These days I can be seen wearing my flip flops and sporting a fresh farmer’s tan. Spring is finally here in full force, and along with the warm weather comes one of my favorite pastimes — yardsale shopping.

During the past few weeks, I have seen several yard sales in the area. I haven’t stopped at one yet, but I’m sure that soon I will be tempted too much by the lure of cheap prices and unique finds to pass them by. During the cold months I like to frequent local thrift stores, and once the days turn sunny, thrift shopping poses a double threat for me with the addition of yardsales to the mix.

I’m not generally the shopping fanatic. The only things I regularly buy are food and DVDs. But there is something fun about digging through jumbled piles of the random, the strange, and the useless to find a few treasures. Whether I’m at a thrift store or a yard sale, buying cheap, used items can bring enjoyment that won’t be tainted with the after-shock of a diminished wallet.

Many people complain that they never find anything good at yard sales, but often the best part is laughing over the crazy things that people try to sell. Sometimes I find things that I really can put to good use, but often thrift shopping simply serves as a fun outing to find random items that make me smile. I mean, where else can you find a t-shirt about a snowsledding competition from 1983, a book on stoicism, and a chartreuse lamp shade all in the same place? Last time I went to a Goodwill store, I left with a copy of “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau and Hanukkah gift wrapping paper. Now I am neither transcendentalist nor Jewish, but I gladly paid $2 for the items. Did I need them? No. Did they make me smile? Yes.

Maybe I’m the only one out there who enjoys finding random little knick-knacks. I realize that not everyone’s mind is as random as mine is. For example, if I happen to see a pair of green loafers and a baking dish side by side at a yard sale, then I can’t not think of something outlandish. It’s impossible. I see those green loafers and baking dish and I wonder how loafers would taste baked. I wonder how high you would have to heat the shoes to get them to melt. If I were to bake the green loafers in the baking dish in the oven, would the green dye stay preserved? And if I were to bake the loafers with meat inside, would that make them meat loafers?

That’s a big joy of thrift shopping in addition to the plus of cheap prices and special finds — it can help relieve stress by inspiring laughter over the strange combinations of items. It’s the most fun when you take a friend along.

One of these Saturdays you might bump into me standing in someone’s yard as I examine a set of “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” VHS tapes. I’ll be sure to say hey before carrying on with my fun, affordable, and relaxing hobby.

Meghann Evans is a staff reporter with The Mount Airy News. She can be reached at mevans@mtairynews.com or at 719-1952.