jar | $2.00 |
| Vintage fabric | $2.50 |
| Thread and Sewing Notions | $3.25 |
| Doll pillow | .50 |
| Random quilt starter pieces | $1.00 |
| TOTAL COST for these items: | $12.25 |
Estate Sale FAQ
Are all estate sales the same?
Not at all. We’ve visited estate sales in small rural towns and larger cities, and every one is a little different. Some are professionally managed, while others are run by family members. Go with an open mind because you never know what you’ll find.
When is the best day to shop an estate sale?
If you’re looking for the biggest selection, go on the first day. If you’re hoping for the best bargains, the second or third day often brings discounts of 25% to 50% off marked prices. We shopped on Saturday, and many of the Knoxville estate sales were already offering 50% off.
Are estate sales expensive?
Not necessarily. Even in neighborhoods with large, beautiful homes, we found prices that were very reasonable. Once the discounts were applied, many of our favorite sewing finds cost just a few dollars.
Have you visited any estate sales recently? Got any fun treasures you’ve found? I’d love to hear!
