Geneva's Mill Creek garage sale returns

At a kitchen table for sale in her driveway on Preston Circle, Lauren Turner, 2, shared a doughnut with grandfather Robert Anderson as early-bird shoppers perused items for sale at their family's garage sale Thursday morning in the Mill Creek neighborhood in Geneva. The annual garage sale kicked off Thursday with buyers out early to get a jump on bargains.

Lauren's mother, Amy Turner, is a nine-year veteran of the sale and was doing a combined sale with her brother's girlfriend, Sou Bounmythavong, a first-timer doing the event. Turner, brother Dean Anderson and his girlfriend, and Anderson all live next door to each other.

"I just feel like there's such a variety of items and that it's just such a great neighborhood to be in," Turner said. " ... It's a beautiful day, you can go out, look for your garage sale-ing deals." She said she planned to sneak out for a bit to do a little of her own shopping later in the day.

Turner said as a kid, she and her family would often go to garage sales. Her mother, Arlene, who passed away earlier this year, loved to collect movies, music-themed collectibles and decorative vases in purple, her favorite color. Turner credits her mother with teaching her and her siblings the ropes about finding a good sale and items. "All the bargain dealing and hopping around is certainly from my mom," Turner said with a smile.

Bounmythavong has been prepping for the sale for the past few days. "It's a lot of work. I didn't realize between pricing everything and trying to figure out what to get rid of ... it's a lot of work!" she chuckled. "But it's fun though."

According to the event's Web page, 197 homes are participating in the sale. A large selection of items are for sale including clothing, furniture, electronics, sports gear and more. The sale continues 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information go to millcreekgeneva.com.