Sumner Association of Neighbors (SAN)

Our Sumner neighborhood garage sale is just over two weeks away — on Saturday, August 21. There is still time to sign up online or by email at sumner.neighborhood@gmail.com.

(Don’t worry about the $5 registration fee…we’ll deal with that part later.)

With the garage sale date fast approaching, here are some basic tips from our local garage sale guru, Scott on NE 89th. His recent garage sale — together with some neighbors across the street — was a pretty big success around the Fourth of July.

Garage sales start weeks ahead of the sale. Here are some tips that work for me.

1 – Open up your address book on your computer and email everybody in it. You will be surprised a t how many people will say ‘Can I bring this over?’ Say yes if they open up their email address book (play it forward).

2 – Make a list of things you want to put in the sale. Start a gathering area to put sale stuff.

3 – Get pricing tag sale stuff and banners. The dollar store in Hollywood has a lot of this.

4 – Sell pop or candy, lemonade, whatever. But make sure to buy stuff you like in case it does not sell.

5 – Take a mental picture of what your sale will look like. Take a count of how many tables you will need.

6 – All border streets should have signs up two weeks before the sale.

7 – All stores and businesses should have flyers.

8 – Set your sale up a day before the sale. Put sheets or blankets to cover your tables overnight and keep expensive stuff inside.

9 – Ask police for an extra patrol the night before the sale.

10 – After the sale is set up, take pictures and make an ad on Craigslist. If no camera, make a listing anyway. If no computer, go to the library. There are computers and people that will help you.

11 – Have a flyer that you can leave with anyone anytime.

12 – Remember, most of all, to have fun. Be in your yard during the sale. Make a day out of it. Smile and wave as people drive by. If you’re not there, they will not stop and look at your goods.