Friday, August 14, 2009

Beware of yard sales

Recently, my dear daughter joined in with some of her friends to have a yard sale. She gathered up things that have been waiting to be re-homed, and set up for a selling spree with 3 other families.

Not too long after she set up at the host house, I get a phone call.

"Mom, there is a dresser here that I want you to come see. It is really neat, but I need you to take a look at it."

Okay, I sez......

So I got myself together, drove out to the said house, and looked at the dresser. It was an old dresser, that had some very lovely detailing. It smelled though, which is usually a put off for me. But my daughter really wanted it, to house the mountain of clothes that has invaded her room.

The price was right, and I told her to do a google search on how to take the smell out of the furniture. I was sure there was a way to take the moth ball smell out, as most good antique stores have ordorless very old pieces of furniture.

So this is what came to our house that afternoon.

It has the little wheels at the end of the legs, and little scrolly design on the top corners.

My daughter found out that kitty litter is good for taking out the ordor, so she bought some kind of cat product and spread newspaper in each drawer, and let it sit for a couple of days. She used Murphy Soap oil, and then a furniture oil to give it a nice finish.

And now it is sitting nicely in her room, adjusting well to the influx of clothing that were being orphaned in a laundry basket. They are much happier now.

So the moral of this story is, when you have a yard sale with other people, you are most certainly going to do some cross-shopping. I don't think my daughter actually made any profit at this sale, but she did profit by finding a nice piece of furniture. What is the saying, one man's trash is another man's treasure. In this case, it was one girls :-)

18 comments:

Katy said...

That is absolutely gorgeous! Great finds like that are awesome!

Rebecca Nelson said...

I would SOOOOOOOOOOOO have bought this piece!

Sweet Story. Totally understand the message!

xoRebecca

Lisa said...

She done good. :) And so did mom!

julia said...

Very pretty piece of furniture. Great tip using the cat litter to get rid of the smell! Thanks

Bunny said...

Great find, bravo to your daughter.

Crispy said...

What a lovely find!! She did good mom LOL

Crispy

Barb said...

She has a good eye and is learning early to be frugal...righ? Love the chest

Nancy said...

Love the chest.. If the smell isn't entirely gone she can use Irish Spring soap. Just loosen the wrap and lay it in the drawer for awhile. I used it in a tupperware container with some books that smelled like cigarette smoke and it took all the smell out.

marlene@ByTheSeam said...

That is a beautiful dresser and in such good shape, I think baking soda would work too, which is in some cat liter as well. Even a fabric softner sheet would have worked and white vinegar is good too. Your daughter has a good eye.

andsewon said...

Beautiful piece of furniture.
I have heard the litter and grill charcoal as well works on suit cases and furniture items.
I have some fab that I was given that smells of cig smoke so will try Nancy's suggestion of Irish Spring soap!!

Allie said...

I'd say she did quite well! That's lovely.

A Spoonful Of Sugar said...

Good find! They don't make furniture as solid these days so a nice piece like that should last her well. Thanks for the cat litter tip.

Carol said...

Nice dresser. Good tip too for getting out musty odors.

Susan said...

What a find! I would have had to bring it home with me too! I've never heard of the kitty litter trick, but I have used the same method with charcoal and had good results.

Michele's Treasures, Teacups, and Tumbling Rose Cottage said...

Very nice find! ; )
~Michele

Ruthann Marie said...

Mom you make me laugh!!! Did you blog that I got it for $50? You taught me well... :-D

Kim said...

Love this chest of drawers and you STOLE it for $50.00!! Gorgeous. Cat litter is amazing stuff, lol, even works pretty well for cat odors, lol. Glad you took the chance on this beauty. :)

Becky said...

WOW! I love the story and the chest o'drawers! What a great find.