TRANSCRIPT

Passage 1
Every summer across the United States, Americans organize yard sales. Single households or several households decide on a date and time to sell all their unwanted things right in front of their homes. You don’t need a permit from any local authority to set up a yard sale. And only if you live in a condo association do you need to give notification to your neighbors. What matters most is good advertising. Several signs on local streets and perhaps an announcement on a local online website are good things to have.Passage 2
Saturday mornings are the most common time for yard sales. They can start as early as 8:00 and last well into the afternoon, but by noon, most of the choice items have been sold. Rarely do you see a yard sale take place on a workday or last towards dinnertime.Passage 3
Yard sales are common in the suburbs, where there is enough space to set up tables along sidewalks and in driveways and where they are people looking for bargains. You can find almost anything at a yard sale: an old guitar, a pair of shoes, books of all kinds, toys, and furniture.

As for why there are so many yard sales on a typical summer weekend in America, I can explain by admitting a fault that too many people in my country have. Americans tend to have a lot of junk and a lot of clutter. Seldom will you find a family with an empty basement or attic. And our closets? They’re full, too. We hold on to things for too long, and we collect things we don’t really need. Only when we realize that we have too many things and too little space left in our homes do we decide to take action. We experience extreme pleasure when we declutter, that is, gain space by removing stuff and organizing what’s left.

I should note that there are some alternatives to having a yard sale. Sometimes when we empty out our closets, we donate clothing to charity and give books to the local library. But when we find such a wide variety of junk in our closets, under our beds, up in the attic, and down in the basement, we consider the option of selling our stuff to make a profit. Then we experience the satisfaction of decluttering and earning some money.Passage 4
You may wonder who wants to buy used items. Often buyers are people who must watch their budget. They buy items secondhand because it’s too expensive to buy everything new. There are also shoppers who specialize in antiques. They search for old objects that are being sold for pennies, but are actually worth a considerable amount of money.

Buyers come from the surrounding area and sometimes beyond. Many buyers drive to yard sales. Some decide to stop as soon as they see signs for a yard sale, even if they are not in a familiar town. In fact, many look for yard sales on the weekends and for these people stopping at yard sales is a pastime. They like to search for something special and enjoy negotiating a good price. These bargain hunters may visit a few different yard sales in one day.

This summer I helped organize a neighborhood yard sale. I set up my own table and sold things along with several other neighbors. In a little bit, I’ll show you what my experience was like.