The great green wander
What could be a more appropriate way to celebrate Earth Day week than garage sales? How about a guide that can help you plan the most efficient route?
The Oregon Coast TODAY now has an interactive map to help you find the garages, yards and shops in the 2021 Great Oregon Coast Garage Sale, where you can hunt for hidden treasure and great bargains on Friday, Saturday & Sunday, April 16, 17 & 18.
For the map, with sites from Lincoln City to Depoe Bay, go to www.oregoncoasttoday.com and select the Great Oregon Coast Garage Sale link. With a simple click on each pin, you will see the times, days and details of what each sale site is offering.
“It’s so much simpler now that people can just use their smartphones to find places to stop,” said Lori Arce-Torres, executive director of the Lincoln City Chamber of Commerce. “They can go through the list and make their own map for the route they choose.”
Browsing can sometimes help you find something you didn’t even know you needed, but a short list of the kind of items that will on offer includes: camping and RV supplies, kitchen goods, furniture, tools and lots of things for kids.
And it wouldn’t be a coastal event if there weren’t opportunities for finding glass floats as well as general flotsam and jetsam.
“Look around your house and see what holes you need to fill in,” Arce-Torres said. “If you have more time lately, maybe now you can finally rearrange your house. It’s a fun time to refresh your look or just get a deal on something you’ve needed but have waited to buy because times are tight.”
Helping yourself find that perfect item for a great price might also help someone else make it through another month.
“Because more people than ever are out of work they are looking for creative ways to supplement their income,” Arce-Torres said. “This is something that can help people get by until they can get back to work.”
Organizers are urging participating sale holders to not just clean out their closets and garages, but to also clean the things they are getting out of their closets and garages.
“We keep reinforcing the message to the vendors that things need to be clean and disinfected,” Arce-Torres said. “It will be up to the individual vendors to enforce the rules on masks or social distancing, but there are things they can do to make it easier, like spreading out the merchandise on the tables so it helps people keep social distance. We’ve told people to spread things out on their lawn if they have to.”
So, top off your gas tank or electric car battery, pack your wallet full of small bills and pack some high-value snacks for your co-pilot, and head out for the great green wander.