Economic Troubles Make Extra Income a Necessity
By Annie Gowen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Sandy Leaf, a self-described "starving Realtor" from Fairfax County, had her second yard sale of the season last week, despite frigid temperatures. She dragged a fire pit into the driveway and served hot cider while she set out children's books, clothes and housewares. She hoped for a little money to offset bills while clearing clutter from two bedrooms she plans to rent out.
It's cold out, but yard sales are hot.
This year, the economic downturn and widespread foreclosures have extended the yard sale season well into the chilly months, as residents search for ways to raise cash in hard times. Classified ads, including on Craigslist, are up. Bright yard sale signs dot telephone poles. Devotees used to shopping on sunny Saturdays in flip-flops are donning ski coats and mittens to find bargains.
"I can't believe somebody is having a yard sale on such a cold day," said bargain-hunter Cheryl Flood at Leaf's yard sale, with temperatures hovering near freezing. "Who would have expected one?"
At Leaf's home, friends and neighbors gathered in the driveway, a sense of unease in the cold, smoky air. One had just been laid off as a security guard. Another sold her spare car to pay bills. The residents of Glen Chase Court seemed to be bracing against forces out of their control. It brought to mind the words of another Craigslist poster from the same weekend: "End of the world forces sale."
"When all the news is about the economic downturn, everybody thinks about saving money and . . . starting to simplify," said Mary Ann Borkowski, 50, a stay-at-home mom and neighbor.
Leaf emerged from the house carrying a steaming coffee carafe.
"Want some cider?" she called. "Over by the fire pit?"
Nationally, the number of yard sales on Craigslist more than doubled last month from the same period in 2007, from 102,942 to 227,398, said Susan MacTavish Best, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based online service. Even regions with cool weather like Seattle have seen an uptick.
"Even as winter descends upon us, we're seeing astonishing growth in the Craigslist garage sale category as thrifty folks sell their unwanted belongings in order to fatten their wallets prior to the holiday season," MacTavish Best said via e-mail.
Locally, yard sale permits have increased this year in some municipalities, such as in Laurel, where permits are up from 112 last year to 145 this year.
The Washington Post's classified ads for garage sales increased by 26 percent from September to October this year, up from a 2 percent increase during the same time last year -- a "significant change," said Tim Condon, director of classified advertising. Condon said November is when yard sale listings traditionally fall off dramatically, but this year they are far more plentiful than expected.
"It's been going pretty strong," said Chris Heiska, a Lusby resident who blogs at http://Yardsalequeen.com. "Every Saturday, I'm like, 'Oh, I'm going to stay home this Saturday,' and then I'll check the paper and there's another one."
Yard sale habitues like Heiska say a lot more first-timers ventured into the yard sale game this year, some of whom are selling treasured possessions rather than unwanted junk.
"There are more quality things," said Sally Drown, 62, a Herndon resident who shops at yard sales for fun and to outfit her family's cottage in Vermont. "People are moving and downsizing and getting rid of stuff just to make money."
Lynne Grier sat in the garage of her townhouse Nov. 22 in Sterling and wished for more traffic at her moving sale. She recently quit her job as an underwriter in the failing mortgage industry and plans to move in with her sister in Chesapeake, Va. She made a pot of chili for salegoers.
"It's been a struggle," Grier said. "I'm selling about half my books, and it's painful. My books are my friends."
Her daughter Heather's bridal dress -- satin and sequins neatly preserved in a David's Bridal box -- was also for sale.
Leaf decided to have her second sale of the year because she wants to rent out a couple of spare rooms, perhaps to a student at nearby George Mason University. Her children are grown, and she will welcome the companionship, she said.
"I haven't sold a house in six months," Leaf said. "Normally, I'd sell five or six. . . . It's getting very tough."
Many neighbors in the subdivision have steady government jobs and good incomes -- the brick Colonials are assessed at about $750,000 by Fairfax County -- but even so, "people are really concerned," she said.
Nearby, Flood, 44, an office manager for a telecommunications company, was bundled up in a blue ski jacket, looking through the housewares. In recent months, she said, she has begun strenuously economizing after a divorce and a $10,000 reconstruction of a flooded basement. She has started yard sale shopping, clipping coupons and splitting a membership in a warehouse store with a friend.
"I'm poor," she said with humor. "It's the pits!"
Flood, a single mother of two boys, said that her economic straits have been keeping her up at night.
"I'm very scared," she said. "I don't sleep well. I go to sleep praying, 'Let me make the bills this month.' I think about it when I'm driving. I'm terrified someone's going to hit me, and then I'll have to buy a new car. I'll wake up at night and go, 'Gosh, did I pay that bill?' I check my bank account once a day to make sure everything's going to cover. It's just stressful."
She ended up toting away a free TV and a $2 candle sconce for one of her bare walls.
In keeping with the cold day, Leaf had set out winter and holiday items, including her children's boots and snowsuits, holiday picture books arrayed on a chair, even a pair of snowshoes.
"When I look back, I think about how sweet they were when they wore those things. That's something you think about," Leaf said. "I spent a million bucks on everything, and this is what I got!"
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