Adventures on the 127: The World’s Largest Yard Sale

Editors Note: This is a special week here at Dear Handmade Life. First, we’re back from our blog hiatus and second, we’re celebrating our return with Delilah’s annual 127 yard sale posts.  Every year Delilah heads out for a road trip following the route of the 127 Corridor Sale aka: The World’s Longest Yard Sale. You can check out her posts from last year’s trip here. The yard sale is 690 miles long and 2015 marks the 28th anniversary of the the 127 sale. Delilah will be posting all week about her adventures on the road. We’ll be back next week with DIY projects, recipes and business tips. -Nicole S.

It’s almost been one year since our last visit to the 127 yard sale and even though I have been doing this sale for seven years, I am still just as excited! This year I have a healthy list from friends asking for goodies for me to look for… which I love to do. It gets people who can’t make the trip excited and they can join in the fun! One thing I am especially excited about is the fact that we are taking three days to get to Louisville! That means that we don’t have to travel 17 hours the first day!! It’s the little things!

OUR ROUTE

This year we are leaving a day early but we will still land in Louisville at the same time, so watch for posts about Louisville finds, bourbon and other discoveries. After that, the trip goes like this:

1. Louisville, Kentucky

2. Frankfort, Kentucky

3. Danville, Kentucky

3. Albany, Kentucky

4. Crossville, Tennessee

5. Chattanooga, Tennessee

Then we’ll have stops in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona before heading back home. I’ll share discoveries along the way!

THIS YEAR’S LIST

This year I am changing things up a little, I don’t have a brick and mortar shop anymore (I closed The Road Less Traveled Store last year) but that doesn’t mean I can’t sell/buy anything right? I definitely want to find more vintage kitchen items, bar items, and that ever-elusive farm sink for our kitchen but this year I’m on the lookout for:

• Photography props: For the Dear Handmade Life blog and other work.
• Art: I love this map of Kentucky in our living room and I would love to have more items like this so I can rotate my artwork or sell them.

• Silverware: Last year, I replaced all of our plain IKEA flatware with mixed-matched silver plated pieces and I LOVE them. I only have a set for four and I will be getting enough for a 10 along with more serving pieces that might make their way into being a future Christmas present.

• I (heart) Pyrex oven mitt: I regret every single time I didn’t pick this up in previous years…I will forever be searching….
• Tomato/vegetable cages: We have some in the garden but why can’t they have a little more personality?
• More old mason jars: Different sizes (especially large ones for grains and small ones for spices).
• Chair set: It would be great to find a two-piece chair set for the living room.
• Knives and cutting boards: There are big hopes for these items as I always see both knives and cutting boards but never actually buy any.
• Gifts: Cast iron pans, serving utensils, vases, baskets. This Christmas I plan to gift a lot of finds from the road.

But as you know from my tips from last year, I have to be pretty open to things that might not be on my list…that’s part of the adventure and I am happy for it!

I’ll be posting tips and finds from the road with my scores from the day as we travel along and of course I’ll have a post of all of the signs from the road. This year I am going to try taking video. Check in on our Instagram and Facebook…you may find some surprises there too!

Can’t wait to share the adventure!

What would you want to look for on 127?