Where does all that stuff come from? Every year I am astounded by how much “stuff” we outgrow or acquire and I start thinking Garage Sale. I used to have a sale every year when I had kids in the baby/tot stage because you outgrow so much stuff; now with teens I have one about every three years. The amount of work involved can be minimalized greatly by preparing ahead of time.
Think Garage Sale all year long. I keep a large box in the basement that is marked Garage Sale. Stuck on the side of the box is a bubble pack of stickers and a pen. As the year progresses I find unwanted or outgrown items and take them down to the garage sale box and price and store them. You will be surprised how quickly this box fills! It is especially handy to have a place to keep unwanted items when your cleaning closets or switching seasonal clothes over. When your garage sale arrives you will have most of your pricing already done!
Organize your sale area effectively. Having a clean area for your sale is key to organization. Customers do not want to maneuver around can bags, toolboxes or other garage clutter to shop. Clean the main area of the garage for the sale and have plenty of table space to set up your sale. Arranging your items neatly is also key; no shoppers want to dig through a box to find what you are selling. Tables work best to neatly display items, I like to have a rolling clothes rack handy to hang higher ticket garments as well. Grouping small items like socks or jewelry will also help buyers easily make choices without making a mess. Use ziplock bags to group up small like items, it will keep things neat and usually make you a little more money.
Advertise effectively. A small classified ad in the local paper or signs out ahead of time will gain you the traffic you need to make your sale a success. Go ahead and post the signs a few days ahead of time so people can spread the word-of-mouth about your upcoming sale. Having bigger items like furniture or large toys also draws the attention of people driving by, many times buyers make the “do I stop or not” decision based on what items they can see from the road.
Be realistic in pricing. Garage sale items tend to be items you can no longer use or want so price them to sell. They do not make you any money sitting in storage in your home so getting a little jingle for them is a bonus. I bet the value of the extra space in your dressers and closets will be more than what you make selling them anyway.
There is power in numbers, and less work to! Enlist friends and family to add to your sale, they can bring their items to sell and you gain extra help with set up and clean up. Many times a street or block is having a sale and that draws a bigger buyer base, you can sometimes get a deal on advertising by going in with your street to pay for ads. Garage sales can also be fun, having a day with friends as you peddle your wares can be a blast.
