Update: BVWNA annual garage & yard sale August 28 - 30th!

August 14, 2020 Update: The BVWNA Annual Neighborhood Garage & Yard Sale is on for the weekend of August 28-30. BVWNA will post signs advertising our garage sale at key intersections around and in our neighborhood, and post to Nextdoor to advertise to surrounding communities. Please send a quick email to info@bvwha.org if you plan on holding your garage & yard sale the weekend of August 28 – 30, 2020.

What Does a Garage Sale in 2020 Look Like?

Now that we have all learned much more about the coronavirus and how to stay safe, more and more yard sales, estate sales and garage sales are being scheduled. Garage & yard sales have an advantage compared to other sales because they are generally held outdoors, which reduces the risk of exposure to respiratory droplets. The following ideas were gathered from different sources for you to consider in setting up a safe and successful garage & yard sale. A sign can be posted to remind guests of your rules and recommendations.

Encourage a six-foot social distance between guests. You can use chalk or bright colored tape to create lines that are six feet apart that can help remind guests of social distancing. Identify the entrance and exit to your sale area and draw or tape arrows on the ground to help guests move in one direction.

Limit the number of guests. One of the most important aspects of a safe yard sale during a pandemic is to have some sort of system for crowd control. Post the maximum number of guests you will allow while the yard sale is going on. If you have three or four people there, it will be easy to ask the fifth and sixth person “Hey, can you wait a minute or two?” You may want to consider setting “early bird” hours for vulnerable individuals.

Encourage Wearing Masks If Distancing Is Not Possible. You can post on your sign that you request or require guests to wear masks to reduce exposure to respiratory droplets. Remember, there are some who are not able to wear a face mask due to medical conditions and you can ask them to adhere to social distancing. It is a good idea to have hand sanitizer available especially if you allow guests to touch and handle sale items.

Organize to Minimize Contact. The more sale items that can be moved out of the garage into open air, the better. Rather than putting items in boxes or stacks for guests to rummage through, consider displaying items on a table or hung for full display so that guests can see without touching. Streamline your items so that guests interested in certain items can stay in one area to see them all.

Handling the Money. We all love money, but hard currency is one of the dirtiest things out there. Request exact change for cash transactions to limit back and forth. You can take a cue from farmers markets and use a box for the guest to put money in. That way, you can wait to handle the money later with fresh gloved hands. Consider using a payment app such as ApplePay, CashApp or Venmo to make transactions as contact-less as possible. Be ready to sanitize your hands before and after each transaction.

Enjoy the Experience. You may go to great lengths to have a safe and successful garage & yard sale, but expect people to bend the rules — “people are going to do people things.” If you are not comfortable with this or at risk for the virus, it may be wise to skip BVWNA Garage & Yard sale this year. And mark your calendar for next year!

In the City of Fort Worth, a permit is not required for garage & yard sales as long as basic rules are followed. For information, click on: http://fortworthtexas.gov/developmentservices/permits/garage-sales/

Though there has not yet been any documented transmission of the coronavirus through surfaces, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that the virus remains viable on surfaces for days. Make sure your items are cleaned (and disinfected, if recommended and possible) following CDC guidelines before the guests arrive.