Things you should know… LOCAL HODGEPODGE

WRITER: GARY CORSAIR // ILLUSTRATOR: ANTHONY CASTO

Bargains are everywhere if you know where to search. There are numerous opportunities to “steal the deal” in your backyard. Here are a few places to look you may have missed:

• NO NEED TO DRIVE all over in search of bargains. Now you can yard sale from the privacy of your living room. Thousands of Lake and Sumter residents are cleaning out closets and finding big-time bargains at virtual yard sales on Facebook.

“I wanted to create a group that was made with friendliness and a nice environment where we all can have our own say, rather than have a million rules,” says Heather Neumann, founder of the Lake County FL Yard Sale.

“It’s my way of helping out our community.” Neumann’s group has grown to 6,628 bargain hunters since she formed it a year and a half ago. And Lake County FL Yard Sale isn’t the largest online sale. The Sumter County Virtual Sale has — hold onto your push cart — 10,401 members. There are at least five other virtual yard sale pages for our area on Facebook. Log on to Facebook and type in your county and “yard sale” in the search field at the top of your Facebook page.

• YOU HAVE UNTIL OCT. 10 TO SCORE A FREE Starbucks drink. Here’s how the promotion works: Join My Starbucks Rewards, purchase two specially marked packages of Starbucks coffee from a grocery, redeem Star codes and receive a coupon for a free drink (excludes bottled beverages) at a Starbucks store. Start here: starbucks. com/card/rewards

• DON’T TAKE YOUR TRASH TO THE CURB just yet. Kids 8–19 can win cash prizes in the Lake County Library System’s annual Trash to Fashion Show Contest. This year’s recycled fashion show contest will take place Saturday, Oct. 18, at W.T. Bland Public Library in Mount Dora. Pick up an entry form at any public library in Lake County or download the form at mylakelibrary.org.

• DID YOU KNOW YOUR CAR HAS A CABIN AIR FILTER? Many drivers who religiously change oil and air filters are unaware there’s a hidden filter — behind the glove compartment or in the dashboard — that catches pollutants you’d otherwise breathe. You might want to find it if your car is more than 2 years old and you’ve been coughing and sneezing, had headaches, or noticed an unpleasant odor while you drive. Check your owner’s manual or visit your favorite auto parts store.

• BEAT THE HEAT at the Fruitland Park pool at Gardenia Park. The never-crowded pool is open from 11a.m. seven days a week. The pool closes at 5p.m. during the week and at 6p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Fruitland Park residents can get wet for $2.50. Nonresident? Add a buck.

• CONSIDER MAKING A DONATION to the Leesburg High School band, which needs money to repair the large, more expensive instruments the school purchases because they are too expensive for students to purchase. The band also needs funds to pay for transportation to various sporting events, competitions and national parades. The band does several fundraisers, but it’s never enough to fund all its expenses. Donations to the not-for-profit Band Parents Association of Leesburg High School Inc. are tax-deductible. Call or text 352.459.4050 to support the LHS Swarm of Sound.