Warm weather means a chance for a bargain, in some cases.

Already a few yard sales have been in residents’ front yards hoping people who don’t mind a slight chill will hit the tables looking for that one item of desire, or for a few items to get at a bargain cost, compared to most retail stores.

But as the weather continues its upward trend, which was prevalent last week and is forecast again this weekend, the tables will hit the lawns more frequently in the community.

Yard sales also are a good way to find good deals during tough economic times like the one everyone says we are in now. Thrift shops and consignment shops too can offer great deals.

But for me, I prefer to sleep in a little later than the 5 or 6 a.m. it takes to “catch the early worm,” as the saying goes.

My “bargain” habit is to hit local auctions on the weekends. The ones that start around 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. are the best, because then Mr. Sandman doesn’t have to leave quite as soon. But if I have to, I’ll rouse myself a little earlier (not 6 a.m.) to get the chairs in the car and head to the auction of choice for the week.

I don’t go every weekend. I’d be broke and have to buy 10 more outbuildings to store all the goodies if I did. But I try to go once every month or so, if there is a good one coming on a weekend I don’t have to work.

The favorites for me are to see how much the antiques go for, because I love old houses (the big Victorian and farm house style) and old furniture and goodies that were used around the house in those old days.

Sometimes I sit in amazement as the price on an item goes up and up and up, until the person who is willing to pay the most for it wins out. That person isn’t always buying it for himself or herself though. At many auctions that feature high-quality or rare antique items, antique dealers will show up in droves and run the prices up so far a “normal” person such as myself can’t afford the desired item.

If I’m lucky, the dealers will stay home, and a good bargain can be found.

In addition to the old items of interest, I have come home with a nice corner china cabinet, several house plants, a great wooden crate, which unfortunately came with a whole bunch of other stuff I wasn’t prepared to carry home (that’s when the in-laws are called to bring another pick-up truck), a beautiful semi-end table with folding wings, my fine china came from the auction of my late great-aunt’s estate.

And the list goes on.

Auctions can become addictive. When I first started going, I began to notice familiar faces in the crowds. It seems I’m not the only one with the urge to bid.

My husband also has caught the auction fever. He usually travels with me to the auctions, unless work keeps him away, in which case my mother-in-law might tag along.

But the firefighter has found another way to feed his auction hunger, even during the winter months. We both have begun to frequent (and I mean every couple of days) the govdeals.com Web site.

Just recently I purchased a set of three full-height metal lockers, like many used in high school. We drove all the way to Newton, an hour and a half ride, to pick them up. Now they sit in the basement at the in-laws waiting for me to draw out a design and paint them.

So you see, yard sales may not be the place of bargains for me. But you’re sure to catch me at a couple of auction sites as the weather warms and the auctioneers get their voices going — once, twice, sold.

Wendy Byerly Wood is the associate editor of The Mount Airy News. She can be reached at wbyerly-wood@mtairynews.com.