We are full into Spring and one of the welcoming signs of nicer weather are all the garage sale and estate sale signs popping up on every corner, a pleasing visual stimuli on a Saturday morning drive to do errands, reminding us how this time of year activates us to be more outside.
This phenomenon of the garage sale in contemporary America has been one I’ve thought of often during the summer months, a kind of symbol of our economy and where the country is headed. There is a negative in this, but also a positive.
I’ve always enjoyed going to garage sales to see if I can find any good deals on tools, books, outdoor gear, etc, but notice the trend of a lot of trinkets, worthless gadgets, and tacky seasonal decorations.
It is a reflection of our consumerist society. We follow religiously all the marketing ads of what to buy, to keep up with the Jones’, spend an ungodly amount of money for something that is usually unnecessary or of little intrinsic value, use it short term, then toss it in the closet to not see the light of day until one summer you decide to have a garage sale.
It is a fast treadmill of cheap Chinese products becoming waste, us consuming and then discarding like spoiled children.
They don’t have this phenomenon outside of the US in second and third world countries, and I suspect not in Europe. In those countries, and traditionally any country, you buy what you need, which tends to have more utilitarian or esthetical value, you maintain and preserve what you have, and hand it down to the next generation.
Most people do not do garage sales properly, in my opinion. They lay out all their junk and price it high, sitting around all weekend hoping they can make $5 instead of $2 on some old plates. Better to throw out the worthless items and quickly sell items of good value at a low price.
Oh and please take down the street corner garage sale sign after you are finished. Probably 1/3rd of all signs we follow obtusely lead to no garage sale because the owner didn’t bother to take down the sign.
Estate sales are better. You’re more likely to find quality items. But it’s also a sad state of affairs to see a deceased person’s life collection of possessions, today’s measure of a man’s life, sold off to the public instead of inherited by children who cherish it.
On the flip side we can take advantage of this. It has become almost a practical necessity to go to these sales to save money. It takes a lot of running around from sale to sale, sifting through all the items.
Which is why I look for huge neighborhood-wide garage sales in which you can hit up dozens of sales in one area. I’ll have a list in my mind of what I’m looking for and then blitzkrieg the neighborhood quickly getting in and out of each sale.
So I see the silver lining in garage sales. And with our economy predicted to collapse, it is a frugal way to buy tools and other survival necessities.
The anti-materialism frugal minded can smartly stretch the dollar this way as part of a counter-cultural lifestyle that is more traditional and conservative. And Christian.