It seems like every August, families across the U.S. pull out all those treadmills, velour tracksuits, and board games with the missing pieces. hoping to find someone else who wants to clutter up their lives.
Yep, it’s garage sale time. Riding on the back of this week’s "The World's Longest Yard Sale", the 690-mile event along Highway 127 across six states, LawnLove decided to find 2024’s Best Cities for Scouring Garage Sales.
The researchers went deep and wide, too – comparing the 500 biggest U.S. cities based on a variety of factors from public access to yard sales to climate to how much interest yard sales typically stir up in those places.
Want in on the action, too?
Whether you’re a garage sale neophyte or want to remove “hoarder” from your mom’s resumé, the researchers offer these best practices:
Purge
Purging (decluttering) is seldom any fun because we get sentimentally wed to things. But, there are ways to do it that are easy and, possibly, fun. There’s the famous Marie Kondo book which you could check out at the library. Or you could check out videos like this on YouTube that could inspire you to part ways with your Hootie and the Blowfish collection:
Before you drop a deposit on a storage unit for extra room, see if you can purge your unwanted or unneeded items. Skip the hassle (and chance of being scammed) from selling through online platforms like Facebook Marketplace, and instead get your neighbors together for a community yard sale.
Spruce up your lawn
Another idea is to dress up your lawn a bit because a stunning lawn could draw attention and signal to shoppers that your sale is worth stopping by. Here’s some tips in that regard:
Repair your lawn if it’s looking rough and patchy.
Kill those pesky weeds.
Get your grass to grow thicker and look greener on your side of the fence.
Make the most of a small front yard.
Create a beautiful landscape on a budget.