Saturday was yard sale day in Bristow, where several neighborhoods held community sales.
Customer Beth Buffenbarger was ecstatic to purchase a small kitchen and two wooden chairs at Deborah Breen’s yard sale in Victory Lakes.
“It’s been good,” said Buffenbarger. “I love the community yard sales, especially when they have them at the same time. Such good deals!”
Buffenbarger said she had been out since 7 a.m. mainly looking for furniture for her daughter, who is getting married.
Breen, who was selling furniture, household items, children’s book and boys clothes, said she had a good morning.
Kelly Baccus and Dan Stull, a young couple that graduated from Virginia Tech, were also out looking for furniture and household items in Braemar.
“We’re getting ready to move out of our tiny apartment and into a home,” said Baccus.
The couple had fun shopping, but only wish there was more furniture to be found. Furniture, a popular item today, typically sold out first at many yard sales.
“There’s a of baby stuff. We’re not ready for that yet,” Stull said.
Neighbors Bridget Phelps and Jennifer Hughes set up their yard sale together in their adjacent front yards in Braemar, where they sold mainly girls clothes, toys and home items.
While they still had a lot of toys around 11:30 a.m., Hughes was happy to have sold off some bigger items, a child’s kitchen set and Little Princess tent.
Another Jennifer, down the street in Braemar, had a similar idea.
“We wanted to unload some kids stuff to make room for some more,” said the expectant mother. Perhaps she found out she was having a boy, since newborn girls clothing was selling for only $1.
In Victory Lakes, Colleen Madigan and her senior nursing students from Osbourn Park High School used their yard sale to raise money for costs associated with graduation.
According to Madigan the students must pass the NCLEX, an expensive exam, with review courses costing $150.
To raise money, the students brought many of their own household items, televisions, clothing and books to sell. Earlier they even dressed up in Halloween costumes to promote the sale.
Amberleigh Station, off Linton Hall Road, also held its community yard sale this Saturday, where shoppers were greeted by a motorcycle and a kayak at one of the first houses in the community.
“We moved in, and we’re getting rid of some stuff,” said the homeowner, who said there had been some interest in the motorcycle.
Around the corner Amy Bakalov had a front yard boutique, including Vera Bradley bags in retail condition.
“There was a lot of competing yard sales today,” said Bakalov. “We weren’t sure if it was going to be really good or really bad.”
In the end, she said they did pretty well, which is how most residents seemed to feel.
While Bristow residents would be hauling a few boxes back in the house, most walked away from their yard sales a little bit richer. More importantly, their garages, basements and closets are a little bit emptier, leaving them room to buy more things that fit their needs.
And for the shoppers, many enjoyed the bargain basement prices and the variety of merchandise on display.
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