Late summer and early fall is a great time to have a garage or yard sale. The weather is still nice and people love getting out on the weekends looking for bargains. For some people, it’s a weekly hobby. So, why not clean out your clutter, and make some extra money from it. The following is a checklist for an easy, simple garage sale that will help you trade your excess “stuff” for a nice handful of cash.
ONE MONTH BEFORE
- Clean out clutter in all areas of your house, especially garages, attics, basements. Also, clean out your kids outgrown clothes.
- Put all garage sale items in a designated location and try to keep “like” items together.
- If having a multi-family or community sale, have a get-together to discuss all the details, including the dates, times, location, division of expenses, and who will be doing which tasks.
- Make contingency plans for rain, especially if having the sale in a yard.
- Find out if you need a permit to have a garage or yard sale in your town.
- Start collecting and saving plastic bags, boxes, and newspapers for wrapping breakables.
TWO WEEKS BEFORE
- Do some research on current garage sale prices, and consider going to a few other garage sales, to get ideas on prices.
- Start getting supplies ready: labels, permanent markers, signs, notebook for recording sales, a money box with a lock, calculator, packing paper, and plastic bags.
- Put an ad in newspaper or community paper with dates, times, and address.
ONE WEEK BEFORE
- Put labels on everything and put prices on them.
- Clean out the garage and sweep floor.
- Get tables ready. Borrow or rent folding tables, if necessary. Consider borrowing a garment hanging rack.
ONE DAY BEFORE
- Put signs up on street corner or entrance of neighborhood and in front of house.
- Set up tables.
- Put out items neatly, with “like” items together.
- Go to bank and get bills and coins to have available for giving change back.
DAY OF SALE
- Be ready to start garage sale, according to time stated in the ad.
- Have some drinks and snacks for workers at the garage sale, so you won’t have to leave money and merchandise unattended.
- Make sure everything is neatly put out with prices on everything.
- Have money box (preferably a box that can be locked) ready with some bills and change.
- Have other supplies ready: notebook, calculator, pens, markers, plastic bags, boxes.
- 2 hours before end of sale, consider dropping prices.
AFTER SALE
- Take down signs.
- Divide up the money, if having the sale with other people. Also, remember to divide the expenses.
- Put unsold items in a designated section and plan when to take to a donation drop-off location. Don’t procrastinate on this!
- Clean up tables and return, if borrowed.
- Deposit money in the bank.
That’s it! You did it! Congratulate yourself on a successful sale. Cha-Ching!