Suburban Assault

My wife loves yard/garage sales. Every time we pass a sign, she yells out “YARD SALE!”, where I’m purposely hesitant to respond, “where? where?”  — while not even bothering to look around. Meanwhile, we’ve gone far beyond the turn off. This is an ongoing joke with us, because she knows how much I dislike them.

Don’t get me wrong. I think they serve a great purpose here in the ‘burbs, allowing families a chance to relieve themselves of the massive amounts of stuff that they no longer need. Yard sales also give other families (some who may be less fortunate) a chance to obtain some stuff that they may actually need. A great example would be clothes, toys and other baby supplies that your kids outgrow. Most of it is hardly used and takes up a lot of space. Why not pass it on to a new family that needs it?

So why do I dislike them? One problem that I have with yard/garage sales, is that level of disappointment I get when I DON’T find those one-of-a-kind treasures at next-to-nothing prices. Granted, I did find a sweet bike for my daughter once, but I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Typically, the ‘early risers’ clear out all the good stuff before the day even gets going. All that’s left is the worthless junk and the over-priced crap.

Speaking of over-priced, that’s my other issue with these suburban swap meets. This is junk that folks don’t want anymore. Why do they insist on charging so much money for it? I’m talking almost as much as they paid for it new. It’s almost as if they don’t actually want to get rid of the stuff.

The final reason I dislike yard sales is the fact that I already have enough junk in my life. Why would I want to buy more of other people’s junk?

But still, there’s nothing like a little gathering on your front lawn or back alley, to get your neighbors over for a nice visit. Like them or not, sometimes a yard/garage sale is the best way to meet your neighbors and build your community. Perhaps, I should stop the next time my wife yells out.