The feeling of spotting a neon green sign accompanied by a large arrow on a Saturday morning drive with my mother is nothing short of exhilarating. The slightly musty garage, the out-of-print books and the dusty furniture make me anticipate nothing less than possibility.

While many teens have come around to the idea of going to a thrift store to create hip new outfits and find new knick knacks, yard sales are still not as widely accepted. But here are a couple reasons why you should stop at the next yard sale you see:

1. It’s more affordable. Many people holding garage sales simply want to get rid of some of their extra items and will do anything for you to take them off their hands. While many sweaters may go for $5 at Goodwill, the same style can be bought at a yard sale for a quarter.
2. There are more surprises. Thrift stores often only sell clothes, books and some furniture, while many yard sales are full of surprises. It is not uncommon to find a walker for sale next to a fish tank, or an old atlas sitting with a surround sound speaker set.
3. There’s less ‘junk’ to sift through. Because a yard sale often only has the clothing and items of the people hosting the sale, it may be hard to find your size at every sale you go to. Even still, it’s not impossible to find an outfit you vibe with. You can also bounce on to the next sale if you know you won’t have any luck at your current location.
4. It’s limited time only! Since most sales only last one weekend, this means you can skip wading through miles of old softball club t-shirts countless people have turned down over a span of months of hanging on the racks.
5. It’s more personal. Many times you can tell the type of life a person has lived by their treasures and tools. A prime example of this is the couple with hundreds of Mardi Gras beads and a plethora of taxidermy handbooks I once bought a sweater from. A sense of human connection is found in looking at a table of a family’s things for sale or in talking to the couple selling their old furniture. Yard sales are a wonderful way to connect with the people around you.

Overall, yard sales are a wonderful chance to look for new items and clothes while also getting a chance to go outside and talk to people you don’t know. I hope you give the next yard sale you catch sight of a try.