(Among the many unusual items we’ve seen – Potter Construction hard hats at Sale #223, 5606 California SW)
Quick notes in addition to the coverage in earlier stories, to which we’re continuing to add: We’re publishing individual-sale photos/reports at westseattlegaragesale.com; sellers/buyers are continuing to post at facebook.com/westseattlegaragesaleday; and if you still don’t have a map, not too late to follow the downloadable-map link (12-page PDF) at westseattleblog.com/garagesaledaymap (where you can also browse the online version) – or there may still be a copy or two of the limited-edition printouts at Hotwire, C&P, Bird on a Wire, or the West Seattle Library branch in Admiral. Sales continue till 3 – and then if there are leftovers, Northwest Center‘s pickup spot is open later than usual today at 44th/Edmunds in The Junction (or schedule Big Blue Truck pickups next week); WestSide Baby also is taking donations longer than usual for a Saturday, till 4 pm. And the West Seattle Tool Library will be happy to take donations too!

That’s the vintage cash register VFW Post Commander Ron Zuber brought for the VFW Hall’s West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day debut, 3601 SW Alaska in The Triangle. It’s a group site, with multiple sellers renting tables – here’s vintage audio equipment:

The Triangle and Junction are hot spots today – among others! – right across the street from the VFW Hall, you’ll find Mountain to Sound Outfitters:

That’s M2SO boss Greg Whittaker, with some of what they have on sale. Just around the corner at 4550 Fauntleroy Way, more fun stuff for active people – it’s a bike swap and sale at Cycle University:

And at Merrill Gardens-West Seattle (WSB sponsor), 4611 35th SW, they’re raising money for the Senior Center of West Seattle. It’s Christmas in – May!

The MG folks tell us business has been good – and we are indeed seeing shoppers out all over the place. 3 1/2 hours to go, lots of time! Not far from The Triangle, by the way, Mural Apartments (WSB sponsor) has a sale indoors – multiple residents participating, and free popcorn!

Mural is on 42nd SW just north of SW Edmunds, right across from Jefferson Square.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: We are continuing to add photos to this update and others on WSB, which are grouped by category. For even more photos, sale by sale, each identified individually, go to westseattlegaragesale.com – sellers/buyers are also posting to facebook.com/westseattlegaragesaleday – thanks!)

On the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 2011 maps, you’ll find more than a dozen sales labeled BENEFIT – they’re raising money for a group, or a person. In the case of Sale #204, 9843 42nd SW in Arbor Heights, that’s longtime WSB’er “JanS,” above left, with daughter Jessica. Jan is facing a kidney transplant – for which they are hopeful Jessica might be a “living donor” match. Once she gets the operation, she won’t be able to work for a while, so Jessica and friends are raising money today to help with Jan’s living expenses. Here’s some of what they are selling:

Adding other benefits:
Sale #4: 1227 SW Othello, raising money for a friend in need

Sale #15: 7944 20th SW, raising money for Chief Sealth Int’l High School cheerleaders (photo above; bake sale, too!)
Sale #25: 4142 47th SW, with bake sale to fight breast cancer

(Sale #29 photo by Ellen Cedergreen for WSB)
Sale #29: 3000 California SW, raising money for West Seattle High School girls’ basketball team

(Lots of dresses, and lots of shoppers, at the Ruby Room benefit sale, #31)
Sale #31: $10 dress sale at Cherry Consignment benefits The Ruby Room, 4142 California SW
Sale #39: 4136 Beach Drive, multifamily sale, all proceeds to American Cancer Society
Sale #42: 5704 SW Winthrop, partial proceeds benefiting YMCA Foundation for Youth

(Sale #58 photo by Ellen Cedergreen for WSB)
Sale #58: 4030 55th Avenue SW, benefiting Amethyst Chapter #138, Order of the Eastern Star.

(Hot dogs at sale #67, photo courtesy Kelly @ Muttley Crew Cuts)
Sale #67: 4200 SW Admiral Way at Muttley Crew Cuts, benefiting English Springer Rescue America
Sale #79: Fundraiser for 3-Day Walk, at Hotwire courtyard (4410 California SW)
Sale #105: 4116 55th SW. Fundraiser for Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure
Sale #120: 4003 53rd SW, Boy Scout Troop #284 benefit

(Amy at sale #126, photo by Ellen Cedergreen for WSB)
Sale #126: 3222 64th SW, benefiting lung-cancer research – sellers are organizing first Breathe Deep Seattle 5K, 8/13 at Lincoln Park
Sale #143: 2737 37th SW, proceeds benefiting PAWS

(Sale #156 photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
Sale #156: 3533 SW Elmgrove, benefiting Drillers softball team

Sale #176: 3204 SW Morgan, 2011 West Seattle Relay for Life multi-team benefit at Bridge Park – restrooms available for public use!
Sale #194: 3929 SW Elmgrove, benefit for Susan G Komen 3-Day
Sale #202: 5931 47th SW, benefits Foolscap SF Convention
Sale #204: 9843 42nd SW (featured above, benefit for kidney-transplant-awaiting patient)
Sale #210: 8436 Fauntleroy Way, benefits teacher scholarships

(Photo courtesy Sue Winter, who’s being helped at Sale #220 by Jordan Winter & Larisa Sulcs)
Sale #220: WestSide Baby fundraiser, selling Usborne Children’s Books outside The Little Gym, 7025 California SW

(Gary Potter from Potter Construction [WSB sponsor] at Sale #223)
Sale #223: 5606 California SW, benefits local and worldwide programs supported by Rotary Club of West Seattle and Rotarians everywhere.
Sale #225: 7400 Fauntleroy Way SW, Lincoln Park P-Patch

(Sale #251 – with what we believe to be the largest number of participants in a single sale!)
Sale #251: 10404 34th SW, Arbor Heights Co-op Preschool
Sale #252: 10251 41st SW, benefits Susan G Komen 3-Day, members of the fabled Team Tracy are raising money.

(Sale #153 photo by Patrick Sand)
Sale #253: 10455 42nd SW, for West Seattle Community Orchestras
Sale #254: 10435 28th SW, benefit for medical treatment not covered by insurance.
Sale #258: 10033 37th SW, benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

That photo is just in from Lora at Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor), Sale #28 on the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day map, 4410 California SW, where dozens of sellers are setting up. (Including Sale #79, a fundraiser for the breast-cancer-fighting 3-Day.) Same courtyard where you enjoy the West Seattle Outdoor Movies every summer! Other group sites: Sale #138, VFW Hall (3601 SW Alaska – indoors); Sale #200, C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 5612 California SW; and the bike swap at Cycle U (4550 Fauntleroy Way), Sale #139. Then there are the block sales! More on them coming up.

9:34 AM: Another photo from Lora – the plant sales at Hotwire, and shoppers! Plus, we have word from Ron at the VFW Hall – “Lots of stuff! China and glassware, Tools, Poker chips, automotive, sewing machines. Most, just make an offer!”

(Right across the street from the VFW Hall, you’ll find a sale at Mountain to Sound Outfitters – more on the Triangle overview shortly.)

2:23 PM: Selling outside at C&P, sale #200:

The day starts with sunshine – whew! 256 garage sales of all sizes are set for 9 am-3 pm as part of the 7th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, which we are proud to have coordinated/presented since the fourth edition. Wherever you are in West Seattle, there are probably sales near you, a fun chance to meet neighbors and do some person-to-person recycling. Find the maps here – a clickable online map, and a printable 12-page (PDF) list/map. We’ll be out and about getting photos – but would love yours too, for our ongoing reports, whether it’s a general photo of a sale or a pic of something interesting you bought (or are selling). Here’s how to reach us. More to come as sale time approaches; next up, we’ll preview other highlights happening today. We’ll have sale highlights at westseattlegaragesale.com beyond those featured here, and sale chat (what are you looking for? or, what are you selling?) continues on the WSCGSD Facebook page. Have a great Saturday!

That pile of stuff is from what just might be the sale with the most participants – more than 100 families donating to Sale #251 at 10404 34th Avenue SW in Arbor Heights, to raise money for Arbor Heights Co-operative Preschool. It’s one of a dozen-plus benefit (fundraiser) sales registered among the 256 sales on the map for Saturday’s 7th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, 9 am-3 pm all over West Seattle. Explore the online version of the map here (where you’ll also find the link to print your own list/map if you haven’t already). And then there are the individual sales, where you never know what you might find – Dana sent a photo from hers, Sale #193, at 5617 Beach Drive:

This one’s an “estate sale,” with antiques, furniture, vintage dishes. Whatever you are looking for, you just might find it out there somewhere tomorrow. We’ve sent up the flares and invited the rest of the metro area, so we hope there will be plenty of buyers/browsers to go around. The forecast so far sounds cloudy, but the forecasters say the main rain threat isn’t till tomorrow night, so here’s hoping we will avoid soggy selling/shopping. The pre-sale chat goes on at the WSCGSD Facebook page; feel free to share photos there during the sale too (and/or postmortems afterward), or e-mail them to us, as we’ll be covering the goings-on best as we can.

P.S. Still indoor sale room at the VFW Hall, 3601 SW Alaska, just show up, in case you decide you want to be indoors; other group-sale sites where you’ll find multiple sellers are Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor; 4410 California SW), C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor; 5612 California SW), and the bike-swap site at Cycle U (4550 Fauntleroy Way). Have fun!

We’ll substitute a clearer photo a bit later but for now, that’s a cameraphoto of the latest YarnCore “yarn bomb” in West Seattle – appearing around a tree near Radio Shack in The Junction, during tonight’s West Seattle Art Walk. According to the YarnCore website, the group is part of West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – #204 – one of the benefit sales. (Sale day is this Saturday, 9 am-3 pm, find the online map and a link to the printable map here. And more on Art Walk, coming up separately.)

Both the online and “printable” maps for this Saturday’s 7th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – 256 sales, big and small, all over the peninsula! – are available now, as the big day nears. In case you missed the debut of the latter, late last night, you can download it here (12-page PDF). For those who absolutely cannot print it out, we’re distributing a limited amount of pre-printed copies to a few locations later today (they’re being photocopied right now); more on that later.

The biggest value of the “printable” version is the sale list – we have four sections of actual map in it, but 7 full pages of sale listings, coded by the same numbers you’ll find on the online-only map version (which you will find here on its own WSB page – if you have already browsed it and just want to make notes about individual sales, each one is printable from the info-bubble that comes up when you click a line or marker).

Note that we have made notations for the BENEFIT, BLOCK SALE, and GROUP SITE locations – and also, the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day Facebook page continues to amass wall posts from both sellers offering more details on what they have, and buyers who are looking for specific items.

In the meantime, we’ll see you 9 am-3 pm this Saturday, May 14th (cloudy forecast for now but they say that every year, and last year the sun broke out), from Sale #256 in the south, to Sale #99 in the north, from Sale #126 in the west to Sale #249 in the east … and 252 others inbetween!

A few updates, with the 7th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day just four days away! This Saturday (May 14th), 257 sales big and small all over West Seattle.

MAP UPDATE: The online map has been out for a few days, linked from the sidebar as well as from its own tab in our top navigation (look for Garage Sale Map – here is the direct link). You can also see it full-screen-width at the site of the company we wound up using after Google Maps, for the first time in four years, proved overtaxed by 250-plus listings (scrambling the map after they were entered, oh well!) – so go here to see that version (be sure to choose VIEW then LIST to get the numbers and address list on the right). Benefits of this new map program – you can print individual listings (click on a listing on the list, and the info bubble that opens will have a print icon, as well as a way to plot directions); it still has Google Maps-type controls, for zooming in/out, etc. However, we’ve had to reinvent the way we make the PRINTABLE map, so that is not quite done but we should have it linked here sometime this evening.

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING SPECIFIC? WANT TO PROMOTE YOUR SALE? Go join the conversation on the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day page on Facebook, where both of the above have been happening – between buyers and sellers. We also invite you to use this for uploading photos on sale day. We still have the official website but FB works in this case, if you use it, for faster interaction directly between participants.

WANT TO JOIN IN? Registration closed two weeks ago BUT there are a few spaces left at Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (4410 California SW; WSB sponsor) – 10 x 10, e-mail lora@hotwirecoffee.com or drop by the shop – and VFW Post #2713 (3601 SW Alaska) group sites (e-mail rzuber@clearwire.net OR just show up on Saturday morning, he expects there to be some room left). Lora also says that if you have items you’d just like to give to somebody to sell, you can drop them off (gently used) at Hotwire 7 am-7 pm this week and Animals First Foundation would be glad to have them for their Hotwire table.

Remember that most of The Viaduct is closed for most of Saturday, so there’s an extra reason not to leave West Seattle – just stay and shop (if you’re not among the sellers). But still encourage friends, relatives, co-workers to come on over – I-5, 1st Avenue South, etc., are not that tough to navigate! Again this year, we’re promoting WSCGSD outside West Seattle as well, in hopes folks will show up, shop, and then enjoy lunch (maybe even dinner) at our awesome local restaurants.

With the Alaskan Way Viaduct closed for part of the day, it’s a better-than-ever reason not to even bother thinking about leaving the peninsula on Saturday, May 14th. West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day will have more than 250 sales on the map by the time we’re done – what you see at left is a screen grab of the rough-cut map ***with only about two-thirds of the addresses input so far*** (once they’re all in, we number the sales, north to south, west to east).

From Admiral to Alki to The Arroyos to Highland Park to Pigeon Point and beyond, you will find sales in your neighborhood on May 14th – and you will find reasons to go explore West Seattle neighborhoods you’ve never visited. Since West Seattle can certainly be reached without using The Viaduct, we encourage you to invite your friends, relatives, co-workers all to c’mon over. As we go through the list, we are making sublists of the benefits, the block sales, the unusual items, and once we publish the maps – still trying hard to make the promised date of next Saturday! – you’ll want to peruse and preview. One neighborhood’s having what they call a mini-street fair; one school has a sale with more than 100 families participating … This is HUGE.

If you have stuff to sell but didn’t make the deadline … you can still check with the group sites that had tables to offer – Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) plus the Ginomai lot across the alley, lora@hotwirecoffee.com … the VFW Post 2713 Hall in The Triangle (e-mail Commander Ron Zuber at rzuber@clearwire.net) … Cycle University in The Triangle (contact info on their website at cycleu.com) … and C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), e-mail candpco@comcast.net. Plus you can stop by any of the aforementioned sites to see about signing up in person.

Two other things – We are reminded (thanks, Kris!) that May 14th is also Stamp Out Hunger Day, the annual postal carriers’ food drive, so before you go out to sell OR shop, be sure to leave a bag of nonperishable food by your mailbox for your carrier to pick up. And the other events around West Seattle that day include one that’s bought a spot on the map – the West Seattle Kiwanis Classic Car Show and Motorcycle Poker Run, which is offering a barbecue too, 4700 Fauntleroy Way.

Sale hours are 9 am-3 pm; watch here, on the WSB Facebook page, on the Garage Sale Day Facebook page, and on the official WSCGSD website for the announcement of the map, plus other info.

One more quick mention that we’re in the final 3 hours of registration for the 7th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, coordinated/presented by WSB – deadline is 11:59 pm tonight. This year’s lineup for sale day on May 14th is looking pretty astounding – around 240 sales so far, big and small, north and south, east and west. Once signups close, we start organizing everything for the map, which will be available online by May 7th, and promoted widely so garage-sale fans from all around the region will know this is THE place to be on May 14th. If you haven’t registered your sale yet but want to be part of what we fondly consider a massive one-day person-to-person recycling effort – go here before 11:59 pm. Then tomorrow, the previews begin!

One day left to sign up for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – 26 hours, to be precise – and the sellers who already have registered have set a record! The unofficial number at this hour is 210. Since more are likely to come in, that means this is going to be one amazing buying-and-selling-and-mingling spree, 9 am-3 pm on Saturday, May 14th.

Registration closes at 11:59 pm tomorrow (Wednesday) night, which gives us the lead time to get going on the maps (online-only Google version, and “fixed” printable version) so they will be available no later than one week before sale day. The links will be here, on the Garage Sale Day website and WSCGSD Facebook page, and on the semi-new – have YOU “liked” it yet? – WSB FB page. And we encourage you to invite all your non-West Seattle friends and relatives to come on over, wander the peninsula, shop like mad, enjoy coffee/lunch somewhere here too, then happily head back to their own neighborhoods with fond memories of a great day.

If you’ve been procrastinating and are ready to sign up YOUR sale – from a table in front of your house, to your entire block/business/school – find the link on this page. (Be sure you receive TWO confirmations – one from us, one from PayPal after you’ve paid the registration fee. If you have any problems, call us at 206-293-6302. And if you’ve signed up but you do NOT have the PayPal confirmation, please e-mail garagesale@westseattleblog.com, to make sure your sale gets on the list!)

Whether you’re planning to sell or shop, thanks in advance for being part of the 7th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (the fourth year WSB has presented/coordinated it)!

Thanks to everyone who has signed up for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 2011 – with four days left to register, 165 sales of all sizes are already on the list for sale day May 14th, and awaiting the map we’ll be making as soon as registration closes Wednesday night.

So far, taking a quick look through the list, we have sales from all five West Seattle zip codes, including at least 10 block sales, 5 business sales, 4 fundraisers, 3 service clubs, 2 sports groups, 2 schools, a music group, a retirement center, an apartment building, a church, a P-Patch – and of course, the four sites where you can sell your stuff if there’s no way to do it at your own place (Hotwire Online Coffeehouse and C & P Coffee Company – both WSB sponsors – plus the VFW Hall, and if you have bikes/gear, Cycle U).

IMPORTANT NOTE: Half a dozen people who registered did not complete the second step – paying the registration fee via PayPal. Maybe that just means you had second thoughts, and that’s OK; but if you didn’t complete the second step, you’re not signed up. We’ll be sending notes to the folks who didn’t go through step 2, to doublecheck, but you’re also welcome – if you’re not certain you fully finished the registration process – to send us a note asking that we check your status (garagesale@westseattleblog.com).

Meantime, if you are ready to sign up now, here’s where to do it! And if you’re participating – or even if you’re “just” shopping – be sure to “like” the WSCGSD page on Facebook; we’ll be creating an “event” page shortly for you to share with friends, family, anybody within traveling distance who might want to come spend the day garage-saling on our gorgeous peninsula. The clickable and downloadable versions of the map will be done no later than one week before sale day, and are free to anyone and everyone, so you’ll be able to share those too. Thanks for being part of the region’s biggest Community Garage Sale Day – the 7th annual edition, and WSB’s fourth year coordinating/presenting it – think of it as one big day of recycling, and of meeting more of your West Seattle neighbors. 9 am-3 pm Saturday, May 14th!

For sellers and shoppers, May 14th is shaping up as another day to remember, as more than 130 sales are already registered for the 7th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (ahead of last year’s pace, with the final 2010 count a record 200+). In terms of size and location, the sales are literally all over the map – we have schools, businesses, fundraisers, individual homes, and group sites too. We wanted to let you know that one week remains till the registration deadline, which is 11:59 pm next Wednesday night, April 27. After that, as your WSCGSD sponsors/organizers, we get to work on the maps (we make two versions – online-only clickable Google Map, and printable/downloadable version including the “ad” listings describing the sales). So if you haven’t signed up yet but you’re planning on being part of it, why procrastinate? Just go here now! (Again this year, all signups are online.)

If you have a a tableful of items you’d like to sell but not enough room at your own home (or no interest in inviting people over), here are the group sites we know of: Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor), 4410 California SW, sign up at the shop or e-mail info@hotwirecoffee.com; C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 5612 California SW, sign up at the shop or e-mail candpco@comcast.net; VFW Hall, 3601 SW Alaska, sign up at the hall or call 206-935-4352; if you have bikes/gear, contact Cycle University, 4550 Fauntleroy SW, 206-432-9982.

If you’re not selling, just mark your calendar to get out and browse around – meet neighbors, look for deals, enjoy what we hope will be another sunny West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – 9 am-3 pm, and be sure to invite your friends/family from other areas of the city/region too – we promote WSCGSD regionally with the hopes lots of folks will show up to see the splendor of our peninsula, shop in West Seattle stores, have lunch in West Seattle restaurants, make a day out of it. Oh, and here’s that registration link again!

Spring may not have made up its mind about weather consistency just yet, but – flashing forward one month and one day – May 14th is looking brighter all the time. Nine days into the registration period, the 90th sale has just signed up for the seventh annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (coordinated and presented by WSB)!

When we announced last week that registration had opened, we forgot to tell you when it closes – end of the evening, April 27th. That’s two more weeks, but why procrastinate? If you want to be part of the city’s biggest garage-saling day of the year (200+ sales big and small last year), just go here and sign up now. While it’s fun to shop and/or sell, what we have also heard from participants over the years is that it’s great to meet more West Seattle neighbors in person, as you either host a sale or visit the ones nearest you. (If you don’t have enough space for a sale, but you have stuff to sell, group spots offering space so far include: Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor – 2010 photo above), lora@hotwirecoffee.com – C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), candpco@comcast.net – VFW Hall in The Triangle, call (206) 935-4352 – and if you are looking to sell bikes/gear, check with Cycle U in The Triangle; you can also stop in at any of those venues to ask about space.)

On May 14th, sale hours are 9 am-3 pm, all over the peninsula – we’ll have the maps (online and downloadable/printable) available one week in advance so you can plot your path! And again, to sign up YOUR sale – individual or business/group/school/organization/block – just go here (it’s all online). If you’re on Facebook, keep an eye on the WSCGSD page here; and be sure you have “liked” the semi-new WSB page (we moved a few weeks ago), at facebook.com/westseattleblog.

Two updates as garage-sale season revs up:

WEST SEATTLE EAGLES GARAGE SALE TOMORROW: Linda shared the news; the West Seattle Eagles‘ garage sale is tomorrow, enter through the alley at 4426 California SW. Note that they still have tables available, $15 each – call Mary Lou at 206-937-5484 if you want one. Sale hours on Saturday are 10 am-4 pm, and they’re selling burgers and hot dogs all day.

WEST SEATTLE COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE DAY REGISTRATION CONTINUES: 55 sales are signed up so far for the seventh annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day , presented/coordinated by WSB, coming up Saturday, May 14th, 9 am-3 pm. It’s not one big garage sale, but rather, dozens and dozens all over the peninsula, large and small (more than 200 last year!), all on one map we put together (printable and Google versions). You can sign up your sale online – just go here. Meantime, three group-selling spots are planned so far (want to host one? let us know – garagesale@westseattleblog.com): Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (4410 California SW; WSB sponsor) will have courtyard tables again (contact Lora, info@hotwirecoffee.com, if you want to reserve one); the VFW Hall at 3601 SW Alaska plans to offer tables (we’ll have more details and contact info shortly); and Cycle U (4550 Fauntleroy SW) is offering the chance for you to sell bikes and gear. We’ll keep updating here, but if you lose track of the latest update at any point, just remember the official WSCGSD, full of info as well as coverage of the sales since we took over as presenting organization in 2008 – westseattlegaragesale.com.

Just about 48 hours after registration opened for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 2011, signups are running ahead of last year – 38 as of this writing! In case you missed the original announcement on Monday afternoon, this is a reminder as much as an update. If this is your first spring in West Seattle – WSCGSD, now in its seventh year (fourth one presented/coordinated by WSB), isn’t one big sale, but hundreds (more than 200 in 2010!) all over the peninsula, from single-home/apartment sales, to block sales, to school or nonprofit or business sales, and we already have one group site if you just need someplace to put up a table (Hotwire Online Coffeehouse [WSB sponsor] – contact Lora at info@hotwirecoffee.com to save your space).

The date is Saturday, May 14, 2011 – the time, 9 am-3 pm – the sale map will be available at least a week in advance. If you would like to be part of this fun selling/shopping day by having your own sale, the registration form is here. SIDE NOTE: There’s a Facebook page for WSCGSD (go here) – and we also hope you’ve “liked” the new WSB FB page (moved from a “profile” which capped the number of friends, while a “page” has no limit) – find it here.

Will it be another record year? As of right now, registration is open for the 7th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (WSB’s fourth year of coordinating and presenting the event). The big day is 9 am-3 pm Saturday, May 14, 2011. Here’s the link to the registration form (registration is online-only again this year). Something new on the form: To further reduce paper use, 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.

Backstory if you’re new: This is NOT one big sale, but rather, one day with many sales all over West Seattle, big and small (last year, a record – more than 200!). There’s a registration fee to cover coordination/promotion costs – same fees for a fourth consecutive year (different fees for individual, group/business/block/organization sales). If you don’t have somewhere to sell your stuff, but still want to get in on WSCGSD, get in touch with Lora @ Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor), at the shop (4410 California SW – try a Peep latte!) or info@hotwirecoffee.com. Again this year, she plans to open the Hotwire courtyard as a group-sale spot (and if anyone else is interested in hosting a group spot, please contact us to coordinate – garagesale@westseattleblog.com). Registration will be open for 3 weeks – but whether you’re selling or not, mark your calendar, set an alert, whatever it takes, for BIG garage-saling on May 14.

P.S. Along with periodic updates here on WSB and on our NEW (“liked” it yet?) Facebook page as well as Twitter, we also have a WSCGSD website – you can browse it to see highlights from the past three years’ sales, if you want to get a feel for what it’s like – and a Facebook page for WSCGSD (go here). And if you’re having a garage sale before or after WSCGSD, remember you can list it for free in the WSB Forums‘ Freebies/Deals/Sales/etc. section.

The 24/7 line (206-293-6302) rang this morning with a common question this time of year: When does registration start for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day? Here’s the answer: Next Monday! This will be our fourth year organizing/presenting the peninsula-wide event – not one big garage sale (though big ones have and undoubtedly will be part of it), but many sales all over West Seattle. Every year there are more – last year’s total passed 200! You can scroll through some of the highlights at westseattlegaragesale.com; next Monday morning, we’ll publish a link here for signing up your sale – individual, business, block/group, etc. We also have a West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day page on Facebook (“like” it here – and if you haven’t already, check out the new main WSB page on FB). Oh, the important part – Saturday, May 14th is Community Garage Sale Day, 9 am-3 pm. You sign up, we make the map and promote it regionally, then come May 14th, it’s a fun opportunity not only to “recycle” items via the tried-and-true yard-sale method, but also to get out and meet friends and neighbors old and new, whether they go to your sale or you go to theirs.

Quick note to say it’s exactly three months till this year’s West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – the fourth one since we inherited this fun annual event three years ago. It’s the second Saturday in May as usual this year, which means Saturday, May 14th. Last year, WSCGSD set a record, with more than 200 sales around the peninsula, from individual sales to group sales to school sales to business sales, plus a few sites where you could come set up a table if there wasn’t enough room where you live (we’ve heard talk of a few more such sites this year). We haven’t set the date for the start of registration yet, but we’ll talk more about that next month. Just wanted to make sure, if you’re interested in selling and/or shopping, that your calendar’s marked for May 14th. Meantime, take note that WSCGSD is online at westseattlegaragesale.com and on Facebook here; if you have a yard/garage sale before or after then, you can post it free on WSB – currently, the place to do that is in the WSB Forums.

(First running report is here; second is here; Google Map of sales here; printable map here; changes listed here; scroll down for frequent updates & new pix)

1:53 PM: That’s Georgia at the register for sale #96, 5202 21st SW. Traveling around to some of the sales today, we’ve definitely seen lots of family involvement. And then there’s your extended “family”:

1:56 PM: …that term definitely applies to the fine folks at the Highland Park Improvement Club, one of today’s multi-seller sites, sale #154 at 1116 SW Holden.

2:15 PM: It’s enough to bring a tear to the eye of any parent of a teenager … all those stuffed animals you just don’t need any more. They’re part of what we found at the West Seattle High School Grad Night Team‘s sale, #34 at the school parking lot (3000 California SW).

2:27 PM: In the mood for cupcakes, lemonade, or both? Team B’s Knees, raising money for the Northwest Epilepsy Foundation, has both, sale #11, 2119 42nd SW.

2:34 PM: That’s the CoolMom sale at Cycle U (WSB sponsor), 4550 Fauntleroy, where everything is now half price.

2:40 PM: Sale #131 at 4620 SW Graham is the Lincoln Park Co-op Preschool group – lots of girls’ clothes left when we stopped by in the final hour.

3:07 PM: Over already! Stand by for an update on what to do with unsold stuff, if you’re interested in donating it … and if you had a sale, or found something cool, or both, please still feel free to send photos; we’ll continue adding coverage to the official WSCGSD website (and probably here too).

(First running report of the day is here; Google Map of sales here; printable map here; changes listed here; scroll down for frequent updates & new pix)

Almost halfway through the 6th annual edition of West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – already? – and we’ve seen lots of shoppers out and about; we’re making the rounds to get photos but thanks also to those who have sent pix from their sales, like John Smersh from Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor), sale #12 at 2210 California SW in the Admiral District, where they’ve got half-price lighting as well as handbags on sale, and more. A few miles south on California, an individual sale with proceeds going to a cause close to many hearts:

That’s Krista at sale #161, 7717 California SW, where proceeds are going to the Orca Network. More to come – we’re about to hit the road and check out the high-school sites, among others. 11:52 AM: A shot from a bit earlier:

Carla and Brian are at Ginomai, 42nd and Genesee, sale #78, a multi-seller site and also the place where you also will find a West Seattle Christian Church group raising money for a well-drilling trip to Guatemala. On with the photos:

12:13 PM: That’s a photo Stephen shared from sale #159 at 7729 30th SW, where he says there’s still “plenty left to buy” … that’s also the word from our Twitter pal @cheapsleeps on SW Southern near 37th, who has baby-boy clothes galore – that’s sale #165. Meantime, just got a note from a seller with a specific item of interest:

12:20 PM: Natasha says that vanity at sale #187, 8802 35th SW, is $100 “or best offer”! Which reminds us that prices have just been marked down at one of our recent stops:

12:27 PM: Chief Sealth PTSA is raising money, and donating part of the proceeds to several of the clubs at the school, and now that it’s after noon, it’s 2 for 1, as the signs say (thanks to the student volunteers for taking a moment out to be in the photo). They’re sale #128 on the map. Now on to High Point:

12:37 PM: At Bridge Park Retirement Center (WSB sponsor), the big lot sale (#139 on the map) is raising money for Relay for Life of West Seattle (a cancer-fighting fundraising event, coming up June 18-19). Lots of cool stuff.

1 PM: Old beer signs, anybody? That’s part of the unique slate of stuff at Skylark Café and Club (WSB sponsor), sale #59 at 3803 Delridge. The sale is BEHIND Skylark – so pull into the parking lot on its north side and go around back. We’re starting the afternoon report next – (update) here’s the link.