Whether you are downsizing or just want to make your home breathe, you need to organize your rooms and get rid of the clutter.
One fun but rather exhausting way is to set up a yard sale. As long as you are organized, it will be a quick way to eliminate the stuff you no longer need, want or love.
Below are some guidelines for making sure your sale is successful.
Preparation Prior to Yard Sale
Materials Needed:
- Multi-Colored Dots
- Boxes or Bins
- Plain Labels
- Sharpie
- Tables
- Clothes Hangers
- Garment Rack (if you can borrow or own one)
- Garage Sale Signs
- Extension Chords
Visit yard sales in your neighborhood before your event to get an idea of what is selling. Don’t over think what will sell. As long as it is in decent condition, you never know what someone else might like.
Start collecting sale items at least a month in advance. Have a staging area to store these items. Go room, by room, selecting things that you do not use, need or love.
The night before your sale, set everything up.
Group similar items together such as Books, CDs and Record Albums; Children’s Toys and Stuffed Animals and Infant/Children’s Furniture, Ceramics and Kitchen Wares, and Tools and Equipment.
Jewelry should be guarded by a trusted friend or family member and housed in a jewelry case. Costume jewelry and children’s equipment typically sell very well.
Consider asking family and friends to contribute to your yard sale; the more items you have, the more people will stop by as they drive up to your sale.
Try to make things look attractive so buyers will want to purchase the items. Use color dots to mark pricing: red dots can be $2.00, green can be 3 for $5.00, etc., or you can price only those items $20 and higher and let people make you an offer on lower valued items.
You should only need about $50.00 in cash. As you collect money during the day, make sure it is in a safe place, perhaps even taking some and putting in your locked house.
Suggestions to Let People Know about Your Yard Sale
Advertising Your Yard Sale:
Consider posting in local papers, on Craig’s List, on online yard sale listings, or even by telling your friends to get the word out.
Have yard signs made professionally or DIY, but have lettering big enough to read with your address and directional arrows. Put your start time in bold letters, generally 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 or 4:00 p.m.
Day of Yard Sale
Materials Needed:
- Extra Colored Dots
- Extra Labels
- Sharpie
- Rolls of quarters and dimes, at least 25 $1.00 bills, some $5 and 10 dollar bills
- Money Belt(s) Receipt Book/Carbon
- Notepad and pens/pencils
- Tables
- Have your cell phone charged and accessible for emergencies.
Put yard sale signs out at about 6:00 a.m. the morning of your sale. Be prepared for people to come by early.
Your goal is to get rid of as much of your sale items as possible. Be savvy with your negotiating skills and know your low price in advance. As the day ends, you will have less negotiating power.
Do not accept checks. Do not allow someone to have you hold something for more than 30 minutes. Do not allow people into your home. Have someone helping you out such as family members or friends as you need someone to keep an eye on shoppers.
Remember to collect any yard signs you put out that day once your sale has ended. Donate items that did not sell or trash items that are not worth giving away.
I hope these suggestions are useful. If you have any other ideas, please share them here in the comments section. Happy selling!
