Mangowood Garage Sales 2013

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign… but none comes close to when Mangowood bands together for their annual neighborhood garage sales.

Organizer George Tabor explains, “We had 75 participating houses last year and this year we should meet or exceed that.”

This tight-knit Palmetto Bay community tends to do lots of things together and for bargain hunters, the Mangowood garage sales are like Mecca. “I come with an empty pick-up truck and shop from the moment they start to get the best bargains,” says Linda Kleigel of Pinecrest.

From trinkets worth a dime to large items, the bargaining went on for hours. During the hours where George Tabor scanned the neighborhood to see who was participating, he happened upon a 1962 red convertible Corvette. “If I wasn’t on official duties at the time, I would have bought it on the spot. Oh, and I also didn’t my cash with me and they wouldn’t take credit cards.”

Several of the homes use their sales proceeds to make donations to worthy causes and to raise money for various youth organizations. Hunter White, age 12, worked with his fellow Howard Palmetto Aces teammates (12 & under youth baseball) to raise money for their upcoming trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.  Their efforts brought in $1200 towards the $25-thousand needed to make the trip a reality.

Jim Wierman, resident since 1958, sold cold drinks along with his garage sale items. Others homes had BBQ hot dogs and baked goods out for purchase. Strolling the Mangowood blocks felt more like a block party than anything else… a good time and shopping rolled into one.

Smart neighbors outside of Mangowood took advantage by also holding their yard sales at the same time. It was almost like a Village-wide shopping mall. If you missed this one, there’s always next year. Bring your money and your bargaining skills. It’s quite a lot of fun!