The mother of all bargain sales is slated for the Leopards Club this weekend.

Selling space is still available at the two-day extravaganza which was organised by Us5 Bermudians, a group of female friends whose aim is to improve their “personal socio-economic condition and inspire others to do likewise”.

With help from the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation, Peggy Burns, Ronette (Davis) Lounds, Nichole McHardy, Liz Lee and Rose Parkes engaged “seasoned” vendors who will offer a selection of new and used items from 8am until 8pm on Saturday and Sunday.

The idea was proposed by Ms Burns as the five women discussed the “economic situation post-Covid” on Zoom.

The 74-year-old had found that many of her friends and family had been “thinking seriously about decluttering and downsizing”.

As she saw it, a bargain sale would be appealing to younger vendors who “do it out of necessity” and seniors who enjoy the “social interaction or fellowship”.

“A lot of them are like me,” Ms Burns said. “They've been living alone and it's something for them to do. Furthermore, I'm a minimalist. I don't live with a lot of material trappings. I don't own a cell phone. I don't have a clothes dryer; I've been line-drying my own clothes for almost 30 years. I use a washer, of course.

“I don't own a microwave; I make my own laundry detergent. I only have one television, which I seldom watch.”

Also powerful was that it opened up living space by not having so much clutter, she said.

“It's healthier for you too. I find it's freeing. I'm able to be creative – because I'm an artist as well – and I find that I'm able to think clearly.

“It comes down to really taking time to assess your life and think more seriously: Why am I here? What am I supposed to be doing? It’s about self-exploration, intervention, introspection. And so that's what I do. I evaluate my life and, from time to time, I have a conversation with myself about what's important to my life and what isn't.”

It’s how she was able to “part with items that at one time I enjoyed”.

“I did it by way of having yard sales. I would sell my items and then I started taking items from other people and selling them too and then we would agree on a commission.”

Word-of-mouth and e-mails helped generate a buzz about the coming weekend. Erica Smith of the BEDC then sent the details out to the organisation’s vendors.

“Ours is considered a marathon sale in terms of 12-hour time compared to most local sales which usually have a run time of five hours – late start and early finish,” Ms Burns said. “Plus, they discourage early and late patrons. We welcome both. We are most grateful to Mr Dale Butler, a member of the [Leopards Club], who highly recommended this venue to us, and the club’s executive board for allowing us the use of their property for our event which is designed to assist ourselves and members of our community during these trying times.

“We are delighted to share that Ms Erica Smith, executive director of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation, and staff are 100 per cent supportive of this community-wide effort and were instrumental in directing vendors our way. We extend our appreciation to them as well.”

The lawn at the Leopards Club can accommodate about 17 vendors. Five spots are available for Saturday and seven for Sunday.

“There are new and used items in good, clean condition,” Ms Burns said. “These are seasoned vendors. This is what they do.”

The other members of Us5 Bermudians bought into her idea because they have a common “purpose in life to render service to humanity”, she added.

“This is the best that I could offer – bringing vendors together so that they can help themselves and beyond that help other people as well. A lot of people are out there struggling. It hurts my heart.

“You can’t give what you don't have. I want this to be successful and so I'm doing all that I can. It's all about self-help and helping others – we're all in economic recovery. And so we're looking at creative ways of generating money so that we can sustain ourselves and be better positioned to help other people. You don't have to look far to see needs and it hurts my heart sometimes and leads me to become very frustrated because of the fact that I'm not in a position to do more, but I just do the best I can with what I have.”

Us5 Bermudians’ lawn sale takes place at the Leopards Club on Saturday and Sunday from 8am until 8pm. Vendors interested in taking part should contact Peggy Burns: 297-1624; nanapeggy@livenet.bm