KILAUEA — In the upstairs of the Kilauea Mini Storage, there is stuff everywhere. Good stuff.
Furniture, sporting equipment, clothes and tools are spread out in the vast warehouse space. Books, CDs and DVDs fill another corner. Camping gear, backpacks and folding chairs are lined against a wall. Here and there you can find paddles, ukeles and model planes.
The more you look, the more you’ll find.
“We’ve got everything,” said Monica Oszust, president of the Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay.
And Saturday morning, at 8 a.m., the doors will open to this treasure hunter’s paradise.
Just don’t be late to the 10th annual “Greatest Garage Sale Ever!”
And why is that?
“Everything is priced to sell,” Oszust said Thursday as she stood in the ocean of used items displayed on racks and tables.
She’s not kidding.
Folks will be lining up by 6:30 a.m. for a crack at the bargains that await.
The first wave is a frenzy of people grabbing and carrying all their arms can hold, and still going back for more.
“Everybody has different tastes,” Oszust said.
We’re talking $15 for a table. Perhaps $5 for a nice driver. Just $2 for aloha shirts. Dressers, big and small, for $10 to $20. A few dollars for lamps.
Chairs look to be new, as does an exercise bike.
It’s a party of sorts, with many Rotarians in the midst of the madness to help customers carry their findings and tally a final price tag that can be taken to the cashiers to speed up the process. So, long lines become short.
Rest assured, it’s a good deal — for garage salers and the Rotary Club.
People go home with unexpected finds at a great price, and the Rotary Club comes away with several thousand dollars to fund its community service projects and scholarship programs.
Last year, an estimated 1,000 people came and went, and the sale raised about $8,000.
Oszust and fellow Rotarians begin working on the sale in October. They sort, clean and price the thousands of items donated by the community. Some comes from storage units when the bills aren’t paid and what’s inside is donated, too.
“Everyone is very generous,” Oszust said.
If you can’t be there for the opening bell or arrive late, take heart. The deals get even better as the morning gets older.
At 11 a.m., everything is half price. At noon, it’s free.
“Carry away all you want,” Oszust said.
And then, come back for more.
