Everything Must Go: Hard Times Create Yard Sale Boom

Yard sales are on the rise nationwide as the economy heads for the cellar, the New York Times reports. Flyers for sales cover lampposts in formerly booming communities as struggling homeowners seek to raise cash from selling off all the non-essentials—even children's toys. Many of the bargain-hunters are in equally dire straits themselves.

"You can get great deals,” said one shopper. "Sad to say … Because everybody’s losing their homes.” So big is the current boom in yard sales that some communities have restricted the number of sales a household can have per year. But experts say that with all the goods Americans accumulated during the 20-year-boom, the deals won't end any time soon.