Pre-Pandemic: Garage Sale

It is hard to think back and remember the innocent days of placing belongings in the driveway for strangers to touch and thump through. Now in the height of the pandemic this scene looks menacing. The Centers for Disease Control recommends keeping a six-foot social distance between guests, limit the number of attendees and encourage wearing masks where distancing isn’t possible. With more people staying at home in recent months, many used their downtime to go through old belongings.

• Place posters encouraging social distancing for customers to see upon arrival and while shopping.

Here are some of the suggestions should you decide to host or go to a garage sale…

• Set up tables and chairs six feet apart.

• Use heavy-duty tape to form a flow for customers to follow throughout the sale.

• Ask customers to stand in a line, while spread apart, during a high traffic times.

• Clean all tables and chairs several times throughout the day.

• Make sure all merchandise is washed and dried and/or wiped down with a disinfectant product before placing on a table or chair for sale.

• Wipe down all tables and chairs using disinfectant at the end of the day or in the morning before the next day of the sale starts.

• Wear masks and disposable gloves at all times during the sale.

• Have hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol on tables and other places for customers to use.

I helped a friend with a garage sale and sketched the driveway from my perch inside the garage. I had just held a sale of $1 figure drawing sketches to help with moving expenses. This scene reminded me that my life had been stripped to the bone. I had a chair and the clothes on my back. I ended up buying a table which I now use to mat and frame artwork. People came in waves throughout the day although the biggest crowd was in the morning. There was something for everyone including a three cornered hat should you want to be a pirate for Halloween.

Three buildings were torn down for new condo development in my old neighborhood just south of Lake Eola. I suspect my old apartment building will succumb soon enough to this rapid development. I liked the place precisely because it reminded me of an old New York apartment building. On the edge of the city and suburbs anything could pop up next.