Sept. 1, 2010 — Continuing an 11-year tradition, Half Moon Bay will be holding its popular annual Citywide Garage Sale on Saturday, Sept. 25, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Garage sale event. Istock by gchutka.

Items in good condition that are not sold at the garage sales may be donated to Goodwill Industries, a non-profit organization. A Goodwill truck will be collecting items from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Johnston Street near City Hall.

According to the city of Half Moon Bay, the 2009 event was a huge success, with over 100 registered sellers throughout the city. The Goodwill effort on the same day resulted in an estimated 26,000 pounds of donated items from 113 donors.

By donating to Goodwill and participating in the garage sale, people can reduce the burden on landfill. Sellers help the community and make a little money at the same time.

Due to its size, the garage sale event attracts many prospective buyers from outside the area.

Registration is free and allows sellers to have their sales included on the garage sale map, along with notable sale items. Prior to the event, maps with the garage sale locations can be downloaded from the Web or picked up at various locations around town including City Hall, the Ted Adcock Community Center or the library.

For more information, visit the Half Moon Bay website, call the city’s recycling hotline at 650-726-8263, or e-mail sustainablehmb@hmbcity.com.

Citywide Garage Sale Benefits Pacificans Care

by Yvonne Lorvan

Pacificans Care ran a Summer Sweep citywide garage sale in August — sellers shared half of their sales returns, up to $200 per sale site, with the non-profit. Almost 60 sites participated in the fundraising! My family took part, and prepared for weeks in advance.

I had a lot of really old kitchen utensils that had belonged to my grandmothers; they were very popular sale items. We also sold a plastic aquarium with all the usual attachments: heater, filter, pebbles and castle. We had children’s toys and books, old cookbooks, business help books, crepe paper party streamers, unopened boxes of plastic forks and spoons left over from parties through the years, a small guitar, a “starter” telescope and an inflatable plastic boat with paddles.

© Brenda Carson | Dreamstime.com

Viviane, the non-resident grandchild, had a hot chocolate and Trader Joe’s organic lemonade stand. When people did not find what they were looking for at the sale, they bought a hot or cold drink from her. She made enough to buy a book at Florey’s after the sale and still have $3.50 to keep for something else.

One of the highlights for me was when a mother and her pre-school-aged son who stayed for two hours while Miss Viv and the boy played a series of magic games and the mom and I talked about the city. She is from China and enjoyed hearing more about the city she now calls home.

My Garage Sales

by Jean Headley Darmody

Along with a friend, I have at least two garage sales a year and they serve many purposes:

• We are able to pass along still- usable things that we’re done with to people who need them.

• It cleans up the garage so my husband and I can once again get our cars in the garage!

• It makes us a few dollars from things we don’t need any more. I don’t have time to price each item, so when someone picks up an item and asks how much it is, I price it so low that they can’t refuse — 50 cents for a puzzle, 25 cents for paperbacks, 50 cents for hardcover books, 25 cents for other things, a few bucks for this or that. I make sure to price each item so the person takes it. That’s better than having to pack it up and bring it back into the garage at the end of the day.

• We visit with friends and neighbors who drop by, which we don’t often get to do in our busy lives.

• I pass out my business cards, and my husband’s, to almost everyone who stops by, and we always get future business from this marketing opportunity.

Some people stop by and ask for a specific item. While I may not have that particular item, they often see something else they just have to have.

At the end of the day, we pack up the leftovers and give them to Goodwill — so not only do we get a write-off, but we’re also helping Goodwill.

We’ve decided — after many very slow, unsuccessful Sundays — that we only hold our garage sales on Saturday. It’s no fun to sit out there all day on Sunday when only four or five people stop by.