Annual citywide garage sale this weekend

It’s that time of the year again.

Mill Creek residents are cleaning out their garages and dusting off their little-used items for the citywide Mill Creek Garage Sale on Saturday, May 5.

What started out as a neighborhood tradition more than 30 years ago has taken on a life of its own, said Mill Creek Community Association executive administrator Mary Ann Heine.

And it’s not just locals who are looking for a bargain.

“I get calls from Oregon to Canada about it,” Heine said. “If you haven’t been, you’re in for a treat.”

Furniture, clothing, toys, sporting goods — you name it, it’s for sale. Some people have furnished their homes from items they find at the sales, said Heine, who’s also found treasures at the sale, including a working cuckoo clock for $15.

“It’s one of my prized possessions,” she said.

Because of all the crowds, parking has become an issue over the years. Police used to monitor traffic to keep it moving, but money for that was cut from the budget about six or seven years ago, Heine said.

“It’s just kind of a free-for-all,” she said, adding that shoppers should be careful not to block roads.

Garage sales will be going on throughout the area, but the heart of the all-day event is in the neighborhoods along Village Green Drive.

“At least half the houses here have sales,” Heine said. “Every street has garage sales on it.”

Items that don’t get sold can be donated to the Goodwill trailer in the parking lot of the John L. Scott building across from the country club.

Although the event isn’t really publicized, bargain hunters know when to head to Mill Creek, Heine said.

“Very few signs ever go up,” she said. “We don’t publicize it at all and it just gets jammed every May and October.”