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.

#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!

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.

(Photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
It’s the newest one, and the smallest one. A little patch of grass by a utility pole outside the Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) in Morgan Junction is there for the convenience of passers-by and their pooches. It’s also one of two new features you can admire during the SEVENTY-DEGREE SUNSHINE! expected for Saturday’s West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, with The Feedback among the participants, putting on a Rock ‘n’ Roll Garage Sale (read more on their website) – they’ve also spruced up the spot where a tree came down last year:

Feedback general manager Bradi Jones dubbed it the “Sound Garden” in her note to us this afternoon, explaining, “Gia Griffitts [pictured], Tim Jones, and I just got done with revamping the front patch where the tree (s) had been, in front of the bar! We made it all nice and fresh! AND Rockin’! Of course!” Go have a look on Saturday while visiting what is Sale #210 on the official WSCGSD maps, now both available via this page here on WSB (including the printable 12-page PDF with the full listing of sales; also check out the WSCGSD Facebook page, where we are publishing updates and where sellers are invited to post more info and photos before Saturday, while buyers are invited to post if there’s anything special they’re looking for).

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.

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).

(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!

**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