Garage sales and yard sales can be fun for both buyers and sellers. If you haven’t hosted nor been to a garage sale, I would suggest that you go to one and gain first-hand experience on it. Garage and yard sales have many benefits, more than what meets the eye. Many of us remember garage or yard sales from our childhood days such as when local communities or Churches held yard sales in their parking lots. It is a great way to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Garage sales help us economically and also environmentally while benefiting both buyers and sellers.
Benefits of a yard sale or garage sale
You can especially benefit from a garage or yard sale if you are moving out or if you just moved to a new location. Garage and yard sales are traditional and an American way of life. It gives you the thrill of hunting through old stuff and searching for bargains. Garage sales are great for cleaning up your house, getting rid of your unwanted stuff, and getting some money out of it. There are many reasons why people host or attend garage sales. Below are some benefits of hosting and buying from a garage sale.
1. Enjoy the outdoors
One of the biggest benefits of hosting or attending a garage sale is to get outside and enjoy the fresh air. You cannot get nearly the same feeling from shopping at a mall or any other closed shopping areas. Shopping at a garage sale puts you in a holiday mood; getting out, going through the stuff, and meeting people face-to-face. This may release your stress and make you a happier and more relaxed person; similar to the way a farmer’s market is more relaxed than a supermarket. A yard sale in a larger community is especially fun when you can walk around from house to house and meet new people. It is more fun for the kids who love to skip around.
2. Save landfill space
Many old items that are sold in garage sales can be used as new for someone else. People often sell or buy items that have never been used. Buying an item from someone that has used it for sometime but does not have any use for it anymore can make you more environmentally friendly and sustainable because you would be saving valuable landfill space. These items include tennis rackets, ski gear, toys for kids, old records, CDs, movies, arts and crafts, electronics, furniture, old clothes, cookware, and much more.Along with being sustainable you are also saving the carbon footprint and the energy used for transporting, processing, and dumping garbage in landfills. Reusing stuff from garage sales is always better than recycling. I’ve heard of people buying old furniture from garage sales and using it to decorate their houses by repairing the furniture. Toys for kids are often made of plastic and can be sold to other kids such as building blocks, bicycles, Legos, crayons, or pastels, which kids eventually outgrow and do not have use for them anymore.
3. Find valuables
You would be surprised what you would find at garage sales. A few years ago, a friend of mine went to a yard sale and saw an attractive Indian tapestry that he has seen in a catalog before.My friend has always admired handmade crafts but never could afford it. He paid $25 for this tapestry, which I confirmed with my Indian friends later that it would have been worth $300 at the store. You will sometimes find electronic items that are sold for $10 or $20 and are worth hundreds of dollars at the stores.
4. Get good, cheap stuff
Not only will you find cheap stuff at yard sales but you will also find good cheap stuff. I once found stuffed animals and teddy bears at yard sales that are great for playing with kids. You can find items such as kitchen utensils, cookware, microwave ovens, televisions, sports gear, and much more in fairly good condition at a low price.
5. Meet your neighbors
You often find people walking around yard sales holding a coffee with a smile on their face. It could be a great place for meeting new people as well as catching up with old friends in the neighborhood. Hosting a yard sale will bring your neighborhood together, especially if you host a multifamily yard sale. This will allow you to make some trades and money while you clean up the clutter in your homes. Yard sales give you an excellent opportunity to interact with old neighbors and also meet the ones that are new to the neighborhood.
Overall, garage and yard sales can benefit you in many ways:they help you clear out the clutter from your homes, make some money, and become more sustainable by helping the environment. You reduce pressure on mining for raw materials, landfills, and energy needed for transportation, processing and dumping the garbage. When you hold a garage sale you also encourage reusing and recycling old materials. You can achieve all this while making money, making new friends, and enjoying yourself.
We will be posting tips on how to host a yard sale in our next blog, so please check back soon. We would love to hear from you. Please put down a few words on what you thought about this article in the comment box below. Don’t forget to share!
Source: Balanced Life Team
