One of my favorite things to do in the spring and summer is spend a Saturday morning visiting yard sales, estate sales, thrift shops and flea markets.

Who doesn’t love a good bargain?

My mom used to drag me to those when I was a kid, and I couldn’t possibly think of anything more boring. Now, I guess I’ve grown into the tradition.

I never really show up at a yard sale looking for anything in particular. I find it more fun to find that book, board game, record or piece of furniture when I’m not expecting anything at all.

I also tend to look for items that I can transform into something completely different.

I’ve bought used books and maps and used them to create a unique piece of artwork. One of my favorite creations was a chair made from an old hard-shell suitcase.

Each spring, knowing that I’m likely to bring home a few knickknacks every couple of weeks, I go through my home and find items to get rid of or donate.

If I haven’t gotten use out of the article of clothing or if I never upcycled that piece of furniture, it has to go. Sometimes it’s a struggle, but I think that system works for me. It keeps me from getting too much clutter. If I’m not enjoying my yard sale or thrift shop finds, I’ve got to let someone else have a try.

Having said that, I’m going to spend the next week doing just that.

The Ironton Lions Club, of which I am a member, will have a yard sale on May 2 at the historic State Route 75 tunnel area, the same location where you can find us every weekend in October, scaring people in the Haunted Tunnel.

The sale will start at 7 a.m. and all funds raised will go into our fundraising budget so we can expand our community activities next year.

A few months ago, the club decided to create a fundraising committee, of which I am also a member. The goal of the committee is to brainstorm and implement new ways to raise money for our club to continue to return to the community — either by our annual scholarships for high school seniors, donations to Harvest for the Hungry, the Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade and other organizations and our upkeep of the haunted tunnel and continued mission of sight-saving.

Our haunted tunnel is the biggest moneymaker for the club, but we wanted to expand on that and do more throughout the year to make sure we could afford our commitments to various causes.

We started planning a 5K race that would coincide with Diabetes Awareness Month, which is in April. It became quickly apparent that organizing and fully funding a successful 5K is very expensive. So rather than go head and fund the 5K knowing we may not break even on the effort, we decided to take a step back and figure out some low cost fundraisers that would build our 5K coffers for next year.

The yard sale seemed like the best way to start building momentum without going beyond our means, so to speak.

The Ironton Lions Club needs your help. If you have any gently used items — clothing, house wares, furniture, books — please let us know. We’ll be glad to take them off of your hands.

Lion Tony Howard has volunteered to pick up those items from your home. Just give him a call at 740-532-1107 to schedule a pickup time.

If you can’t donate items, stop by that day and help support your local Lions Club by purchasing a few items.

On Tuesday, the club will host a diabetes awareness fair with free health screenings. The fair will be from 1-4 p.m. at the Ironton City Center.

Diabetes awareness has also become one of the Lions Club’s main missions, as people with diabetes are at risk of losing sight from diabetic retinopathy, which is damage to the blood vessels in the retina.

Finding out if you have diabetes or are at risk is the first step to fighting the disease. Even if you already have diabetes, stop by the fair and speak with some of the vendors about how to stay healthy by eating right and checking your glucose.

Lions members will be there in our yellow vests to make sure you get checked in and get a free screening.

 

Michelle Goodman is the news editor at The Tribune. To reach her, call 740-532-1441 ext. 12 or by email at michelle.goodman@irontontribune.com.