Judging by today’s York Dispatch classifieds, this is a great weekend for yard sales.  We have several sales catering to tool-guys out there, as well as several moving sales where it looks as though entire houses are up for grabs.

Here are our picks:

FOR THE GUYS

• A Friday and Saturday sale at 5120 Lewisberry Road, Dover, is a garage/tool sale. They have woodworking, yard and machinist tools, hand tools, foundry tools and tool carts. That’s not even everything that’s listed.
• A Friday only sale at 1235, 1245 and 1260 Golden Way in Windsor Township features a strut compressor, hydraulic jack, mechanic’s tool box, welder and more.
• A Friday and Saturday sale at 112 Taft Ave., Manchester Township, is selling snow blowers, tools, grinders, routers, saws, chain saws and boating items.
• Looking for a compound bow? Check out the Thursday-Saturday sale at 128 Main St. in Seven Valleys. They’re selling a guitar, too.

BENEFITS

• A huge yard sale benefiting Missionary in Honduras is Thursday through Saturday at 2001 Palomino Road, Dover.

MOST INTERESTING ITEMS

• A sale at 98 W. Broad St. in Yoe Friday and Saturday is selling lots of stuff, including an ATV/motorcycle jack and many teacher/classroom items.

MOVING SALES

• A Saturday only Moving Sale at 562 Greendale Road, Spring Garden Township, boasts “Everything must go, make an offer!” It’s 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• A Huge Moving Sale at 1910 Bretton Lane in West Manchester Township is Friday and Saturday from 8-4.
• A Relocating sale at 468 Hunting Park Lane in Haines Acres, Springettsbury, also says All must go! This one’s Friday and Saturday, no times listed.
• Here’s our favorite: A Not-Moving Sale! Priced To Go! is at 4 Rockdale Drive, Loganville, Friday only from 7:30-4.

FORECAST

The heat is back this weekend. Friday looks like a sweltering 94 degrees. Saturday is just south of sweltering, at 89. Enjoy!

As we gnashed our teeth about the terrible heat last weekend, we thought about one of the worst parts of holding a yard sale: setting the darn thing up.

One of the first problems a newbie will encounter is exactly what to put all the  merchandise on. And before we go on: Yes, it is absolutely vital for you to put merchandise on some sort of raised surface. It helps keep early-morning dew off your stuff, and it makes it easier for customers (elderly ones in particular) to shop.

Here at Yard Sale Secrets, we’ve seen people use practically everything: folding tables, picnic tables, picnic benches, porch railings, boxes, those neon blue tarps, Rubbermaid tubs,  old boards and their actual yard or driveway.

We’ve even seen people drag out their really nice kitchen tables and then load it up. (That of course meant they had to field offers all day on a price for the table — not the merchandise on top of it.)

But really, you don’t have to improvise so much on finding tables for your yard sales. They’re easier to come by than you think.

Here are a few “table resources” for you:

• FRIENDS, FAMILY  & NEIGHBORS: Just ask them to borrow their folding tables for the sale. Yeah, this is a “no duh” tip, but we figured we’d mention it since these tables will be free. The only problem here is if you’re having a community sale, because then your neighbor will want to keep her tables for herself. People who go hunting, fishing or camping will often have several lightweight folding tables that you can borrow.
• WORK: Your workplace might have a number of tables you can borrow. Just be sure to ask your boss or the office manager first. The downside on this is that you’ll have to transport them yourself.
• BUILD YOUR OWN: There’s a number of ways you can build your own. The easiest is to get a sheet of plywood (and you might be able to borrow that from a neighbor) and stick a plastic tub under each corner to raise it up. Sawhorses do the same thing if you happen to have any.
• RENTAL STORES: Look in the Yellow Pages under equipment rentals or in the White Pages under the word “rent” and you’re sure to find a business that rents tables. They most often rent tables for weddings and other events, but they also might be willing to rent (and deliver) tables for a smaller-scale event such as a yard sale.
• FIRE DEPARTMENT: Most local volunteer fire departments have banquet space — either in a special hall or their garage. That means they have tables too. Give them a call and ask about renting or borrowing them. This isn’t an uncommon request either, since they often lend out tables for backyard weddings and graduation parties. They might be able to help you with delivering them too.
• SOCIAL CLUBS AND VFW HALL: These places typically offer the same banquet services as the fire department, so they offer the same deals on table rents.
• CHURCH: Most churches have banquet facilities too, so they might be willing to loan or rent out tables. You’ll probably have to pick these up on your own.
• SCHOOL: While it’s a longshot, try contacting the custodial department of your local school. They too might regularly rent or loan out tables.

It’s been a while since we bragged about our weekend yard sale hauls. We apologize for that. Some of us have been on vacation, and then there’s this horrible heat wave we’ve been suffering through.

During the worst of it, we felt really bad for people who set up shop. Trying to be cheerful during the “Pa. Broil” was rough enough, but the very act of setting up tables, creating shade in any way possible, lugging merchandise around and just simply waiting for customers in the 100-plus-degree heat was a feat in itself.

For shoppers, it was equally rough. Getting in and out of the car. Walking neighborhood sales. Strapping merchandise to the roof.

In fact the heat actually ruined one of our purchases. On a trip to Morningstar Market’s “upper tier parking lot,” which is almost exclusively yard-sale-type merchandise, we bought a record from 1974. It looked just fine when we bought it, but by the time we got home all its sound-making grooves had melted away.

Anyway, here’s a look at our buys over the last few weeks:

We're not sure how this glow-in-the-dark stepping stone will look. Creepy or cool? Anyway, we got it still in the package for $2.

This little end-table/storage box look nice enough here, but check it out in the next picture for what it really does.

The box, which we bought for $10, expands into a handy storage unit. Originally, it was designed to hold sewing supplies. The only problem: We have to reattach a leg that came loose during transport home.

Among other things, we picked up this nice picture from for $2 from a Springettsbury Township sale.

These little beauties were 50-cents each at an estate sale a few weeks back. The horse is actually a very small planter, we just liked the colors on it. The eagle is a metal plaque.

So how did your sale go this weekend? Did the heat keep people away or were they burning up but buying? Leave a comment below and let us know!

With this heat “dome” choking off our air supply, we’re betting only the die-hard yard-salers will be out this weekend. Whether you’re holding a sale or shopping at several, please remember to stay hydrated.

Check out the classifieds.

A couple of yard sales might have the edge on the others this weekend: They’re INSIDE in the AIR CONDITIONING or IN THE SHADE!

• In East Berlin, a sale today through Saturday is at the East Berlin Area Community Center at 405 North Ave. It’s a bag sale: $10 a bag today, $5 a bag Friday and $3 a bag Saturday.
• A 20-family yard sale “in the shade” is at the corner of Leader Heights and Powder Mill Road Friday and Saturday.
• A Thursday-Saturday sale at 1704 Hilltop Drive in Springettsbury Township is being held in partially air-conditioned areas inside and out.

FOR THE MEN

• A sportsmen’s yard sale is Saturday only at 85 Sunset Drive in Manchester. This one features hunting, fishing and trapping tools. A warning: Absolutely no early birds. No one before 7 a.m. Considering what they’re selling, we’d be mindful of that warning.
• In the East York area, at 1957 Woodstream Drive, is a Saturday only tool sale: power tools, yard tools, hand tools.

OTHER INTERESTING SALES

The entire Vllage of  Rinely (yes, the whole thing) is having a yard sale Saturday starting at 8 a.m. The ad boasts a 1-mile long sale with more than 100 families. Now all you have to do is find the Village of  Rinely.

WEATHER FORECAST

One word:  Hot.

Just held my second yard sale of the season and noticed that the traffic was not the same as in prior years. The first one was at my house. Friday was a good day but Saturday the first customer did not arrive until around 10 a.m. The yard sale started at 8 a.m.

The second yard sale was at my mother’s house and the same thing happened.

In prior years, if the yard sale was to start at 8 a.m. customers were lined up to start shopping at 7 a.m.  And, it was crazy all day with customers.

We also noticed this year that when going to yard sales the volume of people was very low. I went to a community yard sale where the cars are normally lined up along the streets and there were only a couple of cars parked along the streets. Why?

Is it because of the heat? Are the gas prices too high and people don’t want to spend money to travel around to yard sales?

What have you experienced when holding or going to a yard sale? We would like to hear your thoughts.