As far as shopping sprees go, there’s nothing quite like rummaging through pre-loved goodies at a garage sale. Part of the joy is never knowing what bargain you’ll find (and not realising how badly you wanted a pair of neon pink parachute pants until you rescue them from a cardboard box).
These days, a good garage sale is as rare as an original 1960s troll doll – which is where the Garage Sale Trail comes in. What started on the front lawns of Bondi in 2010 is now a nationwide campaign during which thousands of garage sales run across the country for two massive weekends. Last year, more than 300,000 Australians shopped or sold at more than 15,000 garage sales across the nation. The aim is to reduce waste and encourage reusing among local communities, to stop tonnes of perfectly good stuff from ending up in landfill.
To run your own garage sale, it's totally free to register. Garage Sale Trail will then send you promo materials to help put the word out, plus they’ll list your sale on the official website. Or if you're looking to score a pre-loved bargain, you can then use the website as a guide to all the sales in their area. So far, it looks like there's more than 400 garage sales registered in Melbourne alone, which is a whole lotta shopping. Plus, there are also group sales where multiple stallholders band together to make a one-stop-shop mega sale. Whether you're selling or buying, it's truly a win-win: finally declutter your wardrobe and make some extra moola, or get your hands on some new-to-you, sustainable treasures.
This year, there will be garage sales across Melbourne the weekends of November 10-11 and November 18-19. To plan your route by building a trail of sales to visit using the Garage Sale Trail map, here. If you want to turn your stash into cash, you can register for the Garage Sale Trail for free here.
