Most basic things already said. My own experience? Some are wonderful and will not only get your adrenalin up and send you home with some things not available anywhere else, but will also give you the chance to see the insides of beautiful old homes in your area. I have bought lovely old mirrors, patio furniture, prints, dishes, and even basic pots & pans at estate sales. These can be put on by the family and friends, or by an antique store or company. And even though some complain about higher prices by a company-run sale, they are usually very well organized, with numbers given out at the door one hour before sale begins and orderly entry. They have change and they have 'docents' in each room to facilitate your purchase, as well as to answer questions. On the flip side, as some Californios already mentioned, anyone can put in an ad and call it an estate sale. If I decide to move and sell a lot of my furniture to cut down on having to move it, I might list it as an estate sale. I see nothing wrong with that. If I go to a sale and I find a great old chair or a dresser or even some yard equipment that the seller doesn't want to take with them, I don't care what they call it. Here's my check/I'll go pull up my truck! But also, they can be way over-priced, ill-run, and a free-for-all that can be frightening, as the lady with the Coach handbag and diamond earrings starts fighting with the lady in the sweats and athletic shoes over the crystal chandelier. People sometimes lose their decency in their lust to get a deal. Come early, wear comfortable clothes, put your money in your pocket (so you don't struggle with your purse or worse--knock something off a table with your purse as someone bumps you) and maybe carry a cloth tote for small items. Keep your sense of humor, be prepared to make a quick decision, have a plan for pick-up if you find something big, and have checks as well as enough cash to do what you need to do. If you find something you want, pick it up. Or pull the tag and take it straight to the cashier so no one else gets that antique lamp while you are wandering around. But do go. Try it. Make your own decision about whether it's fun or infuriating. Red

We had a false start Saturday, but 3/4 done right now and super happy! So glad ABB is almost a memory. I will post a shot without grout when they leave and another in a few days with the grout. Going with mapai white still and will use the keracaulk as advised. Thank you again. Anyone who is considering this tile - we have no regrets. It would go well with greens, grays, whites, blacks, and tans. It wouldn't interfere with a busy countertop (IMHO) and has enough variation to give some interest to our essentially solid black counter and white cabinets. A small number of tiles have imperfections, but they are the ones being cut for ends and corners, so not really wasted much.

Me too Jinny. I love these I got saucers too. Now is a good time to shop garden centers they are marking stuff down to get rid of it. I am waiting for Lowes to half price Citrus trees. The bad part is I live 40 miles away from lowes and the garden center staff will not answer the phone when I call to check the price, if they do answer they have no clue what you are talking about. I have to just go check it out in person. Estate sales are good for Pots too....

Madilee, I ordered from Chewy last week because we were running low on cat litter, and I also ordered enough to qualify for the 2 day shipping. Well, it's been almost a week and I still haven't gotten confirmation that it's being shipped. I tried to get it from Walmert-but they were out at my local store. Thought I'd try Amazon, but the only litter they had that my cats will use was not only more expensive than in the stores, but it also was about 10 days out. I had also ordered some canned cat food-they kind my cats prefer was out, so I had to get a 3rd choice. I ordered some baking soda for the cat boxes-since we can't empty them, just clean them out until we get more litter, and a case of strawberry jam, because I didn't feel like going to the grocery store. The canned food came within a day, the baking soda two days later-still no idea when the jam will arrive. Meanwhile hubby has PB & Honey sandwiches. I'd ordered a new desk chair since my old desk chair was not designed to be used for 8+ hours a day-oh my poor hind end! Amazon said it would arrive in 10 days (even though it was Prime) but it arrived 2 days later. I did order some outdoor toys for my grands through Walmart-a bounce house/ball pit, extra balls for the ball pit, and a covered sand table. They all said they'd deliver between 4/10 and 4/17. The balls showed up on Monday, and the sand table arrived yesterday. Still no idea when the ball pit will show up, I've not gotten a tracking # on that, but if I go back on the website it says if I order it to be delivered to the store it will be there in a week. I'm trying to be patient, I feel fortunate that I have the means to order things on line and I can pay a premium if necessary, but sometimes it does get frustrating. I'm unable to order normal groceries on line for either delivery or pick up. And Costco.com is sold out of almost everything I need. So I'm going to have to venture in to the store. But back to the OT, I have Prime and am ok with the delays. My Prime membership also includes free streaming, so that is worth it to us since DH is running out of shows on Netflix. Finally, GS-was it you who ran out of paper towels for pet messes? I purchased a couple dozen cheap bar towels for pet messes. We were going through a lot of paper towels when our cat with IBS was still alive, and it was my preference to do laundry rather than throw out so much paper. Costco often carries them, and in a pinch you can get them at Walmart as well. Check Amazon, too. I just ordered two dozen plain cloth reusable 'paper' towels off Etsy to use in my kitchen. I have a roll that are flannel & terry that are getting so worn out-we use them all the time.