Before the day ends, we do want to make note that we are now exactly two months away from West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – Saturday, May 11th, 2013. If you’re new to the area and/or WSB, this is not one big sale, but rather one big DAY of sales all over the peninsula, big and small and inbetween. This year marks the ninth annual WSCGSD, the sixth one that WSB will coordinate/present. We’re already starting to get phone calls, but no, registration is not open yet. We expect to accept signups starting Monday, April 1st. What you get for a nominal fee is a spot on the map, an online “ad” (also listed as text in the map packet), and promotion, promotion, promotion – not just to our audiences/collaborators/followers on the Web and social media, but also to hundreds of thousands of others via promotion/advertising that we seek out around the region. So note those two dates: If you are a prospective seller, April 1st, signups begin; whether you are a buyer or a seller, May 11th is the big day, when West Seattle becomes the Garage Sale Capital of Western Washington (if not beyond). Watch for updates not only here but also on the official WSCGSD website, the WSCGSD Facebook page (as well as the WSB FB page), and the WSB Twitter feed.

(Below, Team WSB’s travelogue, with photos and anecdotes, including a few reader contributions, as we hit the road for five hours during WSCGSD.)

The sales have begun! Team WSB has hit the road to visit some of the 245 sales registered for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (see the map here). We passed the sign above on our way out – it’s for sale 212 at 4211 SW Sullivan, not far from WSB HQ. On our way to one of the southernmost sales, the White Center Kiwanis at Greenbridge Plaza, 9800 8th SW, and we’ll head north from there. Send YOUR photos too!

9:29 AM UPDATE: The photo above was shared on Facebook by sale #9, the West Seattle Tool Library at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW. Remember they’re buying tools too (and have rovers on the lookout).

9:40 AM: Our favorite photo so far. At sale #177 on 34th SW just north of Roxbury (a “moving-in sale”) we photographed Philip on the recliner that he’s selling. Just before that, we were over at the aforementioned Greenbridge sale (8th just south of Roxbury) – which is beautifully laid out, from this overview:

We photographed the WC Kiwanis volunteers who are on hand and will publish that photo on partner site White Center Now. Continuing our northbound trek, here’s the only gas-station-site sale we have this year – on the south side of Gasco at 35th/Henderson, by the Southwest Library. Check the vintage bikes!

From there, we’re off to Gatewood and Morgan Junction.

10:06 AM: At 6451 California SW, Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) co-proprietor Jeff Gilbert is selling rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia including KISS alarm clocks and even a KISS electric toothbrush. Get there fast. A few blocks south at California/Othello is sale #224 at the Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation‘s church – where the famous Whiskey Tango Foxtrot table and Frogsquatch are staples at big sales:

There are small finds such as a rabbit billed as doing an imitation of a squirrel:

10:30 AM: A couple photos from the inbox (thanks!) – first, sale #36 at West Seattle High School, courtesy of girls’ basketball coach Sonya Elliott, whose team is having a sale again this year:

If you haven’t been to WSHS, it’s at 3000 California SW. Also from north West Seattle, Scott sent this photo from sale #66, 2103 46th SW, benefit sale with a Daisy Scout Troop and part of the proceeds going to animal advocates:

And at sale #166, 5456 35th SW, there’s a benefit lemonade stand to benefit WestSide Baby and Kitty Harbor – thanks to Brooke for the photo!

We’re in The Junction now; we stopped in Seaview along the way, at sale #240, 4409 SW Raymond, where we found Renée selling her handmade notecards:

Find out more about them at snakeandponyshow.com. And not far from there, at California/Findlay, one of the two official multiseller sites – C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor):

Next door to C & P, another WSB sponsor, Potter Construction, where proprietor Gary Potter has gone high-tech to track how things are going:

More to come as we keep heading north, and eventually east too.

11:25 AM UPDATE: Just left The Junction, where California/Genesee/42nd/41st is a nexus of big sales:

Galena and Ariana from Delridge Produce Cooperative have a fundraising sale in the Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) courtyard. That’s also where we spotted BJ from Brunette Mix (also a WSB sponsor), not selling but certainly browsing, along with many others:

The sale continues in the Ginomai lot immediately east, on the 42nd/Genesee alley, with West Seattle Christian Church raising money for their wellbuilding project – hot dogs and water bottles for sale:

If you have any trouble finding California/42nd/Genesee, just look for the clown on the California corner, where there’s also an eclectic array of stuff (the clown’s not for sale, though, its owner tells us)

Then if you continue down Genesee a block-plus east, you’ll see the balloons outside the Menashe Family Gymnasium at Seattle Lutheran High School, sale #41 – go inside and you’ll find Tyler and, if it hasn’t sold yet, the recliner:

Lutheran’s also offering free tote bags!

From there, we continued northbound toward Admiral, with a stop along the way – more shortly.

12:04 PM UPDATE: Halfway through already! We’re now back in White Center – not WSCGSD, but rather, checking on West Seattle High School’s big baseball tournament game against O’Dea. Back on the Garage Sale Day road shortly. But first – Olivia’s Consignment south of the Admiral District, sale #68, is donating part of their proceeds to WestSide Baby:

After the sale, Olivia’s will also accept donated items (baby/kid stuff, obviously) to take to WS Baby, if sellers have leftovers. Further north, in Admiral, along 42nd SW, just north of Admiral Way, Muttley Crew Cuts‘ sale is raising money for English Springer Rescue. So of course, there’s an English Springer starring at the sale – 4-year-old Hunter, who needs some hip work:

They’re selling hot dogs at Muttley Crew, too. Another Admiral stop – the Homemade Brigade arts/crafts sale at Freshy’s across California SW from Hiawatha:

Krystal Kelley of Mind Unwind is among the sellers there. After Admiral, en route to our current WC stop, we detoured onto Pigeon Point. Sale #12 is at 3831 22nd SW, with furniture and clothing:

12:34 PM UPDATE: Our WC detour is over. Now we’re checking out Arbor Heights, where one corner on 35th has signs galore:

More to come. Still just a little more than halfway through the day. Stopped right now off Marine View Drive, which might just be West Seattle’s premier view drive (photo taken from passenger seat as we traveled).

1:10 PM UPDATE: Here are our photos from the two sales we visited in the Arbor Heights/Marine View Drive area – Laura at sale 241, 11048 Marine View Place SW, had signs touting a neon sign for sale – but told us it went pretty fast, early in the day. However, a $10 Christmas tree was still available as of our stop:

Next door to Laura’s sale, another lemonade sale – Brandon, Spencer, and Darby were offering their wares to sale visitors, as the temperature keeps rising:

Not far away, at sale 248, 3918 107th SW, we met Barba:

Headed back north now – stopping in Sunrise Heights to check out Café Osita’s collection for Stamp Out Hunger, till 2 pm (35th/Webster). (photo added)

1:30 PM UPDATE: Three-fourths of the way through (already?) … we’re in the High Point area but first, a photo from west Admiral/upper Alki, from sale #77 on SW Campbell Place, which billed itself as the “guys’ sale” … these computers are among the offerings:

2 PM UPDATE: Final hour! Have noticed some sellers posting bargain prices for the last hour via the WSCGSD Facebook page. Also just got word, not part of WSCGSD but something you can do while out and about, the West Seattle High School Class of 2012 is having a benefit car wash at Washington Federal, 4102 California SW. Another benefit – the bratwurst-and-grilled zucchini $5 lunch at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) till 4 pm:

That’s Michele at the grill.

2:27 PM UPDATE: Last half-hour! Have already heard from a couple of happy buyers. Milo‘s mom Sarah says she got a screaming deal on this drum set today.

How about you – if you shopped, anything unusual? If you’re selling, let us know if you’re continuing past 3 or selling again tomorrow.

3:57 PM UPDATE: We should take a moment to say THANK YOU for being part of WSCGSD this year … our fifth as coordinators/organizers, but the 8th annual edition overall. We were so happy to see so many people out and about, and to hear about people meeting more of their neighbors. Anyway, one note: Our official post-sale donation partners at South Park-based Northwest Center remind us that their Big Blue Truck, now at 44th/Edmunds SEVEN days a week, is there late today – till 6:30 pm.

In neighborhoods all over West Seattle, at homes and schools and businesses, at a church and a P-Patch and even a gas station, 245 sales are on the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day map – which you’ll find here. Happy shopping/selling! 9 am-3 pm are the official sale hours. We’ll have updates on WSB, but our main coverage will be on the official WSCGSD site and the WSCGSD Facebook page (where some sellers have posted more info and photos of what they’re selling – we also welcome your photos while sales are in progress, whether you’re selling, buying, or just passing by – editor@westseattleblog.com). (P.S. Our updated list of sales benefiting nonprofits is here.) A full preview of everything else happening today/tonight, coming up.

Out driving around this morning, we saw a sign already up on a pole pointing people to a certain sale # on the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day map. Warms our heart. With a few last-last-minute cancellations (check here to see which ones to scratch off your printed map), we are now at right about 245 sales for tomorrow. Before sale day, we always pull the list of who’s donating at least part of their proceeds:

#8, 9800 8th Avenue SW, just across Roxbury from the south boundary of West Seattle, the White Center Kiwanis’s benefit sale is at Greenbridge Plaza.
#9, 4408 Delridge Way SW, West Seattle Tool Library (northeast side of Youngstown Arts Center), buy, sell, donate tools, and check out the WSTL’s wish list here
#36, 3000 California SW, at West Seattle High School, benefit for the WSHS girls’ basketball team
#39, 4136 Beach Drive SW, benefit sale for American Cancer Society via Relay for Life team
#41, 4100 SW Genesee, at Seattle Lutheran High School, benefit for student athletics
#57, 4426 California SW, at West Seattle Eagles, members donating part of the proceeds to charities of their personal choice
#58, 2753 44th SW, benefit to fight lung cancer through Breathe Deep Seattle 5K
#65, 4736 40th SW, benefit for West Seattle Rainbow Girls
#66, 2103 46th SW, benefit for animal shelter (sale hosted by Daisy Girl Scout Troop)
#68, 3916 California SW, Olivia’s Consignment sale with a portion of proceeds benefiting WestSide Baby
#75, 2326 California SW, at Merrill Gardens-Admiral Heights (WSB sponsor), benefit for West Seattle Helpline
#103, 4200 SW Admiral Way, at Muttley Crew Cuts, benefiting English Springer Rescue
#115, 4142 47th SW, bake sale/fundraiser to fight breast cancer via Susan G. Komen.
#125, 4410 California SW, at group sale site @ Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor), you’ll find Delridge Produce Cooperative (with their famous strawberry bags)
#126, 4030 55th SW, Amethyst Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star
#140, 3618 SW Alaska, at American Legion Post 160, benefiting the West Seattle Grand Parade
#157, 3526 SW Rose, with part of the proceeds benefiting the Greater Northwest Chapter of the National MS Society.
#166. 35th/Findlay, lemonade stand to support WestSide Baby and Kitty Harbor.
#168: 5400-5600 block 31st and 30th, benefit block sale, families donating percentage to the charities of their choice
#173, 5612 California SW, benefit sale at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor) group site, for DetermiNation team in Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, benefiting American Cancer Society.
#181, 5931 47th SW, group yard sale to benefit Foolscap
#182, 6308 41st SW, all sales benefit American Cancer Society Relay for Life.
#188, 8436 Fauntleroy Way SW, benefits Delta Kappa Gamma (women educators), for scholarship fund.
#189, 7400 Fauntleroy Way SW, Lincoln Park P-Patch.
#197, 5240 49th SW, benefit sale for world peace.
#232, 6309 Beach Drive SW, benefits Friends of Youth, La Leche League.
#236, 7571 46th SW, multifamily sale benefiting the West Seattle Hi-Yu Summer Festival.

Anyone on the map who’s donating proceeds but didn’t mention it in your listing? Let us know and we’ll add you to the list.

Meantime, if you haven’t already, get your maps here – then, if you’re not selling, be out shopping 9 am-3 pm tomorrow. We’ll post in-progress updates as they happen; you can also join the pre-sale discussion on the WSCGSD Facebook page, including more on who has what.

OK, we can’t guarantee it’s a bargain – perhaps in the garage-sale tradition, they’ll negotiate – but it IS a boat and it’s one of the most unusual items listed for sale in the short “ads” that accompany the map for this Saturday’s 245+-sale West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – Nicholas, sale #194 at 4036 SW Henderson in Fauntleroy, e-mailed the photo, writing, ‘Among the interesting items left behind by the former owners of our house was this model of a Chris Craft(?) boat. It’s all hand-crafted from wood and probably dates from the 1950s or 1960s.” Other sellers have been posting photos of slightly less unusual items on the WSCGSD Facebook page; check the page, check the maps (find the clickable/zoomable and printable versions both here), and if you’re not among the sellers, get ready for a shop-a-thon all over the peninsula 9 am-3 pm Saturday. Keep tabs on that page and/or the official WSCGSD website (westseattlegaragesale.com) tomorrow and Saturday, for map pages, special announcements, you just never know. The weather still looks GREAT!

A few notes as this Saturday’s 8th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (245+ sales, 9 am-3 pm, all over the peninsula!) gets closer …

PREPRINTED MAPS: If you absolutely have no access to a printer to print your own copy of the “printable” map (linked on this WSB page, right above the clickable/zoomable “online” map), we have made a limited number of copies and dropped handfuls off at three local coffeehouses: Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (4410 California SW), C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW and, like Hotwire, a WSB sponsor), and Bird on a Wire Espresso (SW Henderson just steps west of 35th SW). Hotwire (#125 on the map) and C & P (#183 on the map), remember, both are “group sites” for individual sellers who didn’t have enough space or merchandise for their own standalone sites, so you’ll want to visit them on Saturday, and while there’s no sale at The Bird, Saturday includes a sale at the Gasco station site right across 35th (#175 on the map)!

SNEAK PEEKS, AND WHO’S LOOKING FOR WHAT: With sale day so close, we’ve invited sellers to post more info/photos, if interested, on the WSCGSD Facebook page, and shoppers are also invited to post there if they’re looking for something specific. (For example, the West Seattle Tool Library plans another tool shopping spree that day, and its wish list is on its website, if you are selling any of those items or know someone who is.) The WSCGSD Facebook page is also where we’ll post any news of last-minute cancellations or other changes – you will find those on the WSCGSD page here on WSB, too, but if you use FB, that’s the one and only place devoted ONLY to the big day.

BENEFIT SALES: Browse the 7 pages of listings in the “printable” map version and you’ll see more than a few marked BENEFIT SALE – big sales benefiting community events, schools, youth groups, service clubs, health research, a church, an animal-rescue group, a P-Patch, and more. We expect to publish a few breakout lists over the next few days before sale day.

‘STAMP OUT HUNGER’ DONATIONS: And please remember, whether you’re a shopper or a seller (or doing something else on Saturday, for that matter), please consider donating to Stamp Out Hunger, postal carriers’ annual nationwide door-to-door food drive – leave a bag of nonperishable food by your mailbox or door (if that’s where your deliveries come) before you head out on Saturday morning – it’s an easy way to help in the fight against hunger.

Yes, we know the extended forecast is tough to rely on this far out, BUT we have to say we’re excited that the projection is for SUNSHINE next Saturday – the 8th annual edition of West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, with 245+ sales of all sizes, all over the peninsula! Have you seen the map yet? It has its own page here on WSB again this year – note the tab (with purple text) at the top right of WSB pages. The online version – with a right-side list of addresses, each of which you can click to go to that specific sale and find out more (via an info-bubble) – is there now. The printable version, with all 245+ listings plus numbered map sections, will be linked from that page (among other places) once it’s ready to go. Whether you’re a seller or a shopper, thanks in advance for joining in the person-to-person-recycling, meet-your-neighbors, explore-West-Seattle fun, next Saturday! And keep an eye on the WSCGSD Facebook page, where sellers are welcome to post photos/more info about their sales – we suggest using the sale #, now that it’s available via the online map (numbers will be the same on the printable version), to make sure everybody knows WHICH sale you’re showcasing.

5:40 PM UPDATE: The printable map is available now too – get it here, or any time from the aforementioned page on which you’ll also find the online map.

Now that it’s Saturday … we are officially one week away from the 8th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – 9 am-3 pm next Saturday, May 12th! As promised, the maps showing all 245+ sales – clickable online version and printable/downloadable PDF version – will be available today, and as usual, it’s down to the wire for us completing them, doublechecking them, etc. Just wanted to get a mention here in case you are a seller or shopper eagerly anticipating next Saturday – a few sellers have stumbled into PREVIOUS YEARS’ maps out there in the archives and mistakenly thought they had been left off the map – no, the 2012 maps are NOT online as of this early-early-am writing. We’ll announce it here in our 5 official channels (here, westseattlegaragesale.com, the WSCGSD Facebook page, the WSB Facebook page, and the WSB Twitter feed) when they are. Thank you!

Nine days till West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 2012, with 250 sales of all sizes all over the peninsula, north to south, east to west! The image at left is just **part** of the online version of the map (don’t draw any conclusions – it’s a work in progress!), which along with the printable version is now in the final stages of production, so we can keep our annual promise of making the map available one week in advance … among other reasons, so that sellers know their numbers and can promote their sales, and so shoppers can plan their routes and preview the listings. Not only will you find classic garage-sale highlights, you will also find sellers offering hot dogs, lemonade, bake sales, and other surprises. The clickable online map (from which the screengrab at left is taken) will likely be available slightly sooner than the printable map this Saturday, so check here, and/or the official WSCGSD website, the WSCGSD Facebook page – where sellers are welcome to post photos and other sale notes in the days before the sale, if interested! – and the WSB Facebook page. So don’t forget – tell your friends; non-West Seattleites welcome to come shop too! – 9 am-3 pm Saturday, May 12th, meet neighbors and new friends as you engage in the timeless tradition of person-to-person recycling, Alki to the Arroyos, Pigeon Point to Greenbridge, and beyond.

We’re making the list and checking it … more than twice … as we count down to the 8th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, exactly two weeks away – 9 am to 3 pm on Saturday, May 12th. The final total, barring any last-minute cancellations (Wednesday’s the deadline for those), is 250 sales – all sizes! Group sales, block sales, business sales, school sales, multi-family sales, a BIG roster of benefit sales for myriad causes … a sale at a gas station … a sale at a bar … a sale at a P-Patch … sales in all five West Seattle zip codes, and neighborhoods from Alki in the north to the Arroyos in the south. So that you have a week to plan, we will have the map available (in clickable and printable formats as in years past) next Saturday – we’ll publish the links in all our channels when it’s ready, including the official West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day site, the WSCGSD Facebook page (where we invite sellers to post photos/info in the week before sale day), the WSB Facebook page, and of course, here. But most of all, whether you’re selling or shopping, get ready for May 12th (and invite your off-peninsula friends to come shop, not just the sales, but also WS businesses/restaurants while they’re here!).

Registration closed overnight for this year’s West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – coming up Saturday, May 12th! – with more than 235 sales signed up, north to south, east to west, small to big, all over the peninsula! A BIG part of making it a successful day is for us as WSCGSD’s coordinating organization to finish The Map (printable and clickable versions) so that it can be made widely available a week in advance, and the map-creation process starts now.

BUT FIRST: If you signed up, PLEASE check to be sure you have both the official confirmation note from us AND a receipt from PayPal – the form we use does NOT finalize sale listings unless both parts of the process were completed (we realize some might change their minds midway through). We already sent notes to several would-be sellers who didn’t complete the process, and it looks like we have more to send today – but if you don’t respond to our note, we can’t get you on the map. If you have any question about your sale’s status, we’d be happy to check the list to confirm; e-mail us at garagesale@westseattleblog.com. Watch for more updates between now and Sale Day here, on the official site at westseattlegaragesale.com, and on Facebook (the WSCGSD page is here, and we’ll crosspost major updates to the official WSB FB page here).

Just before midnight tonight, registration ends and mapmaking begins for our 8th annual edition of West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (fifth year that WSB has coordinated/presented it). Just a few sales away from 200 right now – all sizes, all neighborhoods, all on Saturday, May 12th, from 9 am-3 pm. The map will be available a week in advance, but if you don’t get your sale signed up by tonight, you won’t be on it, so if you’re planning to participate and haven’t yet registered … here’s the form. (P.S. One more reminder for people who want to be part of a group site because they don’t have the room or the volume for their own sale: Check with Hotwire Online Coffeehouse or C & P Coffee Company [both WSB sponsors] to see if they have spaces left!)

(Mount Rainier over the 38th/Dakota rooftops, courtesy MG)
Gratuitous shot of The Mountain just to get your attention … it’s REALLY nice out – come home! But first:

From Alki to Arbor Heights, from Genesee to Greenbridge, 160 individual, group/organization, and block sales are now ready to go for the 8th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day on May 12th, and if you are planning to join them on The Map, you have 56 hours till the registration deadline. Once signups end just before midnight this Wednesday night, Team WSB puts on our Team Garage Sale Day hats to get busy map-making and taking care of other details to pave the way for a great day – six hours of person-to-person recycling, as we like to call it, and also a great chance for the rest of the region to come on over and shop (not just the garage sales, but West Seattle stores and restaurants too). Speaking of which, if you have a bulletin board nearby (your workplace? school? favorite coffee shop? store? wherever!) to put up a simple letter-sized Garage Sale Day miniposter, thanks in advance for printing it out (here’s the PDF) and posting it, or sending it around, sharing this update via Facebook (and more) with the ShareThis tool beneath it, etc.! The more shoppers, the merrier. So whether you’re shopping or selling, we’re looking forward to another glorious WSCGSD on May 12th – here’s the signup form if your sale isn’t on the list already!

If so … the sign-up clock is ticking: West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day registration deadline is Wednesday night, 11:59 pm … and then we get busy making The Maps! Sale day is always the second Saturday in May, which means this year it’s May 12th, exactly three weeks from today, 9 am-3 pm, all over the peninsula. More than 140 sales ready to go already, from block sales to group sales to individual sales (plus the multi-seller sites at Hotwire Online Coffeehouse and C & P Coffee Company [WSB sponsors] – contact them directly to see if there’s still room). Need the registration form? It’s all online – no postage stamp or envelope or check needed – just go here. Thanks!

120 sales now on the map for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 2012 – the six hours (9 am-3 pm the second Saturday of May, which this year is May 12th) when our peninsula turns into Garage/Yard/Rummage Sale Paradise. We are now exactly a week away from the official registration deadline – 11:59 pm next Wednesday (April 25th) – that cutoff gives us just enough time to make the maps (which will be ready a week before WSCGSD) and launch the final round of promotion with something resembling an accurate total.

**Registration form’s here**

And we have two more notes:
**NOT ENOUGH ROOM OR STUFF FOR YOUR OWN SALE? Hotwire Online Coffeehouse and C & P Coffee Company (both WSB sponsors) are once again offering courtyard/yard space for small individual sellers. Inquire at either coffee shop (4410 California is Hotwire, 5612 California is C&P) or by e-mail – info@hotwirecoffee.com or candp@comcast.net.

**DON’T WANT TO SELL, BUT HAVE STUFF SOMEONE MIGHT WANT TO SELL? The Rainbow Girls will be on the map again this year:

Cleaning out your closets? West Seattle #18 International Order of the Rainbow for Girls is seeking donations for our third annual garage sale Saturday, May 12th, 2012. If you have any small working appliances, furniture in good or better condition, tools and other household items that you would like to donate, please call Natalee Vroman 206-399-7748 or Jan Hunter 206-849-7906 and we will be happy to come and pick them up! Your donations are tax-deductible and we will provide you with a charitable contribution receipt. Rainbow Gets Girls Ready for Life! Check us out at www.gorainbow.org

It’s one of our favorite milestones – the 100th sale has now signed up to be part of this year’s West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day! 9 am to 3 pm May 12th is the 8th annual edition of WSCGSD – the fifth one coordinated by WSB – and whether you’re a seller or a shopper, it’s a chance to meet your neighbors and engage in one big day of what we like to think of as person-to-person recycling (we invite the rest of the region too, just in case they’d like to come shop our sales, dine and drink in our restaurants/bars, etc.). Nine more days to register – we’ve just set the deadline as 11:59 pm Wednesday night, April 25th. Here’s the form to sign up online! As May 12th gets closer, watch for updates not just here, but also on the WSCGSD website and Facebook page.

Quick note before we turn another calendar page: May 12th is now one month away … that’s the 8th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, coordinated and presented by WSB – not one big sale, but rather sales of all sizes, all over the peninsula, depending on how many people decide to join in. After a week and a half of registration, more than 70 sales are registered – thanks! – and we still have about two weeks to go. Not to jinx things too early, but we just heard the outlook for spring weather is fairly bright (Cliff Mass says La Niña is on its way out) … WSCGSD has been graced with sunshine in recent years anyway. So if you’re ready to be part of the region’s BIGGEST all-community person-to-person-recycling day, sign up here! (Then keep an eye out for updates not just here, but also on the WSCGSD website and Facebook page.)

If you want to be part of West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day on May 12th but don’t have enough room – and/or stuff – to register your own freestanding sale, once again this year our two WSB coffeehouse sponsors are going to offer space to small-scale sellers: Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (4410 California SW) and C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW). Contact the proprietors of either coffeehouse directly if you’re interested in space – info@hotwirecoffee.com or candp@comcast.net (or inquire in person).

Meanwhile, after one week of signups, we have 60 sales registered, all sizes! While we promote WSCGSD regionally as well as locally, the aspect many people have told us they appreciate each year is getting out to meet and greet neighbors, whether they’re selling or buying – with more than 200 sales each of the past two years, almost every neighborhood has something going on. It’s the one day of the year that West Seattle becomes Garage Sale Paradise. (If you’re new to the area or pondering a sale for the first time, you can browse the archives on our official WSCGSD site to see photos from years past.) The map is available in printable and clickable forms one week before WSCGSD, but you have to be registered to be on it (and you get a classified-ad-style listing for your sale too) – here’s where to go to get in on it, and then, get ready for 9 am-3 pm Saturday, May 12th, one day, one peninsula, lots of sales! More updates to come, including via Facebook (the WSCGSD page is here; the WSB page is here).

OK, so the shopping frenzy is nothing like an Easter egg hunt … we don’t do a countdown to 9 am and yell “GO!” but – we ARE counting down, in a more low-key way, to West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day itself (always the second Saturday in May, so that’s 9 am-3 pm Saturday, May 12th this year), exactly five weeks away. We just started signups this week, so you have a few weeks to decide to jump in, but if you’re ready to commit to being part of it this year, we invite you to sign up now. You get to be on the printable and clickable maps, with a classified-style “ad” for your stuff, and you’ll be part of a fun meet-your-neighbors sale day that draws people from around the region (we promote it in a variety of online and offline channels that reach hundreds of thousands of potential shoppers, for miles and miles around). We’re closing in on 50 sales registered already! Here’s the form.

More than 20 sales of all sizes are already signed up for this year’s West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – the eighth annual edition (and the fifth one coordinated by us here at WSB), coming up 9 am-3 pm Saturday, May 12th. It’s become more than a shopping-frenzy kind of day – it’s become, with more than 200 sales all over the peninsula each of the past two WSCGSD’s meaning that most areas have a sale within walking distance (if you’re not hosting one yourself), a chance to get out and meet more of your neighbors. And it’s also a chance for yard-saling fans from around the region to come enjoy and explore West Seattle (including lunch and refreshment stops at local businesses). Plus, of course, it’s ultimately person-to-person recycling! If you’re considering being a seller this year, don’t procrastinate … sign up now. If you’re not sure, you do have time to make up your mind – registration will continue for three more weeks. It’s an all-online process – here’s the form!

We really DID open registration as promised yesterday for the 8th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – but by the time we were ready, there was so much news to report here, we could only get the early word out in other channels – the WSCGSD website and the Facebook pages for WSCGSD (here) and WSB (here). NOW – we have a breaking-news-less moment to make the announcement here too!

The big day for sales all over West Seattle (more than 200, in recent years) is 9 am-3 pm Saturday, May 12, 2012. Here’s the link to the registration form (registration is online-only). Again this year, to further reduce paper use – it was a big hit last year – if you are OK with getting your “packet” via e-mail instead of postal mail (general info including the sign template and how to donate leftovers through Northwest Center if you choose), please click “yes” on the form.

New this year: We have been asked every year about West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day sponsorships. This year, we’re going to give it a try – 3 sponsorship spots. If your business is interested, please contact WSB co-publisher/business-development director Patrick Sand, patrick@wsbsales.com.

Backstory ahead, if you’re new or need a refresher: Read More

Almost missed the chance to mention that it’s coming up fast … two months from today – May 12, 2012 – it’s the 8th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, 9 am-3 pm. If you’re new to the area, it’s not one big garage sale, but instead, many sales all over West Seattle (more than 200 last year), all on one day, which means almost everyone has one within walking distance – great chance to meet friends/neighbors old and new. Or, you can grab the map and see how many you can hit in the course of the day. We’ll be opening registration in three weeks, on Monday, April 2nd. If you want to see what past Garage Sale Days were like, you can browse the archives on our “official” WSCGSD site, westseattlegaragesale.com.