St. Michael Dives into Garage Sale Season with Preserve's Big Bash

Garage sale season is officially upon us with St. Michael-Albertville sales kicking off this past week in the Preserve Development in St. Michael.

From now through the summer we can expect to see signs and sales throughout the community.

Each spring, the Preserve coordinates close to 30 family garage sales throughout the development. Traffic was thick trying to navigate through the streets, and one truck bed I saw was stocked full with a playhouse, a grill and a picnic table.

For some families this is an annual event. “We do this every year. Five families with 13 kids, it’s great to get rid of a lot of stuff,” Angela Petersen said.

The five moms in the group coordinate annually who’s hosting the sale, who’s watching the kids and who’s taking care of snacks and lunches. “It just works best when we switch off,” Petersen said, “that way there’s always someone to man the garage sale.”

When the sale ends, some donate the remainders while others save their stuff for next year.

“Since we do it every year, sometimes we have been able to hang on to things for the following year,” Petersen said. 

“I am able to put stuff aside all year long. As my kids outgrow it or I know we’re done with it, I set it aside for the sale,” Heather Blanchette said.

Some even have a special storage place. “I’ve got a special room in my basement just for my garage sale stuff,” Heather Frank said.

Having a garage sale can be a lot of work and sometimes might not seem worth it for some but the goal isn’t to make a lot of money for this crew.

“I love being able to sit with my friends all week,” Frank said.

"We don’t always get to see each other as much as we’d like so it’s nice to hang out for 3-4 days,” Blanchette added. 

Sometimes garage sale success can be surprising. Petersen, the sales champ from last year, made $850 and took her family to Maddens for the 4th of July with her profits.

“I usually look at it as a way to sell this year’s kids clothes and then save that money for their next year’s clothes, but last year was a really good year [for the garage sale].”