Early this year word began to spread that the Auburn’s annual city-wide Community Yard Sale event was canceled. As both sellers and buyers plan for months for the weekend, this news was not well received. The city’s staff listened to citizen feedback and brainstormed to ensure the yard sale event could proceed. This past Friday the city announced an all-digital campaign for the city-wide Community Yard Sale event.
Auburn’s Community Yard Sale is funded by a grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology. This funding is used for the registration postcard mailings and the newspaper advertisements and yard sale listings Joan Nelson, City of Auburn Solid Waste & Recycling Supervisor explained that in 2018 the grant funds were delayed due to the State Capital Budget not being passed in 2017. This delay in funding prompted the initial decision to not coordinate the sale for 2018.
City of Auburn Director of Administration Dana Hinman shared, “when it was clear it had become an event the community really liked our staff put their heads together and came up with the digital idea.”
Historically the yard sale weekend has been one weekend, the first weekend in June. Last year the city held the event on two weekends with mixed reviews. “For this year, we decided on the one weekend to test the digital strategy and [to] accommodate the shorted planning timeframe,” said Hinman.
Registering for the Community Yard Sale Event
The city already had an online map for previous years, making the shift to a digital campaign a smoother transition. Participants who register with the city’s event will have their sale included on this digital map. The ability to list a description of items to highlight a sale is also available when registering online. The city has created printable signs, available in two sizes. Registration and participation are free.
Register Here
Check out the map of registered sales here
Yard sales are not limited to this city-wide event. The city has provided a list of tips for a successful yard sale on their event page. Those who are holding sales are asked to remove advertising signs once their sale has ended to prevent litter. A list of donation and reuse locations are available here.
There was some speculation within the community that the Community Yard Sale’s original cancelation and the changes to the 2018 Bulky Item Collection were connected. Nelson clarified that “the changes to this year’s Bulky Item Collection had nothing to do with grant funding. We were looking for a way to reduce confusion over when the collection was. In order to collect all single-family homes in one day, we had to limit the number of items.
To all those participating in the city-wide event, and throughout the summer: May the yard sale odds be ever in your favor.
Updated: May 9, 2018 1:01pm to include information regarding Bulky Collection
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