My Latest Rummage Sale Find

I don’t want to hurt my brain thinking about it too hard, but I’m fairly certain my ‘latest’ rummage sale find is actually my ‘only’ rummage sale find.

But let’s not get bogged down in the details.

My children’s school holds a rummage sale before Christmas each year. Parents donate the crud they can’t wait to get rid of slightly used toys and knick-knacks and then give their kids money to buy it all back.

It’s the best idea ever a great fundraiser for the school.

I have volunteered to staff the rummage sale the past two years because I want to make sure my kids don’t buy their own stuff back it’s a great way to be involved and demonstrate my support for the school.

98.3% of the items at this year’s rummage sale were toys. The remaining items were candles and other knick-knacks the kids could buy to give as a gift to their parents.

It’s really sweet to see the kids thinking about someone other than themselves. Truly. It melts your heart.

And I’m sure there’s a mom out there that LOVES getting a bath bomb that some other mom didn’t want to use. Probably.

Most of the rummage sale items were priced around €1, but there were some pretty tough 4-year-old negotiators in the crowd. I ended up giving them an even better deal. I’m a sucker for a cute face!

When it was time for my son’s class to shop, I steered my kid toward the one thing that no one else wanted.

Even he was skeptical.

Him: “You want THIS?”

Me: “YES!!!!”

Him: “Mom. There’s a candle and a bath thingie. Moms love those.”

Me: “Trust me, buddy. That bath thingie is NOT better than this gem.”

Him: Still looking at me skeptically like he’s become a mom expert in his 7 years on this planet. 

Me: “You can get it for me for Christmas and I will be SO happy!”

Him: “Really?”

Me: Don’t make me buy this myself with the money I gave you. “Really.”

He carefully wrapped this pocket change dish up for me in computer paper that he decorated at school. It had approximately 1,007 layers of tape around it, which would really help build the anticipation as I tried to open it on Christmas morning.

The dish was tarnished and dirty. The only thing I did was clean it.

I’m not ready to try and restore it to its original luster.

I like that it’s seen some life.

I suppose I feel like we are kindred spirits in that way. Ha!

I’ve tried to imagine where this pocket change dish has been.

How much pocket change has it held over the years?

How many school rummage sales has it seen?

I don’t know the answers to any of these questions.

I’m just happy I volunteered at school that day!

P.S. Those vintage keys were the real keys for my backdoor. Read about them here.

P.P.S. I’ve been keeping my houseplants alive. I’m not saying they are super healthy, but they are alive. Miraculously. Knock on wood.

P.P.P.S. Speaking of wood, my pocket change dish is sitting on a wood bench Handy Husband built.