Garage sales are becoming a necessity for many struggling homeowners

Garage sales, which surged when the economy tanked in 2008, continue to boom as people look for extra cash to put toward their monthly bills and $3.80-a-gallon gasoline.

Those selling their unwanted things often are motivated as much by a need to bring money into the household as a desire to de-clutter.
When he wrote "Garage Sale America" in 2007, lifestyle author and TV personality Bruce Littlefield put the size of the shadow garage sale economy at $3 billion. With unemployment still distressingly high and many homeowners still struggling to keep up with their mortgages, "you can add 25 percent to that now," Littlefield said.
He forecasts that 2011 will be the biggest year ever for garage sales.
"In tough times, people try to find ways to make money, and we do have a lot of junk," he said. "One in 10 families pays for self-storage. That says to me we have too much stuff. And the easiest way to get rid of it is to drag it to your lawn and have others pay for the privilege of carting it off."
One measure of garage sale activity is Craigslist. A spokeswoman for the online network of free classifieds said the garage sale category has "doubled overall year to year" during the economic downturn. The category remains strong for The Record and Herald News, too — nearly an entire page of garage sale ads this weekend, more than 200 in all.
Even people who don't typically hold garage sales are rooting around the basement. Cheryl Mallon is an example.
A portfolio administrator for an investment bank, Mallon had never held a garage sale in her seven years in Elmwood Park. But with her husband out of work since January and money tighter than before, she figured now was the time.
So eight days ago, Mallon carried out the CDs nobody listens to, the exercise bike nobody rides and the Hess toy trucks nobody ever played with. She put those things, and more, on the driveway and put up a "Garage Sale" sign on nearby Route 4.
Almost immediately, Cecil Allen of Bloomfield swooped in and gathered up 88 CDs, a boom box, a DVD player, two Hess trucks and a Radio Shack toy racing car. He pulled out a wad of green and peeled off $105. A good day's take for Mallon — and the day had just begun.
"I know people are a helluva lot worse off than we are, but you do think twice about going out to dinner," she said, reflecting on her financial situation. She said she had no set plans for her garage sale proceeds beyond getting a haircut.
Dan Navarro, owner of Good Things Arts and Antiques in Bogota, is a veteran of the garage sale circuit. He senses a particular mind-set in many North Jerseyans holding sales these days.
"People have this need to shed their excess, and I think it has to do with not having confidence," he said. "Maybe they won't have their job next year. Maybe they won't have their home next year."
Trying to stave off foreclosure, single mom Karen Simmons-Braswell of Teaneck held a series of well-publicized garage sales last summer. She put "every penny" of the $8,831 in earnings toward her mortgage.
Nine months later, Simmons-Braswell is still in her house and still trying to work out a loan modification with her lender. The money from the garage sales bought her valuable time.
"It wasn't the final answer but it did help," said Simmons-Braswell, who had received many items donated from well-wishers. "Some people might find it not really worth the effort. You're sitting out there, it's hot, you have to advertise and put up signs. But $8,800 was a good amount. It meant a lot."

Help for seller, buyer

The Saturday that Cheryl Mallon held her sale was a big day for garage sales in North Jersey, and in Elmwood Park especially. It was Elmwood Park's annual townwide sale. The borough waived its permit fee and distributed a handout listing the 140 participating addresses.
In a case of art imitating life, the movie "Everything Must Go" opened the day before. Will Ferrell stars as a jobless alcoholic whose wife tosses him out of the house and dumps his possessions onto the lawn. Ferrell's character decides to start over by having a yard sale then and there.
A tour of local sales last weekend found no one that desperate but revealed a jittery undercurrent.
Source http://www.northjersey.com