Unload your clutter for Barrington church's annual garage sale
Barrington's St. Anne Catholic Church wants all that stuff cluttering up your house.
Next week, the church begins collecting donations for this year's 16th annual Annie's Attic Garage Sale.
"Starting Monday, we will have lines of cars pulling up and dropping off pretty much everything under the sun," said volunteer Kate Hauk.
The sale, benefiting Project Hope, runs June 26 to 28 at the church, at Ela and Franklin streets in downtown Barrington.
Everything -- small items like antiques and toys to larger ones like bicycles and furniture -- will be up for grabs during the sale, which occupies more than 25,000 square feet of space.
"We try to encourage the full circle of recycling," said Colleen Dunkel, an event chairwoman. That old saying that one person's junk is another person's treasure definitely applies, she said.
Each year there are some big-ticket items, like this year's 2003 BMW SUV.
"We are having mechanics look at it to make sure it is in tip-top shape," Hauk said.
A new addition this year is a special bridal area. About 200 designer wedding gowns, which retail for thousands of dollars, will be sold for just $50 each.
"One of them I just hung up had a tag on it for $4,200," Hauk said.
Admission is free June 27 and 28, though there's a $5 admission charge for those wishing to get a jump on the sale the evening of June 26.
As the it moves on through the weekend, Hauk said the deals get progressively better.
By 5 p.m. June 27, the prices on most items are cut in half. The bargain-hunting ramps up even more June 28 with the $3 per bag sale and negotiable prices on all remaining furniture.
The fundraiser is run with the help of more than 600 volunteers, many of whom are teens from 17 area schools.
"It is truly a community-embraced project," Hauk said.
All proceeds go to St. Anne's Project Hope ministry, which provides emergency assistance to area families in crisis, regardless of their religion. The ministry takes more than 300 calls a month from families in need of help, Hauk said.
"Unfortunately, in this economy, the number of calls is going up," she said.
Dunkel said that while Barrington might be thought of as a wealthy community, that doesn't mean there aren't people who need help.
"You just never know what's going on with your neighbor," she said. "You never know until you are in their shoes."
For more information, call Project Hope at (847) 381-5721 or visit anniesatticinfo.org.
Annie's Attic charity garage sale
• Donations for St. Anne Catholic Church's annual garage sale will be accepted from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at the church, 120 N. Ela St. The sales is June 26-28.
Donations accepted: Furniture, jewelry, toys, bicycles, housewares, artwork, clothing, lamps, sporting goods, lawn furniture and equipment, antiques, books, used cars, small appliances, electronics, TVs (less than 5 years old), boats, holiday décor and laptop computers (Pentium 3 or newer).
Items not be accepted: Organs; pianos; cabinet stereos/TVs or TVs over 42 inches; carpet remnants; rugs larger than 9 feet by 12 feet; telephones; exercise equipment; tires; construction materials; oversized office furniture; air-conditioners, humidifiers; ski equipment; wall-sized entertainment centers; and large appliances.