A History of the Yard Sale!

Hello Paper Dolls!

In honor of our Vintage Yard Sale and fill a bag for $25 event here is a little history of the yard sale!

As early as the 16th century people have been unloading their wares. In the 1500's ships were sailing all over the globe to deliver goods. The word, “romage” was a nautical term that described how cargo was packed into the hold of the ship. Later it referred to the search for cargo and the odds and ends packed into the ship. “Rummage” sales developed as captains sold excess and unclaimed cargo at the ports they were docked in.

By the 1890's the rummage sale was held in a communal location like a church and used to make money. People would donate their hand-me-downs or warehouses would sweep out unclaimed goods in clearance sales, according to Oxford in 1858. 

The concept spread as more and more people would use it as way to sell excess items. After World War II people moved to the suburbs and into homes with yards and so was born the "yard sale". Before then, having too many belongs wasn’t a common problem because of the wars and the “want not, waste not” mentality of the Great Depression. After World War II, people across North America found themselves with a greater amount of money to buy more and more of the new consumer goods and gadgets that were flooding the market throughout the 1950's and into the 1960's. In the 1970's garage sales became very popular as the idea of homes became the center of socializing within the community.

Nowadays you can just take a leisurely drive through your neighborhood on a sunny weekend and find treasures in other people's yards. 

Don't forget to come down to Paper Doll Vintage and fill a bag for $25 with our yard sale items!

Sources:

http://blog.krrb.com/the-history-of-garage-sales/

https://www.garagesalecow.com/learn-more-about-garage-sales.aspx