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Realtor Sheena Burton Saydam says most people moving homes struggle to get rid of unwanted things. So, she started a free yard sale to ease the burden.

Saydam has organized the sale every few months since March, and it has quickly grown into more than an easy way to clean out your garage.

When people gather in the parking lot of Rachel Carson Elementary School on Tschiffely Square Road in Gaithersburg Nov. 30 with cars full of unwanted treasures, they won鈥檛 just be exchanging goods; they will be building community.

“What it has turned into is this magical moment of community,鈥� Saydam said. 鈥淚t’s become something where people look forward to it. They’re excited. They feel so alive that they’re able to easily get rid of these things that are often weighing them down.鈥�

The rules are simple. Vendors should arrive 15 minutes before the sale begins. Absolutely no shopping until the event officially starts at 9 a.m. Most importantly, no haggling–everything is free.

Saydam said making everything free helps people remember what their time is worth. She said time is better invested in meaningful moments, not standing around arguing over $2.

Hosting the yard sale helped open Saydam鈥檚 eyes to the financial issues in her own community.

鈥淚 didn’t realize how much people were struggling, and I think that’s only going to get more pronounced as time goes on,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople are losing their SNAP benefits; people are out of work — how many more paychecks can they lose?鈥�

Saydam said hundreds of people from the D.C. region come to shop at each sale. Nothing lasts on the lot for more than 30 minutes.

Anthropologist Gretchen Hermann said garage sales bring people together by forging face-to-face connections. While shoppers pick up new belongings, people who are giving things away get to know their once-loved items are going to a good home.

That sense of community has hooked June Jimenez, a nonprofit consultant who lives in Montgomery County. She said she has been attending the yard sale since it began in March and keeps coming back for human connections.

鈥淵ou get to have really interesting conversations with people in the community. In this moment in time, when there鈥檚 a lot of fear and a lot of isolation, people of all different types are at this event and you鈥檙e able to bond with them over some stories,鈥� she said.

Jimenez said communities can solve their own problems by helping each other, and the yard sale is an example of that.

Local dog trainer Cheryl Mathews-White said it is a stressful time in Montgomery County amid the federal government shutdown, officially the longest in history, and the yard sale is a good place to find things you want or need.

Best of all, there鈥檚 no need to worry about the presentation.

鈥淚t doesn’t have to be organized. It doesn’t have to be pretty,鈥� Mathews-White said. 鈥淎t yard sales, a lot of people set stuff up to be pretty or attractive. You don鈥檛 have to do that. You put it on the ground, you stand there, you talk to people.鈥�

Montgomery County resident Deborah Pollack said she has handed off several big-ticket items at previous sales, like a designer jacket. As she gears up for the November sale, she said she is looking forward to making more connections and bringing a smile to someone鈥檚 face.

She said she hopes local municipal agencies will take notice of the good work Saydam is doing and follow in her footsteps by starting more local, free swaps for people in need.

鈥淭hings are dark in this world right now and challenging, but you can continue to show up for your neighbors,鈥� Pollack said. 鈥淚t’s a very moving effect when you see the kinds of needs and you see likeminded people caring about other people.鈥�