About

Minks to Sinks had its first rummage sale organized by volunteers in Wilton in 1931 to benefit the Nursing Association's Well Child Program. The name Minks to Sinks was coined in 1952 when a volunteer at a pre-rummage sale meeting brought along a mink coat to donate to the sale. Someone else had donated a sink, and another volunteer suggested that they name the sale, Minks to Sinks. Since then, the sale has always included at least one mink and more than a few sinks.

The early rummage sales didn't have a permanent location. They were held at Town Hall, the Grange, the McFadden Building and the Wilton Playshop, among other locations in Wilton. Minks to Sinks was even held at the Gateway Shopping Plaza one year, while the shopping center was under construction. In the 1960's the sale moved to the grounds of the Community Park, now the site of the Wilton YMCA. In 1971, Minks to Sinks found its permanent home, adjacent to the tennis courts at the intersection of Route #7 (Danbury Road) and School Road.

The Minks to Sinks organization is staffed with more than 160 volunteers of all ages from the community of Wilton. Many of these women have been giving their time for more than 30 years. During the semi-annual sales, volunteers work to price, ticket, organize and display thousands of items that are donated or consigned for the sale. This usually includes hauling heavy furniture, rugs, and lawn mowers to their designated locations under the sale tents or in the outdoor areas. These volunteers don the Minks to Sinks trademark red, white and blue ticking stripe aprons and work from morning to night in preparation for the sale, during the sale days, and cleaning up after the sale, rain or shine.

Since 1958, Minks to Sinks has used the logo affectionately referred to as "Mrs. Sminks" to promote the sale. "Mrs. Sminks", created by Whitney Darrow, the noted New Yorker cartoonist, has been described as "the woman who has everything. She consigns it donates or buys it at the semi-annual Minks to Sinks sale".