With her hands freed of all but coffee and keys, guerrilla

Julie Vineyard, Lawrence, right, looks through a stack of books with fellow shoppers at the Save Our Neighborhood Schools sale May 8 at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds.

“The early bird gets the worm,” she says. “That’s my motto.”

And just like a mama robin in the spring, venturing out of the nest at dawn to feed her young, Julie Vineyard of Lawrence springs from her bed before daylight to feed her garage sale habit.

It’s a ritual she practices most Saturdays and, sometimes, on Fridays.

“I started out when my kids were real small to look for baby toys and clothes,” Vineyard says. “You see that stuff like crazy. Then, I started noticing some household things and antiques and thought, ‘hmmm.’ That was 17 years ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since. It’s like an addiction.”

In action, Vineyard is all business. There’s no time to chat, a brief chance to barter and, if you want to interview her, you’d sure as heck better keep up.

“The whole idea, if you’re really looking for stuff, is to get out early and get to as many sales as you can, as fast as you can,” she says, as she hops in her minivan and bolts to the next sale.

By 8:30 a.m. last Saturday, for example, Vineyard’s vehicle was stacked to the roof with items for her home and antique booth in Ottawa.

“I got a wicker chair for 5, a big braided rug for 6 and a cabinet for 10 dollars. I found a little box that says ‘Herbs’ on it for a dollar and an old toolbox for 4 that had a little antique fan in it. I also got a canister set for 3 and an alarm clock for 50 cents. I hit the jackpot.”

Fellow garage sale guerrilla Marilyn Ritchie agrees with the early bird theory, and adds that a bit of pre-planning makes the hunting and gathering easier.

“I usually head out around 6:30 a.m. The night before, I make a list and I put big stars by the sales that sound particularly good,” Ritchie explains. “It if sounds really good, it gets 3 stars, down to one. If it has no star, it’s like ‘if I have time (I’ll go). If I don’t, I won’t.'”

Chris Forbes, Lawrence, rarely ventures out before dawn, but he get points for planning ahead and being persistent.

“I probably go every Saturday when the weather’s nice. I’ll usually go from about 7:30 to 10, and then done,” Forbes says. “I look at the paper on Thursday and scan them a little bit, see if anything jumps out. I rarely spend even 20 dollars, but I love going. It gets us up and out of the house.”

Head start

For homeowners hosting a garage sale, a flock of too-early birds can be as unwelcome as a yard full of starlings. Jody Steiner, who holds multiple sales throughout the season, says hardcore buyers are anxious but, usually, well-behaved.

“The last sale we had, the early birds got here two hours early. They all know each other and they’ll wait at the end of the driveway and form a line. They know, ‘This person got here first and I’m next, and you’re next Š’ It’s pretty interesting.”

Vineyard says even though she likes to have a head start in pursuing hot deals, there’s a line she refuses to cross.

“If their garage doors aren’t open and they don’t have stuff out, I don’t go up and knock on their door. I think that’s rude,” she says. “But, if they’re open early, I’ll go ahead and shop. Why not?”

And she isn’t above using bold moves to bag a bargain.

“Sometimes, if I see something big and I know I want it, I’ll run up and take the price tag off. Then, I’ll take it to the lady and say, ‘I want that.’ Because, you know other people are going to want it, if it’s a special item or a good antique.”

Garage sale regular, Katie Unrein of Eudora, hasn’t used that particular tack but, when push comes to shove, she can become uncharacteristically aggressive.

“Once, someone else had their eye on something I wanted,” Unrein recalls. “I just walked right up to it and said, ‘It’s mine,’ gave the lady the money and took off with it.”

Best scores

Their tactics may vary, but every self-respecting garage sale guerrilla has a story to tell about their best score.

“I bought a Tiffany catalog, dated about 1912 or so, for a dime, and I sold it for $350,” Ritchie remembers. “That was one of my better finds.”

“Last year, at a house right across from the Tri-Delt house,” Forbes recalls, “they had two bikes they said were 10 bucks apiece. I said, ‘Sold!’ Then, I had to guard them until my wife could go home and get the car. One was a Trek that we found online and it was 600, 700 bucks. It was busted, but I took it to the bike shop, spent 90 bucks and now it’s in perfect shape.”

True to form, Vineyard’s “best score” story reflects her “more for less is more” philosophy:

“One of the best was a sale I happened upon on my way home,” Vineyard says. “It was about 10:30 a.m. and, by then, many things are picked over. I saw a small antique side table, so I decided to stop. I went crazy because there were so many antiques all over. I couldn’t believe they hadn’t been purchased, but the lady said she didn’t get the ad in the newspaper in time. She totaled what I bought, and it came to $350. I asked if she would take $300 for everything and she agreed. The bonus was, a few weeks later when she called and said she had an antique dry sink that didn’t make it into the sale and would I be interested? It’s in my home and is still one of my favorite pieces!”