“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is a pretty popular proverb that summarizes thrift shopping. We all have things that we once loved, or hated, and kept for years. Then there comes a point where you start thinking “there must be something I can do to get rid of this stuff!” Over the years, we accumulate things that we never needed and sometimes never even wanted. Other times, we’ve had stuff lying around our house that just seem to take up space. All over the world, garage sales exist; be it after spring cleaning or just at random times of the year. They serve as a means for people to get rid of their stuff and make a buck out of it, and for those who buy the stuff to acquire items that serve useful to them at bargain prices. Three AUK students, Fatma Al Sumaiti, Galia Al Haroon, and Dalal Al Enizi teamed up to create a garage sale that was open to everyone that wanted to get rid of their old possessions. Working as a team gave them a chance to benefit from one another’s expertise. “We complete each other,” Dalal states.

Pushing their limits and testing their skills, marketing students Fatma and Galia came up with the idea of giving people the opportunity to give Kuwait a chance to “spring clean” their lives. “We were sitting in Starbucks on a break and we wanted to do something,” Fatma says, “we have college, our homes, and going out, and we wanted to do something productive with our lives.” With that idea at hand, they decided to approach sponsors and spread the word through the blogs. Their third team member, Dalal, is a graphic design student at AUK and served as their official designer for the logo and everything they needed printed and spread. In only four weeks time, the girls were ready to hold the garage sale that was going to cause a stir and be the first mile-stone for the youth of Kuwait to see how these events work.

Renting out a soccer field next to Shaab Park for the day was the perfect location to host the event. With enough space for people to set up and display their things, and for people to roam the vicinity and not feel claustrophobic, the location was indeed ideal. Using everything they’d learned in university, they commenced with a marketing campaign that brought this event the attention it needed. Through the help of their sponsors, they gained the sufficient funding to set everything up. Setting up their campaign to peek people’s interest came through blogs, Twitter, Facebook, emails, flyers, and BBM broadcasts to spread the word to as many people as possible. Since everything takes place online, using these mediums helped gather as many people as possible to take part in the garage sale.

Balancing between their finals and this project was difficult since it was always on their mind. Nonetheless, they went to great lengths to get this done in time and get through finals. Being the first event of its kind, it surely isn’t the last for them. Wanting to keep to the true tradition of garage sales by keeping them outdoors, the next one will take place in the winter or spring when it’s a little cooler. Even with the heat, which they dealt with by setting up water-spraying fans, everyone was having a good time. They gave out free water and free ice-blended drinks, an ice cream cart was also there to sell frozen goodness for those who need the extra cooling. “That’s what’s important to us,” Galia adds, “everyone’s happy and we’re happy. That’s what counts.”