Summer is starting to wind down a bit on the west coast – and even though that’s not necessarily reflected in the hot holiday weather we’re experiencing this weekend, its nice that the warmest parts of the days are sandwiched by cooler temps.
So for me, that means early morning weekend garage and yard sales. Some more professional pickers will plan their route and check online groups for advertised sales. Not me, I prefer to throw caution to the murder winds and head out in a freshly cleaned out car, cruising neighborhoods and driving dirt roads hoping to catch a glimpse of a sale, or at the very least a sign pointing me toward one.
But every once in a while, a yard sale sign will do me dirty by promising a a big big sale, only to arrive to an empty yard or even worse – I lose the trail completely and my entire bargain-hunting momentum is thrown off, meaning some other middle-aged guy is going to score a really great Devo record for a quarter.
If you are holding a yard sale – advertising it with signs will get you the dough you are looking for, but don’t forget to do the courteous last step by going and picking up your signs. Most busy intersections in the morongo basin have some old, faded yard sale signs that just become litter. I’ll grab signs in my neighborhood that are old or have blown into the road, and have found signs sectured to boxes with nails and screws, destined to become someone’s else problem as a flat tire.
In the spirit of bargain hunting: I propose we make a deal in the hi-desert. By simply putting a date on your yard sale sign, folks driving by won’t be fooled into turning up a street with nothing for sale on it, and it gives folks who like to clean up litter a clear message that the sign is out of date and can be trashed.
The next yard sale you hold, close down a little early and cruise your neighborhood cleaning up the signs that you posted, and bring some of that newly earned cash. You never know what you’ll find hiding out there in the garages and backyards in the wonderful and weird Mojave desert.
