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From antique furniture and tools to an overhead projector and Barbie dolls, bargain hunters will find just about anything and everything at the sixth annual Los GatosMonte Sereno community garage sale.
More than 350 garage sales are to take place throughout Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and nearby unincorporated areas from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 17. Droves of people from throughout the Bay Area are expected to stop by, said Lauren Mende Tacké, recycling coordinator for the town of Los Gatos.
Shoppers can pick up a map of participating homes beginning May 13 at any 7-Eleven, Safeway or Whole Foods store in town. Information will also be available at the town's library and neighborhood center, as well as at Los Gatos Town Hall and Monte Sereno City Hall.
A list of participants' addresses and items to be sold can be viewed on the town website at www.town.los-gatos.ca.us under the "What's New" link beginning May 12.
The purpose of the event is to encourage households to salvage reusable items before they end up in landfills while fostering a sense of community among neighbors, Tacké said.
Some participants will hold individual garage sales on their streets, while others will join their neighbors in a block sale. Money earned that day will belong to the participants. As in years past, some have chosen to raise money for a community group or school program, Tacké said.
In the past, the project involved a nonprofit agency that would come after the event and pick up all unsold items. The agency would then resell items it recovered to fund its services.
In the first few years, the town partnered with HOPE Rehabilitation Services, a San Josebased organization that serves those with mental disabilities. Last year the Salvation Army collected 52,000 pounds of unsold items.
This year, instead of one agency doing a community-wide sweep immediately following the event, participants will be provided with a list of different organizations to which they can donate unsold items. The list of agencies is also available on the town of Los Gatos website. HOPE, the Salvation Army and Goodwill are agencies that will pick up items the week following the sale.
Individual agencies will no longer perform a community-wide cleanup because it is not cost-effective for them. A number of the items the agencies collected in years past proved to be useless, and the agencies had to bear the cost of disposing such materials, Tacké said.
For more information about the event, contact Tacké at 408.399.5796.
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Photograph by George Sakkestad