Anxiousmom1, our town used to have a spring cleaning pickup. Of course, you put stuff out early and, with any luck, before the city pickup date most of it would have disappeared. And yes, I was often surprised by what someone else found worth taking.
I am a de-clutterer married to a pack rat, so a garage sale is out of the question. He’s not willing to part with anything salable, and what he would part with I’d be embarrassed to sell and no one would buy anyway. The church rummage sale has probably saved our marriage, because he can sometimes be persuaded to part with things if someone else handles the transaction and the proceeds go to charity - our church donates all proceeds to local charities, usually about $10K.
The church sale is really a great service project. People empty their basements of “stuff”, and volunteers sort, price, and sell it. It is amazing to me what some people donate for sale, do they not have trash service in their neighborhoods? But that’s part of the service. After the sale, we have a local charity come by to pick up the clothing and other unsold items. Books get donated to the library. I have a feeling that most of the clothing is used for rags or sent to the landfill, and the library eventually pitches most of the books. Some people have a hard time throwing things away, and this is a way to get someone else to do it for them.
My town is very big on putting stuff out of the curb for free. Anything I’ve ever put out has been taken. I’ve even taken things - got a very cute wrought iron planter last year which had fake plant in it. H drilled a few holes in the bottom. It now hangs on the front of the gate leading into our back yard. It’s look very pretty. We were biking around and I spotted it in a pile of things.
Our local neighborhood participates in Buy nothing Seattle, through Facebook.
It’s a pretty efficient way to " rehome" items that have lots of use in them, or have not even been used in the first place. Often as soon as an item is posted, 10 people will say they are interested.
I like using things that have a history. If well maintained, some things can be used for years. My loppers for example were my grandfathers. Oil & sharpen the blades regularly, and they could even be passed on.
I have given things away that are n great shape, but I just don’t need them anymore.
( mom f j & l, our waste utility is quite particular as to what you put in your garbage can. It has to fit with the lid on for one thing. We have a 32 gallon can, but our neighbor has a 12 gallon)
But I don’t have garage sales, it’s a lot of effort, for not much money, although I have participated in community yard sales to raise money for preschools or similar in the past. ( 30 yrs ago) Being a group effort made it go faster.
I’m not a regular garage sale attendee but they do not annoy me at all.
My wife goes more than I do, and I include church rummage sales in that statement. We acquired a nice stationery bike a good long while ago. She didn’t use it much but I still remember buying it because, for one thing it only cost $20, and for another it was after I had been badgering her to work out like I do. She was making one excuse after another and then, finally, one day, she got all excited about that stationery bike and asked me if I’d get it for her.
It was a good feeling to know she was willing to listen :-). Like I said, she didn’t use it much but, like Hallmark cards, it is the thought that counts and she still looks pretty darn good if you ask me.
I bought a Paul Rieser book, COUPLEHOOD I think it was, at a garage sale for a nickel. Loved the book so I bought his other books on Ebay. I almost went out today looking for a few garage sales because I need four 10-pound plates for my garage weight room. I don’t need them. I can change the weights back and forth for each bar I use but that gets annoying and I work out in sets so … I need them. Weights cost, well they used to cost, $1 a pound at Wal-Mart so if I get them for half that I’ll buy them.
I second the comments about gag gifts. There is always something not quite junk, but not quite worth anything, that shouldn’t be thrown away that one feels like they are “saving” by buying. I like garage and rummage sales. I think they’re fun. In addition to books, I might buy men’s ties, luggage, and magazines.
I have not gone to any garage sale for many many years. However, when I was a poor grad school student, I loved to go to a garage sale.
We have had garage sales exactly two times in our life time. We found that those little tykes plastic toys were in very high demand (our kid was grown and did not play with them any more.)
Later years, we donated a lot to the Goodwill and the Salvation Army, usually right before we moved.
I think our child has not had any experience as a buyer in a garage sale. Two times experience as a seller - it is kind of awkward when his elementary school (homeroom) teacher came by to shop - we ended up giving her and many of her friends (or relatives) a lot of stuff free of charge. Since she taught a lot of kids in our neighborhood, I think she could get a lot of stuff totally free. (In that neighborhood of about a little bit over one thousand households, all kids attended the same HUGE elementary school which serves the kids only for this neighborhood. There is an annual community-wide garage sale every year. It is a huge neighborhood garage sale.)
I had one garage sale in my life and decided it was not worth the bother. Our community has twice yearly sale days and I am considering putting stuff out with a sign saying “Everything is Free- Just Take It”.
As for shopping at garage sales, I never have. And at this point I am trying to get rid of the stuff I already have.
I participated in exactly one garage sale as a seller, when my parents were downsizing to their retirement house, and that was enough. It involved so much time, effort, upheaval, and aggravation for so little payoff that I swore off yard sales forever. I’d rather just take the deduction and be done with it. From the buyer’s side, I detest shopping even at a beautiful, clean, organized, well-staffed department store. Pawing through someone else’s castoffs to find – maybe – one item I’d want to own just isn’t my idea of a fun way to spend a Saturday.
Haha FallGirl, me too as far as " Everything free- Just Take It."
I actually put about 10 pots for hanging plants by my curb about a month ago. Just green plastic pots, nothing special. No sign. All gone w/in 24 hours. Thinking of doing the same with a couple of kids bikes and some old lawn chairs. If people want them, they can have them. I do not know where I could donate them, otherwise I would.
Like o said, when my kids were little, they got some terrific toys and books from tag sales. There was one where the kid was one year older than mine. That parent started calling me the night before her sales because she knew I would buy the nice clothes…and I did.
In terms of donations…please…if your stuff is really junk…take it to the landfill. Charitable places have to pay to dispose of trash they take to the landfill…especially larger items. It really cuts into the profits for the charity.
Exactly. I never donate items that are not wanted. Nor would I ever dump stuff off at donation sites.
I would rather donate or give away items I no longer need or want to people who would like them. Last year H and I went to buy a new lawn mower. We put the old one, still running but needing work, at our curb with a sign saying “Still running…etc” it was gone by the time we got back with our new one!
I need to start putting stuff out on the curb!
Haha, yes you do.
This might be the only reason I wish I had enough traffic on my street to support putting stuff on the curb. I’d probably just piss off the few neighbors I do have and the stuff would still be sitting there when the snow started to fall. But, I did make my very first craiglist sale a week ago and plan to do more!
Also have done that. Not trying to make money. Just trying to get rid of stuff I no longer want or need to folks who do.
Free cycle is a good way to get rid of stuff as well.