It’s Elvis week at Yard Sale Secrets. Really, one yard sale is  featuring Elvis items, and one promises that Elvis WON’T be there.  (that’s enough of an excuse to use an Elvis photo)

And it looks as if the holiday weekend isn’t deterring folks from holding their yard sales. Whew! We were worried we’d have no reason to wake up at 6 a.m. Saturday. And we should have a beauty of a weekend to sit outside.

This week features a lot of unique items offered – so many that we’ve created a new Yard Sale Secrets category: Most interesting items.

Without further ado, take a look at what we think are some unique yard sale offerings. And, as always, click here for a full listing of yard sales in The York Dispatch classifieds.

MOST INTERESTING ITEMS

• A Dallastown yard sale at 700 Ridgelyn Drive today through Saturday offers an air compressor, generator, lathe and tools for you guys out there…and a cooktop stove, treadmill, old baseball gloves and baseball cards. Wait, there’s more: HotWheels and Matchbox cars, Michael and Elvis records, antique clocks and patio furniture. Wow. It also features Alex’s Lemonade Stand by grandchildren.
• If you’re looking for kitchen goods, try the moving and yard sale at 106 W. Railroad Ave. in Shrewsbury today and Friday. This one’s got kitchen appliances and pots and pans. They’re also selling two drop-side cribs and infant clothes, strollers, swing and a large fish tank.
• At 241 S. Russell St. in Springettsbury you can find Sirius radios, a mower, Sunshine Lamp and “Gone With the Wind” lamp. (that’s a new one)
• It’s books only at a Saturday yard sale on 1775 Ashland Drive in West Manchester Township. Really. All books 10 cents.
• Flower lovers can go to the perennial sale at 55 Woodland Drive Friday, Saturday and Monday.

MULTI-FAMILY SALES

• East Berlin Community Center at 405 North Ave. has a huge indoor sale today through Saturday with different deals each day. Today from noon to 6, it’s $10 a bag; Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. it’s $5 a bag; Saturday 8 to noon it’s $3 a bag.
• Devers Elementary School at 801 Chanceford Ave. in York City holds a Saturday only sale from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Look for Bricker’s Fries and Chilly Dill at this one.

And now, another new category: BEST NEWSPAPER AD

Hands down, this one’s a winner. At 4710 Horn Road in Hellam on Saturday is an ENORMOUS YARD SALE! (Wait, that’s not the good part). This one offers “Bargains galore, tons of items…kitchen, kids and baby clothes. Elvis Presley, Johnny Depp and Taylor Swift will probably not be here (well, Elvis will definitely not be here) but hopefully you will!” Love it.

WEATHER FORECAST

While there’s a chance of storms (of course), we’re looking at a long weekend of hazy, hot and humid. And sun!

Happy saling!

Memorial Day weekend marks the start of the summer season. Beaches are ready for the onslaught and folks are opening their pools – so does that mean this is a good weekend or a bad weekend to hold a yard sale?

Well, that depends. One yard-saler here at the Dispatch swears it’s never a good idea to hold a yard sale on a holiday weekend. So that means Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day are out. Why?

She said she thinks people are too busy doing other things. There are cookouts and family gatherings. That is if people are even in town. Memorial Day weekend is a big getaway weekend. And she would never hold her own yard sale this weekend.

Another yard-saler says hooey to that. People holding gatherings or cookouts aren’t doing those things in the morning, and a three-day weekend is very nice for the weary yard-sale holder: It gives you an extra day to recuperate before heading back to work.

What do you think? Yeah or nay to Memorial Day yard sales? Drop us a line.

We’re pretty sure lots of folks will be holding yard sales this weekend, so check back tomorrow for our Best Bets.

WEEKEND FORECAST

If you are staying in town this weekend, get ready for summer-like weather. Humid, highs in the upper 80s and a chance of thunderstorms are forecast. Best chance of rain is Friday.

The Yard Sale secrets staff hit the deals early this week since some of us took Friday off. It turned out to be the perfect day for shopping — and Saturday matched it as well.

One of our early stops was a yard sale in an old Spring Grove video store. The church organizing it promised “No clothes,” which is just fine with us. We were certainly tempted by a few things — including the cookie jars you see at right. In fact, the place was wall-to-wall merchandise, and it even had a large selection of video tapes for sale.

Seems appropriate for an old video store, doesn’t it?

When deciding to whether we were going to buy some old VHS taps — at 5 for $1 — we weighed our likelihood of ever wanting to see them again and how much they would cost us to get from our Netflix account.

So we settled on the six videos you see there.

• THEM — The classic giant-bugs-take-over-the-southwest movie. We dig these old time movies about giant insects rampaging across the country. Someone should update this with stink bugs instead of ants and grasshoppers.
• Solarbabies – Not really a good movie, but we’ll take anything with Jamie Gertz in it.
• Adventures in Babysitting — A fun movie, especially for family viewing. In fact, we’ve always wondered how this film was never elevated to “modern classic” status.
• Universal Soldier – Actually, this is one of the innumerable sequels to the Jean-Claude Van Damme flick. It once again stars the Belgian beast, and we kind of liked that first one, so we were willing to give it a try.
• Howard the Duck — One of us, and we’re not saying it was John, went to see this on his birthday when it came out in the 1980s to some of the worst reviews of the decade. It was a birthday treat, so it kind of stuck with us.
• Dragonslayer – ANother 1980s flick that deserves some high regard from the movie-going crowd. It’s a solid story, decent enough special effects and a dragon. Movies with dragons are automatically better.

Our deal-hunting didn’t stop at the video store either, we continued on for a few more interesting finds.

• At one yard sale, we found some new bubble wands for 25-cents. Bubble wands you ask? Yeah, we know they’re nothing special, but you find a ton of unused “yard” toys like this at yard sales. You don’t save a bundle buying them there, but you do save.
• Another yard sale netted us a “clean shopper” grocery cart cover. These are just a modified blanket that fits inside a shopping cart so you don’t expose your baby or toddler to germs and bacteria that’s lingering on your cart. And yes, we will be washing this several times before we use it.
• For our arthritic grandma, we bought a set of playing card holders. This means she’ll be able to focus on her Canasta game strategy, rather than fumbling with the cards themselves.
• Always on the hunt for interesting toys and action figures, John went to one sale hunting for G.I. Joes and came back to the car with three Simpsons figures. Bart was still in his package. This version of Homer wears his radiation suit. The third, none other than archvillain C. Montgomery Burns. All three can work with the “power plant control room” diorama. The total bill for that purchase? $2 — and the batteries still worked too.

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Do you have any great buys from the weekend? Is there something out there you’re always on the lookout for?

Let us know in the comments.

Well, Yorkers had a full week of rainy weather to work inside to gather their yard-sale items . And now, finally, the weekend.

GOING PINK: This yard sale, which we came across today on Mount Zion Road, features an "explosion of pink princess items." (Laura Simcoe photo)

Here’s our best bets from The York Dispatch classifieds:

BENEFIT YARD SALES

• In East York, a fundraiser to benefit Relay for Life is Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 3898 Stony Brook Drive.
• In Dover, St. David’s E.C. Church pavilion at 2411 Oakland Road holds a sale to benefit youth ministries. This one has Friday EVENING hours, 5-8; Saturday is 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• In York City, Faith UCC Church on the corner of Pacific and Noonan holds a yard sale Saturday only from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. to benefit youth going to church camp. This one has lunch items and snacks available.

MULTI-HOME SALES

• Dover’s Delbrook Mobile Home Park off South Salem Church Road holds a Friday, Saturday and Sunday sale with Harley items among what’s offered.
• The Blossom Hilll Lane area of Dallastown holds a community yard sale Friday and Saturday starting at 8 a.m. both days.
• Loganville’s Brighton Acres neighborhood sale is Friday and Saturday 8 to 2; Take West Ore Street left onto Brighton Drive.
• In North Codorus Township, a neighborhood yard sale Friday and Saturday, 8-3, is on Heather Drive off Indian Rock Dam Road. This one features a 14-foot aluminum boat, guns and fishing equipment.
• In Manchester Township, the annual Greenbriar Multi-Yard Neighborhood Yard Sale is Saturday only, starting at 8. This one’s near Cousler Park off Church Road and boasts “big homes mean big savings.”

INTRIGUING SALES

• In York Township, at 636 Green Valley Road is an enormous moving yard/plant sale Friday and Saturday. This one, behind the car wash on Queen Street, has many families participating in a yard sale and perennial plant sale from the owner’s garden of many years. Want more info about getting plants at yard sale? Check out our post from last week.
• D.N. Wolf at 1214 E. Market in York City has what looks like DIY sale, featuring odd lots, ceramic tile, laminate flooring and shelving from 8-2 Friday and 8-noon Saturday.
• In Springettsbury Township, a sale at 1150 Kalreda Road Friday and Saturday features a homemade dollhouse.
• A Dallastown-area sale at 100 Perring Drive features trains, G.I. Joe and Richard Petty autographs. This one is Friday and Saturday, starting at 7 each day.

Yard sales can be a road hazard for travelers, so if you live on a busy road — or have limited parking — it’s important to provide your yard sale patrons with a safe place to park and a safe way to leave.
Here are a few tips for setting up safe parking:

• PARK HERE – Consider allocating some of your lawn to allow people to park and turn around in.  Make sure you clearly mark it.
• TAKE MY SPOT – If you have a driveway or parking pad, don’t set up your sale there. Move it to the yard, park your cars at a neighbor’s house and let your customers park in your spot.
• TRAFFIC COP – Have one of your yard sale “employees” solely focus on directing traffic as it enters and leaves your parking spaces.  Make sure your traffic cop wears a “hazard” vest so everyone sees him or her.
• CURBSIDE SERVICE – If you live on a quieter street, it’s still nice if you try to clear out parking spaces on the street for the duration of your sale.
• SIGNS OF THE SALE – As a simple traffic alert, put up signs a few hundred feet in either direction. These should serve to draw in customers and alert motorists to slow down.
• THE OTHER SIDE -- Some homeowners have property that borders two or more roads; consider moving your sale to front one of the less-busy avenues such as a back alley. Put big signs on the busy road directing shoppers around back.
• SOMEPLACE ELSE — When you know your road is just too busy for a yard sale, try holding it at a friend or relative’s house. If that’s not possible, rent some space at a flea market or a community sale.

WEEKEND WEATHER

Wow, after a week of non-stop rain, it’ll feel great to sit outside and enjoy some dry weather, huh? Well, looks like that’s what Friday and Saturday will bring.

Friday we’re looking at overcast skies (hey, it’s better than rain), with a high of 75 degrees. Saturday, get ready for a grass and plant explosion once the sun shows up and feeds all the wet plant life. Saturday should be lovely, with a high of 80. Thank goodness.