Citywide garage sale season starting as weather warms

Lindsey Downes of Iowa City looks at children's toys for her 4-year-old daughter at a garage sale during the recent city-wide Coralville sale. More city-wide sales are coming up this spring and summer across Iowa.

By Meredith Hines-Dochterman
By The Gazette

CORALVILLE — Rebecca Williams jumped out of the passenger side of the car driven by her friend, Maggie Birk.

Williams grabbed a map of Coralville’s citywide garage sales while Birk circled the parking lot of the Coralville Recreation Center.

“She’ll pick me up and then we’re off,” said Williams, of Iowa City.

The pair couldn’t stay and chat — the first rule of successful garage sale shopping is be early.

“The good stuff goes fast,” Birk, also of Iowa City, yells from the driver’s window.

Garage sale season is upon us. Last week, several Eastern Iowa communities — Coralville, Ely, Marion and Swisher — held their annual citywide garage sales. More towns will follow suit through the spring and summer.

A garage sale is an opportunity to rid the home of items no longer wanted or needed. Or, as Bill Hook said, to finally allow him to use his garage.

The Coralville resident and his wife, Jessica, participated in Coralville’s citywide sales for the first time last weekend.

“That’s why we have so much crap — I mean, quality merchandise,” he said.

The Swack family of Coralville — Alan and Margaret, and their children Alexander and Rachel — also were first-timers.

“I’ve always wanted to do it,” Margaret said. “We had way too much stuff piled up, and I thought I’d try it.”

Children’s items dominated her sale, from clothing and videos to games and toys. Margaret’s sister, Sarah Breuwet of Urbandale, made the trip to help with the sale and rid herself of some of her 10-year-old twin daughters’ castoffs.

“Anything we don’t sell here, we’ll take to Urbandale and try to get rid of them there,” Margaret said.

Promise yourself you won’t bring items back into the house.

“I think we’ll be taking a big pile to Goodwill,” said Nicole Brenchley of Coralville.

5 tips for garage sale success

While the concept of a garage sale might seem simple — clean out a room, put price tags on what you don’t want and rake in some dough — there are tips for those who want their sales to succeed. Read on for advice from those who know:

1. Get the word out.  “You should put an ad in the paper, describing what will be in your sale,” said Caitlin Johnson of Coralville. 
2. Use the buddy system. “I’d definitely try to go in with a friend or a neighbor,” said Margaret Swack of Coralville. “If your town doesn’t do a citywide sale, try to organize a neighborhood sale. The more stuff you have, the more customers you’ll get.” 
3.  Be organized.  Have items priced and organized early. If you can set things up the night before, do so. Early-bird shoppers on the hunt for bargains think nothing of looking through your items before your sale begins. “We had buyers before 6:30 a.m.,” said Bill Hook of Coralville. 
4. Price items to sell. Denise Russell participates in Coralville’s citywide sales every year. Profits from this year’s sale will go toward her daughter’s wedding at Walt Disney World next month. Still, getting rid of the stuff takes precedence over profit. “You know how places can get cluttered,” Russell said. “This stuff just sits and collects dust, so if other people can use it, great.” 
5. Don’t forget change. You can never have too many dollar bills or quarters during a garage sale.

2009 Gazette Communications