HWY 127 Yard Sale: Tips for Success on the World’s Longest Yardsale

hey everybody it's me Kayla and welcome back to our channel here at little Cahaba Junction today's video is going to be a little bit different um today we are going to devote an entire video on tips and tricks to make the longest yard sale or the Highway 127 yard sale a more fun and enjoyable and a safer experience for you also today was my daddy's birthday he turned 64. and my tongue is a little bit blue because he loves to fish and we had a fishing themed cake and my tongue is still Blue from it so y'all just ignore that but y'all know I keep it real but anyway as you know if you've been following us for a while Aunt Penny and I went on the longest yard sale for the first time last year it was so much fun we absolutely loved it we had a blast but it was a hundred percent a learning curve for us even though we had heard about it and we tried to research things to kind of prepare ourselves it was definitely a learning experience and we will be better prepared this year for sure and I know a lot of you are seasoned yard sellers y'all have been on this yard sale many many times but for you that have not went yet and that you may be planning on going this year or even if you've been before I wanted just to compile a list of things that I learned personally from my own experience and also lots of things I read so today like I said I'm going to be going over tips and tricks and just telling you about the longest yard sale and some ways that you can better prepare to make it just a overall better experience for you come here Buster do you want to say hello come on oh say hello to our friends they love you so much so if you don't already know the world's longest yard sale or the Highway 127 yard sale is an event that takes place every year the first weekend of August and it is unlike anything I have ever seen it is literally a line of continuous yard sales that ranges from Gadsden Alabama all the way up to Michigan I mean yard sales for miles you could spend an entire day just in Alabama you could spend an entire weekend just in Alabama shopping in Gadsden and Anniston and places like that but again it goes all the way up the southeast portion of the United States um excuse me the whole east side of the United States all the way up North to Michigan and like I said it takes place the first weekend of August every year I don't know why it has to be in the hottest portion of the Year here in Alabama in August it is so hot that you can't walk outside without having to change clothes because you drench yourself in sweat but I'm assuming they do it in August maybe for up north if there's lots of snow or something I really don't know I'm not a very well traveled person but anyway first full weekend of August every year so that's the way to remember it and this year it's August 3rd through August 6th it usually starts on a Thursday and it goes Thursday through Sunday so my very first tip and this helped us so much last year is to go to the Highway 127 yard sale website I'll make sure to post it in the description box below but go to their website and look at their state by state maps they have each map listed by state or by region it tells um basically step-by-step directions y'all remember MapQuest and back before we had these cell phones and GPS that takes us everywhere we used to print out the MapQuest and just follow it and look for road signs they actually have step-by-step directions like that depending on if you start from the south down here in Alabama or if you're starting from up North and it is and it is so helpful it is invaluable make sure you go and print off those step-by-step directions because I'm here to tell you you're not going to be on big main roads or interstates you're going to be going up Highway 127 and that goes through some very rural parts of the country okay and you may not have cell service I have Verizon and y'all all know that Verizon is supposed to be the best well me and Penny missed a couple of turns up there up north in north Alabama because we didn't have any sale service so we were not able to use our GPS apps um and we had to basically rely on the printout from the MapQuest from 127 yardsale.com and that's the only thing that saved us because nobody knew where we were going there were no there A lot of times there are a lot of cars to follow so you can just kind of follow them they know exactly where they're going well we did not we didn't have anybody to follow and we actually met some people from Prattville Alabama which is right now I'm below Clanton and they were lost as well and they did not have cell service so the printed out map from 127 yardsale.com saved our high knees on more than one occasion so go to their website print out those Maps and also go ahead and download a reliable map service on your phone I love the Waze app you can download Google Maps whatever you want to do go ahead and if you don't already download a app to your phone that is reliable and safe as a backup and it's great to use if you have cell service and also you can just kind of program it into your phone into the app to stay on Highway 127 and you can just make sure that you're staying on the correct path because it is really easy to get lost um also on the 127 yard sale website they have an entire list of the very popular vendor locations now there will be yard sales all up and down highway 127. um anybody that lives there most of them will set up their yard sales because it's a great time to purge their home and just kind of get rid of some things and reset but there are also several areas along the way that have over a hundred vendors set up and all of those very large vendor areas are listed on the website so it's a great way to kind of Target places that you think you might find one of your unicorns or one of those sought after items the next tip that I want to go ahead and share with you guys and it's getting really close it's getting down to the nitty-gritty but if you're planning on staying the night or going more than one day go ahead and try to book your room in advance and be very lenient about how far you're gonna go I promise you it will take you longer to shop than you think we were thinking we were going to make it like halfway through Tennessee the first day well we did not we started like I said in Gadsden and we spent hours I mean the whole day basically in Alabama and we kind of had to rush because we wanted to get to our hotel room in Chattanooga before it got too late but go ahead and look for safe hotels in the area that you plan on spending the night we're going to stay the first night in Chattanooga and then the second night in Crossville Tennessee and they're not too far apart but um we knew that we wanted to get get up to Chattanooga the first day second day we're going to spend a lot of time right there in Tennessee spend the night in Crossville and then come on back down and if we go further than crossbow that second day that's great we can always come back to our hotel and then the final day on Sunday we'll work our way back down and hit the places that we missed but if you go ahead and book your hotel rooms in advance it will save you a huge headache because I promise you they fill up so so fast and we actually booked a couple of hotels so we're staying in Chattanooga and then in Crossville and we were able to book hotels that were very close to the route and that way we wouldn't have to go very far off because we're going to be two women traveling and the state of the world is not what it used to be we didn't want to go and stay somewhere we had no idea what was going on we didn't know our surroundings so we researched and found two really good safe hotels and safe locations to spend the night so that is such a huge relief to go ahead and know that you have somewhere to lay your head you're not going to be rushing and have to stay in a scary a scary hotel because um we all know those exist we've seen the news Okay so go ahead if you're planning on staying more than one night research your hotel and invest in where you're going to lay your head down at night and you're going to feel so much better about it so as far as shopping me and Penny just kind of went bananas last year like I said we didn't have a plan we just knew we wanted to go and we just went crazy anything that we saw that we liked we bought and by the second day we were pretty much out of money and there were several things that I really wanted that were very reasonably priced now they may have been like a hundred bucks but like I saw this cabinet that was the perfect cabinet that I wanted it would have been perfect for my needs but I had blowed all my money on a bunch of stuff that I really didn't even need or care about the first day um so I didn't get it but one of the things I'm gonna do this year and I think would be super helpful is just to make a list of items that you really want to find and you really want to purchase also set a budget what are you willing to spend on that item make sure that you just kind of list them and Don't Stray too far from them like I said last year we got a lot of good stuff but a bunch of it I've already sold on Etsy or at one of our shows because I mean I used it for a little while and then I was like uh so this time I'm going to look for really good items that I can use every season obviously if I see vintage Christmas or something I'm gonna snag it if it's a good price but things that I can use over and over things that are timeless um pieces that I really really want and that I've been looking for so that's what I'm gonna be searching for and hopefully save some money and come home with stuff that I'm really excited about another thing like I had said before the 127 yard sale actually has the list of the large vendor items or the large vendor spaces just know in those large areas where vendors are set up a lot of those are antique dealers they have booths and antique malls and things of that nature and we're all here to make a profit like I have an Etsy shop I do shows and things like that you have to make a profit but just know that you're probably going to spend more in those areas because those people have spent a lot of time Gathering those items they bring items from their antique booths they do it full time and they use this opportunity on the yard sale to really make a lot of money and move a lot of their product so those are going to be some areas that the excuse me that the prices are more closer to retail prices prices you would see in antique malls and vintage fares and things of that nature whereas the smaller yard sales yard sales that you see in people's front yards like the churches things of that nature that is where you're going to really find your deals several churches set up very large yard sales along the 127 yard sale you can find some really good deals there a lot of people have old Barns and things of that nature farmers and they're wanting to clean out their barns they'll have stuff priced to move and obviously just plain Jane yard sales we've all had them you can find stuff marked very very reasonably so obviously use your time wisely another tip is to do drive-bys so make sure whoever's driving is keeping their eyes on the road but the passenger can always be looking and scanning and seeing if you see anything that you're wanting to stop and buy a lot of yard sales and I know people love the opportunity for yard sales to buy clothes for school and things of that nature but penny and I are not trying to buy clothes on the yard sale and lots of the yard sales were the majority of clothes shoes things like that so those we would kind of pass on by and if we saw lots of household items we would pull over but again big vendor areas they're going to be priced higher the smaller yard sales are going to be where you find your deals now you can find deals in the big vendor areas but from my personal experience I realized the majority of those are actually vendors that have full-time booths and do this full-time so they're going to charge more and they should because this is one of their main sources of income but for us buyers that's always a good tip to know so next up I want to talk about transportation I would highly recommend taking a truck if you don't have a truck take whatever vehicle you have just maximize your space clean out your vehicle take lots of totes and things like that to keep things organized but if you have a truck I highly recommend it because it saved us a ton of heartache and it got us out of some sticky situations to be honest thankfully Penny's husband Alan is letting us take his truck and it is a four-wheel drive and it I'm telling you some of these yard sales are out in the middle of fields it's very muddy it's very um it's just hilly and bumpy gravel tree roots stick it up everywhere okay and you're not going to be able to take your little Honda Civic out there in some of these places I'm just telling you I've driven a Corolla my whole life I finally got an SUV but even with my little SUV I would not take it to some of these places because I'll be stuck and having to call somebody to come help me get a tractor get me unstuck so if you have a truck I highly recommend it um it just allows you to buy things like Furniture um just kind of not have to worry about how much space you have and run out of space because for us we're going to be a long way away from home we can't just you know run back home and drop things off and also just having a vehicle that can get to different places without getting stuck is a huge huge help because like I said I mean I'm a Country Bumpkin I live in Central Alabama but I felt like I was about to go through Papa's cornfield okay a few of these places so um just take a safe reliable vehicle and if you have a truck it's the way to go I promise you and just make sure that you always have gas like I said a lot of these areas that you're going to be going through are very rural there's not going to be a lot of gas stations and things like that always keep a good level of gas in your car that way you're not stranded and you're not freaking out trying to get somewhere before you run out of gas just keep your car topped off with gas and you're going to feel so much better and you're not going to have that stress and also while we're talking about Vehicles just be courteous last year we saw a lot of people they were parked right on the road like they weren't even off the road whatsoever on both sides of the road especially in Gadsden we had a really hard time getting through there because people had the roads blocked off and um it's it's something to think about you know not everybody that lives there is participating in this event and they still have to get out of their house they have to go to the grocery store they have to go to work and they're fighting through this traffic you have their driveway blocked you know you can only get down with one vehicle down the road just be courteous and make sure you're off the road you're not blocking traffic and also make sure that you're not tearing up people's yards if somebody's having a yard sale in their yard most of the time they're welcoming you to come and park in their yard but several people are not going to be participating and a lot of them even have their yards roped off or you can't get onto their property which I completely understand it's a lot of time and money going into making your yard look nice and I know they don't appreciate people tearing up their sod and tearing up their grass so just be courteous and be mindful about where you park and many of the large Fender areas actually have a place for you to park and most of the time it's free but always pay attention because if they do charge you to park just be looking for somebody to pay and also be careful don't park somewhere that you're going to get towed so be mindful of where you park and lastly I want to just talk about several individual tips and tricks that will make this experience way more enjoyable for you first off bring cash cash is always King at these types of sales some people will be set up like especially the larger vendors they'll have like the square app or something like that to take credit cards some people um will allow you to pay them with venmo or PayPal but always carry cash and carry lots of small bills because not everybody wants to give you the at the very beginning of the day they don't want to break a hundred dollar bill and I understand I know exactly how they feel but take lots of cash and small bills also I would recommend not carrying all of it at one time because if something happens purse gets stolen you lose your your billfold or whatever you don't want to lose all your money just take you a little fanny pack or something like that that you can keep strapped to you that way you're not going to be sitting it down I have a little crossbody bag I'm going to be taking I'm just going to carry my cash and my phone and my keys in it I'm not carrying my wallet with my ID and everything all that will be locked safely in the vehicle that way if something happens and that purse gets taken or it gets lost I won't be out of luck so always carry cash and carry it safely and don't carry it all at one time because you don't want all of your money to get stolen or all the to get lost because we have all pulled something out and ended up losing something out of our pockets also carry cell phone chargers obviously you're gonna charge your phone at night but if you're using any type of app on your phone that's not attached to your vehicle you're going to be draining your cell phone battery and also if you don't have a lot of service your phone battery is going to be drained searching for service so make sure you have a reliable car back or a reliable car charger for your cell phone wear really comfortable clothes I mean I recommend wearing shorts because it is so hot like it is sweltering hot outside but um just wear something lightweight I wouldn't wear anything that's real sticky to you that's tight be comfortable and wear comfortable shoes and take an extra pair of shoes because a lot of the places you're going it may be muddy it may be wet and if you're you'll hear Buster in the background but if your shoes get wet you don't want to be walking around in wet nasty soggy shoes all day and give yourself blisters so take an extra pair of comfortable shoes and wear comfortable clothes I'll probably wear a t-shirt and shorts and tennis shoes also for all of us girls wear comfortable underwear okay like this is a sports bra moment okay you want to be comfortable and breathable and y'all know exactly how I how what I'm talking about I'm a big girl I get hot I get sweaty things start sticking to things I didn't know I had this is all about comfort also make sure you wear a hat if you aren't into hats that's okay but I highly recommend wearing a hat because it's going to be so hot and the Sun is going to be beating down on you and it will protect your face and keep you from straining your eyes so I highly recommend wearing a hat and also make sure you pack like I said extra undies extra clothes obviously and an extra pair of shoes in case they get wet sorry I had to pause the video because Buster was barking so loud but also I would recommend taking some packing supplies so take like maybe some totes some plastic totes and take some wrapping paper like some uh you know newspaper packing paper something like that to wrap up your valuables your breakables and pack them into the vehicle that way you don't have to worry about them rolling around that's something we did not do last year and not everybody's going to have packing paper and newspaper to wrap up your um breakables so go ahead and take you some old newspapers and some totes that way you can wrap up all of your breakables and pack them together and they're not going to get broken in transit sunscreen make sure you put on sunscreen and make sure you reapply sunscreen because you will get fried out here on this yard sale so I highly recommend um just get you a moisturizer or something with some sunscreen in it put that on in the morning put you a good layer of sunscreen on and then when you start feeling hot go ahead and reapply that sunscreen carry it with you carry some in your purse carry it in your vehicle that where it's easily accessible and reapply your sunscreen frequently because you don't want to be burnt up and miserable the second day of your yard sale trust me nothing is worse than going to the beach or on vacation and getting burnt up completely sunburned and being miserable the rest of the trip so just take care of your skin and wear your sunscreen also bug spray that's something people don't think about but you will get eat up by mosquitoes down here in Alabama mosquitoes are the state bird and they're the size of pterodactyls make sure you have some bug spray spray your shoes and your legs arms spray your clothes whatever you want to do just put on some bug spray because they're going to be latching on to you and it's going to be hot and humid and this is the time of year where mosquitoes thrive also bring a cooler this was a huge help to me in Penny last year we just packed a cooler full of water and lots of ice and lots of drinks and snacks that way you can always stay hydrated make sure you drink a lot of water take you something with some electrolytes like body armors or Gatorades something that's going to replenish you because you're going to be sweating awful out here okay I'm telling y'all it's so hot I keep saying that but it's awful go back and look at our yard sale video from last year and you can see how hot we were but take lots of water and lots of hydration drinks just stay hydrated and replace all that fluid that you're losing especially if you have some underlying health issues make sure that you stay hydrated and it's so important and also if you have um a cooler full of ice you can buy some of those cooling towels you can get them off Amazon they're like frogtog brand but you can get like super cheap ones off Amazon put them down in that ice and they'll be so cold you can wring them out and wear them around your neck to keep you cool as well take lots of breaks so if you're out there and you're getting too hot stop go back and get in your vehicle and sit in the air conditioning for a while and get out of the Sun heat stroke heat exhaustion it's a very real thing I've seen it in the hospital multiple times with our patients people working out in this summer heat make sure you take lots of breaks and don't overdo it you have lots of time the vendors usually start setting up in the mornings usually between six and eight and they usually stay open until five or so so take your time and take lots and lots of breaks also take you a poncho go to Walmart get you one of those cheap disposable ponchos because there's always a chance of rain down here especially in the South we have all these little pop-up showers pop-up thunderstorms take a poncho that way you can stay dry because nothing is worse than being soaking wet and sticky and itchy okay take some medication as well take some Advil Tylenol Aleve don't forget your home medicines um and also just like I said bring some Advil and Aleve things like that because you will have a backache and your feet are going to be hurting you're going to be doing a lot of walking so again like I said before comfortable shoes and bring you some sort of anti-inflammatory medicine if you can take it because I promise you I needed some Advil both days last year again with medications also bring like a little small first aid kit make you up one with some Band-Aids because more than likely you're going to end up getting a blister or a little cut somewhere and just bring you something like some antibiotic ointment things like that some cortisone cream in case you get bug bit just a little first aid kit you can make one up yourself also I highly recommend bringing some wipes so you can wipe your face off wipe your you know your pits and things like that and just get freshened up and make you feel a lot better throughout the day because like I said you are going to get so so hot trying to think of other things that I was thinking about last year so lots of breaks sunscreen bug spray packing supplies coolers snacks ponchos and bring lots of cash and those are the main things that I can think of that really were helpful for us sorry I had to move farther away from the window because our neighbors started cutting grass as always thank you so much for being a part of the little Cahaba Duncan family I hope that you enjoyed this video I hope it was helpful I know it's kind of a different video than what I usually post but with the yard sale coming up I wanted to share some things that we learned along the way and that were helpful for us just to make it a more enjoyable experience if you've been on the yard sale and I forgot something major and you have a great tip comment below and just share it with us but if you're going on the yard sale I hope that you're safe I hope that you have a good time and maybe I'll run into you so be looking out for me and Aunt Penny and if you see us make sure you stop and say hello we'd love to meet everybody but I love you guys so much again thank you for being a part of the little Cahaba Duncan Family remember we love you but most importantly Jesus loves you and you are important and you are special and he has a plan for you and you are precious in His sight always but again hope you enjoyed the video I hope you have a wonderful yard sale experience and if I don't post another video before then I will definitely be posting our yard sale video so we're so excited we're so ready and I just can't hardly contain my excitement I'm so ready to go so um I love you guys and I'll see you on the next one and P.S I remembered another tip that a yard seller had told us last year bring some hand tools like screwdrivers um things like that in case you find a big piece of furniture that you love and if it can be disassembled you can disassemble it and it will more easily fit in your vehicle now will penny and I do this absolutely not I can barely use a hammer but if you go with your husband it will probably come in handy bye y'all

Channel: Little Cahaba Junkin

Views: 9,434

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Id: gmWCN0Va6nQ

Length: 29min 17sec (1757 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 17 2023