HOA: 5 Things You Need For A Successful Community Clean-Up & Yard Sale Event
If you are on the board of directors for a homeowner's association, you may want to consider hosting an annual community clean-up event to give your residents the ability to get rid of unwanted items and, at the same time, raise funds for your association or a local charity. Your residents can bring their unwanted items to the location where the items will be assessed by volunteers and either thrown away, recycled, donated, or sold. Here's what you'll need.
A Location
To hold this type of event, you'll need to find a location that is large enough to hold tables, roll off dumpsters, and rental trucks, while still allowing space for your residents and patrons to park. An ideal location for this is in the parking lot of a community center. However, if you don't have one in your community, perhaps you can rent a nearby facility, such as a church or conference center.
Helpful tip: Consider hosting the event outside of your community for more exposure.
Tables
You'll need tables for the event, especially if you are hosting a yard sale in conjunction with your community clean up event. A yard sale is a great way for people in your community to benefit from reducing clutter in their homes and finding treasures other people no longer want. You'll also need several volunteers to price items and handle transactions.
Helpful tip: It's a good idea to have extension cords available so customers can test electronics and appliances before they buy to see if the items are in good working condition.
Roll Off Dumpsters
Rent several roll off dumpsters so items can be easily disposed of. You may be tempted to place the roll off dumpsters in an easy-to-access location so your residents can drive up and toss in their unwanted items; however, since there are local and state regulations regarding what can be thrown away in dumpsters, especially regarding electronics, it's a good idea to have volunteers assess the items before the items are tossed into the dumpsters. A dumpster rental service (like Tri-State Disposal) will provide you with a detailed list of items that cannot be placed into the dumpsters.
Helpful tip: To save room for parking, place the dumpsters on large wood planks in the grass beside the parking lot, if there are grassy areas available.
Truck Rentals
You'll need several rental trucks to transport items that are being recycled and donated. Recyclable items can and should include non-working appliances, electronics, vehicle parts, scrap metal, and cell phones. These items should be grouped into piles based on the type of materials and/or metals that are contained in the items.
Have a volunteer look for items that can be donated to local agencies, such as homeless shelters. These items should be placed in truck rentals, preferably one for each agency that you will be sending donations to.
Helpful tip: Since some items can be rather large and heavy, such as refrigerators, it's a good idea to have several strong volunteers man the recycling and donation sections.
Traffic Control
With the amount of people who will be drawn to your event, either to get rid of their things or purchase something they want, you'll need to control traffic, especially in the parking lot. You can do this by placing signs throughout the parking lot to direct people where they want or need to go. If possible, try to keep the traffic separate from those dropping off and those coming to make purchases from your yard sale.
Helpful tip: Hire an off-duty police officer to direct traffic and keep an eye on potential criminal activity at the event.
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