GARAGE SALES: MORE THAN 140 OFFERED THIS WEEKEND

When it comes to garage sales, there is no shortage of merchandise.

Everything from baby clothes to furniture ends up for sale in the garages and driveways of area homes.

More than 140 garage sales are scheduled for Cape Girardeau and the surrounding region this weekend, a record so far for this garage-sale season.

The season typically runs from April to October, said Pat Mungle, classified manager for the Southeast Missourian.

Garage sale ads are a common sight in the newspaper this time of year. "We have been loaded down with them," Mungle said.

Cape Girardeau resident Tia Fosse views garage sales as a way to clean house and "get rid of the junk."

Fosse is holding a garage sale this weekend, as are two neighbors in her northside subdivision.

"I have had garage sales every place that I have lived,' said Fosse. "I usually have one once a year."

Fosse said her mother and sister from Illinois add their items to her garage sale. "Sometimes we pack up what we have left here and have one in Illinois," she said.

Fosse has a 2-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son. She is selling clothes that her children have outgrown as well as toys they no longer use.

She said she hopes to sell the toys before the children drag them back into the house.

Mungle said, "Baby items are a real hot item for a garage sale." Clothes and other items generally can be bought at bargain prices, she said.

"Furniture and exercise equipment is always good," said Mungle.

Dishes are a regular feature at many garage sales. Fishing and camping gear are popular items.

Garage sales range from the single-family variety to the large neighborhood or block sales. "We have companies that have parking lot sales," Mungle said.

Friday and Saturday are the most popular days for garage sales. Most of them are held on Saturday mornings, she said.

Cape Girardeau area resident Susan Niswonger loves garage sales.

"It is something that gets you up and gets you going on Saturday mornings," said Niswonger, who loves to shop for bargains.

Niswonger also holds garage sales from time to time. She is holding a yard sale Saturday at her home on Route W.

She said such sales offer a good way to get rid of old clothes and other items, and make some extra money.

Niswonger is selling flower pots, garden tools, clothes and a whole array of craft items.

"My mother and I both do crafts," she said.

They are selling some of the craft items that didn't sell at their booth in a Cape Girardeau crafts mall.

Niswonger's sister is selling dishes and glassware at the yard sale.

Also on the sale block is a wood stove.

Even an old garage door was for sale. But the next-door neighbor bought it Wednesday night, she said.

Some garage-sale items end up passed from relative to relative. "It will travel through the family three or four times before it gets eventually sold," she said.

"Sometimes I will go to a garage sale and see something that was mine," said Niswonger.

"I know that they bought it at my garage sale and it is in their garage sale," she said.

Garage sales often create traffic congestion, with cars parked up and down both sides of the road.

"We had one here two years ago and it was just a nightmare," said Niswonger. One person ran over three just-planted trees in her yard.

Customers arrive early at garage sales. Most garage sales run from 7 a.m. to noon. "But people are always there before that," Mungle said.

It isn't unusual to have people lined up outside a home waiting for the garage door to open and the sale to begin.

Mungle, herself, has been to a number of garage sales.

"I have family that come in from out of town," said Mungle. "The first thing they want to do is see the garage-sale section of the newspaper."