Garage Sale brings a community together

October 30, 2015

Many Foundation Housing homes are units situated in complexes that form a small community. Recently the tenants of a complex of units in East Perth got together to hold a jumbo garage sale. Kevin, who was one of the main organisers of the sale, wrote about the experience for Foundation Focus.

Talk about community housing working together! We held a garage sale over the Easter weekend at Bronte St, East Perth in which half-a- dozen residents joined to sell their unwanted wares. We advertised the sale which was held in our mutual courtyard in the free-ad “Quokka” paper. We were successful in selling vintage vinyl LPs and singles, plus a load of books, some quality tools and although we were offering bric-a-brac, no one bought that. However, we made some money and disposed of unwanted goods to neighbours and other customers. Good fun was had by our group of residents over the period. The legacy of this encounter with community was renewed friendship between neighbours and the result being some money made amongst the participants of our sale. And as said, good fun.
Kevin M
Foundation Housing tenant
East Perth

Inspired to hold a garage sale in your own complex? Here are some tips:
Approach your neighbours to see if they’re interested. Have a few dates in mind.

• Work out if you are going to put everything together or have separate stalls. Agree how you’ll manage the float and the money made from sales. You could have a ‘checkout’ and record each sale against each neighbour.
  Share the work load by giving everyone a job such as:
• Making and putting up posters and signs,
• contacting free advertisers like Gumtree.com.au and Quokka,
• organising a float,
• setting up tables / tarps / chairs if you plan to use them,
• What will you do with left over items? Can someone drive them to a charity shop?
• Make your items look good. Wash, dust and shine your wares to maximise your profit. Group similar types of items together.
• If you are using a single float, share the responsibility of handling money by working in pairs and counting the float before and after the sale. Keep your complex tidy by removing all items, posters and signs afterwards.
• Price things in advance. The less you charge the less you’ll have to pack up afterwards.

Have fun and share a cuppa or two while you’re working together. Take some photos on your phone and send them to Foundation Focus communications@foundationhousing.org.au