Patch Picks: Regent Square's Annual Yard Sale

I remember being very, very excited about yard sale day when I was a kid.

True, my neighborhood was small, and only every third house or so actually sold anything. Furthermore, the hot items that I was always looking for - Super Nintendo games and pro wrestling videos, mainly - were usually not anywhere to be found.

But the conversion of my quiet little neighborhood into one giant outdoor market was so unusual and so exciting that it didn’t matter. I’d madly flit from one house to the next, sorting through trinkets and trying to bargain people down from an exorbitant $5 to a much more reasonable $4.

So if you’re anything like me, you’ll be doing just that this Saturday. The Regent Square Civic Association’s annual yard sale is this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine, and is something of a big undertaking; typically, more than 100 homes set up shop, so many that you can head to the Civic Association’s website (www.regentsquare-rsca.org) the day of the sale to download a “Hot List” shopping map.

Think about that. You don’t even need to bother with that in the mall.

Registration to be listed as a participating house has passed, but the RSCA is eager to remind you that you can certainly still set up a table and begin hocking your hand-me-downs anyway. The number of shoppers can’t be estimated, but it’s always a ton - so remember that your trash has got to be someone’s treasure, and set up a card table in the driveway!

They do encourage you to consider filing your registration fee late - $7 for RSCA members and $5 for non-members - to help defer costs for promotional materials and assist the administrative side of the sale.

If you’re just looking to shop, grab the Hot List to get a better idea where to find your favorite goodies, and check the official Regent Square map (also at the Civic Association’s website) to know the boundaries of the sale.

And even if you go home empty-handed, it’s a great morning of getting to know the neighbors and the neighborhood a little bit better. Regent Square remains one of the most welcoming and close-knit areas in town, so come out and say hi!