When my mom’s group was looking for someone to host the annual yard sale, I jumped at the chance. Why? Because I have tons and tons of junk to purge several items that my family no longer uses that I know another family would love. And I wasn’t about to lug it to someone else’s yard. Our big yard sale will take place this weekend and I am so excited. Like ecstatic. Like those girls who swoon over Justin Bieber.
I’ve been getting ready for this yard sale since last October when I was laid off from my job and suddenly found myself with tons of “free time” and not so much “free money”. If you’re a new reader, you may not know that we moved twice in a twenty-two month period. Both of those moves were rushed – the first move was 1400 or so miles from Florida to Massachusetts with little time to organize packing and the second move was from Boston to Cape Cod when I was 34 weeks pregnant. And a lot of “junk” got moved {twice} when it shouldn’t have. I’ve been stacking yard sale items our office and in our basement. And I’m certain if our local Fire Chief stopped by, he’d let me know that my basement is a fire hazard. I tried to photograph the basement, but the photos don’t do it any justice.
As you can imagine, a lot of time has gone into this yard sale on my end. I’ve read many tips, tricks and hints to making a yard sale successful. If you’re planning a yard sale of your own, you may want to consider following these great tips below:
- Get a permit from your local Town Hall. No need to receive a fine AND not make any money!
- Be prepared for a rain date. If you’re hosting on a Saturday, schedule your rain date for the following day.
- Be prepared for “early birds.” If your sale begins at 8, plan for shoppers to show at 7.
- Advertise in your local paper, on Craigslist and Yard Sale Treasure Map. Tell all of your friends!
- Hang sings directing buyers to your sale the night before. Include start and end times on the sign.
- Have plenty of change available. Consider not accepting bills larger than $20.
- Be prepared for haggling. Price your items slightly higher than what you’d like to receive, doing this allows your buyer to feel like they’re getting a deal and you’ll still get the price you want.
- Price items with removable tags and include descriptions on the tag (ie: Nightstand, $10). There are bound to be some not-so-honest people willing to switch a tag to get an even better deal.
- Serious shoppers come early, so don’t reduce your prices until a few hours into the sale.
- Group “like” items together – just like retail stores. If possible, hang your clothing as no one wants to dig through a pile on the ground.
- To encourage people to buy more, reduce the price for multiples (ie: Books, $2 each or 3 for $5)
- Put baby and kids items toward the back forcing people to view everything along the way.
- Be sure to have a full length mirror, tape measure, and extension cord readily available. People want to try on clothes, measure tables and make sure your old lamp works before giving you their money!
- Sell freshly baked cookies and other treats. (Perfect for hungry kids and husbands!)
- Have bottled water and juice boxes available for sale. (Who can eat a cookie without having something to wash it down with?)
- If you are a crafter, consider having some of your crafts available for sale. Handmade items are sought after these days, and you just might get lucky and sell a bunch of stuff!
As you make your way through your house looking for things to put in your yard sale, keep in mind the old saying, “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure!” Nothing is off limits when it comes to a yard sale. If you don’t want it there is a good chance someone else does. I’m sure my neighbor would kick herself for selling me that ugly bench for $5 last fall if she ever got wind of how I transformed it!
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