Tossed and Found: Where Frugal is Chic

Author: Barb Tobias
www.thrifttalkdiva.com
Reviewed by: Anne Holmes for the NABBW

Who hasn’t been to – or held — a garage sale? In the United States, they are a spring and summer tradition. They’re usually homespun events held on the weekends, with the homeowners merchandise laid out on tables in a yard, under a tent, or literally in a garage…

Sometimes whole neighborhoods will get into the act, banding together to hold a much larger sale with the hopes of attracting more buyers – and ending up with more profits for all involved.

Personally, I’ve attended only a handful of these sales, and held two of my own, both of which were only marginally successful. So before reading this book,  I ’d never really considered Thrifting as anything more than light summer Entertainment.

This even though I used to have a neighbor who held monthly garage sales. Observing her, I realized  that she couldn’t possibly be limiting herself to merely selling her personal cast-offs – she’d actually turned garage sale-ing into a backyard business. But I still didn’t see the big picture…

In Tossed & Found, Barb Tobias takes you on an amazing journey, sharing tales of treasure;  revealing how to clear the Clutter from your home and resell it; and uncovering the secrets to decorating and dressing on the cheap —  with fantastic results.

Whether you’re a transitioning Baby Boomer or a college student trying to figure out how to furnish your first apartment, you’ll find help in this book which is chock full of photos, lists and tips.

• You’ll learn the differences between garage sales, Estate sales, tag sales and demolition sales
• Not to mention discovering how to master buying and selling via flea markets, auctions, consignment stores, swap meets, thrift store chains, and eBay
• You’ll find out how to use Craig’s list and other online services to promote your sale
• And how to earn big bucks holding the best garage sale ever. (Hint: Barb calls her garage sales “Diva Sales,” and she treats all her customers accordingly.)

Best of all, Tobias shares how she’s learned to:

• Decorate a home in a manner that is worthy of a Fashion mag layout –at little or no cost
• Build a fabulous Wardrobe of designer duds – all purchased for a fraction of their original price
• Develop a system for selling unwanted items – fast
• Stage Money-making Diva Sales that turn unwanted items into cash – and
• Live like royalty on a pauper’s budget

In Tossed and Found, author Tobias dishes up a generous plate of intriguing stories pulled from the frugal adventures of a newly thrift-conscious nation, and shows the adventurous reader how to find the treasures beneath the tarnish. Highly recommended.

Originally Published on NABBW.com

Anne Holmes Boomer-in-Chief of NABBW