Big rummage sale set for U of A dorm leftovers

The University of Arizona is hosting a four-day dorm move-out rummage sale over two weekends left behind by students who lived on campus, the school said in a news release.

The sale, the first one held by the UA since 2018, will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the following dates: May 16-17 and May 23-24.

The sales are at ACE Recycling, 9110 S. Eisenhower Road, south of the airport near South Nogales Highway and Aerospace Parkway.

Each weekend, items will be priced at pennies on the dollar on the first day.

But, on the second day of the weekend sales, everything is free.

The first weekend will feature clothing, accessories and small household items left behind by students.

The second weekend will focus on furniture from the nearly 600 dorm rooms being replaced by the UA. Shoppers are asked to bring large, durable bags to carry purchased items.

Proceeds from the rummage sale benefit the Dorm Assistance Award, which supports low-income and first-generation students by paying a portion of their rent for a year, the release said.

“This sale is the perfect opportunity for the community to not only support the university and our students but also our sustainability goals and the local environment,” said Jill Burchell, senior coordinator for sustainability operations and initiatives with Housing & Residential Life. “You can prevent items from ending up in our landfills as junk by giving them a new life in your own home.”

The move-out process for students and the collection of items to be featured in the dorm move-out sale began May 6 after the last day of classes and will continue till May 15, when the dorms will be closed for the summer, the news release said. The Office of Government & Community Relations is also working with nearby off-campus apartments to collect unwanted student items.

In addition to it being an opportunity to move items in an inexpensive way, the dorm move-out sale also teaches students sustainability education. This is “a journey that begins when they move into their dorm rooms and continues throughout their lives as they learn to reuse, recycle and protect their local environment,” the school said.

“We begin by teaching students about recycling in the fall when they move in and continue to work with them on a variety of things like energy and water reduction,” Burchell said. “Once they move out of the dorms and start looking at off-campus housing and paying their own bills, we want to make sure they know how to conserve.”