Summer signals a time for garage sales to start setting up and first-year, residence hall students to move out. Colorado State Surplus Property, for the second summer, is making the best of both.

Responsible for determining the usability and life of items the university no longer needs, Surplus Property will host the second-annual Tent Sale June 15 and 16 to “liquidate approximately 20 tons of items that have been donated by students as they move off campus at the end of the school year,” according to the event website.

“Clothing, futons, mini-fridges, books, office supplies, household items,” and other general student items are sold at the sale said Jake Drenth, manager at Surplus Property.

Many of the items available at the event come from the Leave it Behind program run by the campus Eco Leader program. At the end of the school year, students are encouraged to leave anything from clothing to furniture and electronics in their rooms for donation later at the Tent Sale.

“A lot of students leave behind clothes, sheets, chairs, and other things that they used in their residence hall rooms, and these donations are then sent to CSU Surplus, where items are sorted and then sold back to the community,” said Cheyenne McCoy, junior journalism and communications double major. McCoy has been involved with the Eco Leaders for the past two years, promoting environmentally-friendly behavior through “peer-to-peer education and social marketing.”

The proceeds of the surplus sale turn around and go back to the Eco Leader program to fund other events throughout the year. “It provides us with money that we use to promote sustainability in residence halls through programs and other initiatives,” McCoy said.

“Our goal is obviously to sell everything, but if we don’t sell it, we try contacting local nonprofits first,” Drenth said. The next step would be to either sell the items online or give items back to Eco Leaders for them to sell. Drenth explained it is against university policy for Surplus Property to donate items.

Attendee of last summer’s sale, Cole Nelson, senior biology major, was hunting for new furniture pieces at the event.

“I heard about [the sale] through the dorms and went, hoping for some cheaper, but still nice, furniture,” Cole said. “I ended up just buying some oddball things because I didn’t know it was cash only, at least then it was.”

“We have closed off volunteer spots for setting up the retail environment on June 13 and 14,” Drenth said, but they are still looking for volunteers on June 15 and 16.

Content producer Corinne Winthrop can be reached at news@collegian.com.