Mom Lines Up 40 Minutes Early At A Phoenix Estate Sale, Walks Out With A $60 Oil Painting And Vintage Storybooks, Then Admits Estate Sales Stress Her Out

Susan Parker

2 hours ago

It is 7:30 in the morning, and a mom who says she is “usually not awake at this time” is already in the car with a homemade coffee. Her toddler does not wake up until about 9:00 and, as she puts it, he is her alarm clock. Today she is up early for one reason: an estate sale.

@emiliekiser says she has not been to an estate sale in a very long time. She took her followers along, and she came home with a $60 oil painting, a stack of vintage storybooks and a pair of curtains she says scream her name.

@emiliekiser

She Left Early Because There Is “Usually Always A Line”

Her plan was to be about 45 minutes early, because there usually is a line at these sales. The drive is about 42 minutes, but she says she has a condition where she thinks everything is a 30 minute drive, so she always leaves herself a 30 minute buffer.

She credits a cup holder expander for making the morning easier. It lets her fit her wet jars in the car, and she says it does not move at all.

Somewhere along the way she also hears about the “zipper method,” a reminder that merging on the road is something not everyone has mastered.

The Cutest Neighborhood In Phoenix, And Still She Was Nervous

The sale was in the historic district of Phoenix, which she calls the cutest neighborhood. She arrived roughly 40 minutes early, and she was still nervous there would be a whole line.

A friend named Maddie showed up, which meant she could step out of line for a moment and run back to the car for a bag. She laughs that she is “apparently still an amateur at these things.”

“So Much Good Kitchen Stuff” And Then A $300 Toy Box

Inside, the house was packed. She spotted kitchen goods first, then art and furniture. “There’s so much to look at,” she says. “I’m, like, overwhelmed.”

She also notes a toy box she thought was adorable. Its price was $300. “Wow,” she says.

When she walked out, she says there were still a lot of people waiting in line. Checkout was so crowded that she was ready for a breather.

A Vintage Book Series That She Decided To Buy All Four Of

Back at home she showed off the haul, starting with the books. “When I saw them, I was like, I have to have these,” she says. She thinks they would look beautiful in a kids’ playroom or a potential nursery.

One is a fairy tale book called Through the Fairy Halls. The others are from a series she calls My Bookhouse, which she had never heard of. They came as a set, volumes one, two, three and four, so she says she felt she had to buy all of them.

She loves the illustrations and the gold on the covers. “They just don’t do books like this anymore,” she says. Even if they never go in a kids’ area, she says, the colors alone make them gorgeous.

The Curtains She Will “Redesign A Room” Around

Next up was the star of the show: a pair of curtains with big tassels. She says she loves home tassels, and the bigger the better.

She has no spot picked out for them yet, and no promise they will suit her house. She says she will make them work somewhere, even if she has to redesign a room around them.

A $60 Oil Painting In A Gorgeous Frame

Her best tip of the day is about art. She says oil paintings are a great score at estate sales because they are usually priced pretty well. The one she bought cost $60, and she says it comes in a gorgeous frame.

She points out that oil paintings are usually one of a kind, which she finds special. She has already picked out the piece on her living room bookshelves that it will replace.

She also grabbed what she describes as an old Crate and Barrel bowl, which she thinks could be a salad bowl or a fruit bowl.

Why Estate Sales Still Stress Her Out

For all the great finds, she is honest. She says she gets very overwhelmed at these sales, and her anxiety kicks in. She calls them “hit or miss.”

She says she loves to lollygag, taking her time and walking around, which is why she enjoys antique stores more. Estate sales, she says, kind of stress her out. Still, the day may have given her “groove back a little bit” to go to more.

How To Shop An Estate Sale Without The Stress

Her morning offers a few easy lessons for first timers.

Plan to arrive early. She says there is usually a line, and she planned to be there about 45 minutes before the doors opened.
Pad your drive time. She always adds a 30 minute buffer.
Bring your own bag. She went back to her car for one.
Look at the art. She says oil paintings are often priced well, and an original in a good frame is a one of a kind piece.
Buy matched sets when you love them. Her four book series looks better together.
Set your price limit before you go. A $300 toy box can be tempting, so decide what you will spend.

Not every sale will be a winner, and a crowd can be a lot. But a $60 painting and a stack of storybooks made this one worth the early alarm.