But if you want to be successful in your clear out of clutter, just remember.....
WHAT GOES OUT IN THE YARD DOES NOT COME BACK INDOORS!
Follow these steps for a successful yard sale or garage sale (The only difference is whether you have a garage or not)
Step 1 - Start Early. Come up with a Date at least a month away. This gives you time to go through your house room by room and decide what is going. Don't forget the basement and the outside garden shed.
Step 2 - Get Totes or boxes from the grocery store for each room and start by place a few in each room.
Step 3 - Pick the first room and stay in that room and throw everything into the boxes, totes or bags that you have decided will go for sale. If furniture is going to be for sale, empty it and quickly clean it and make it easy to be pulled from that room. Don't go from room to room you will get frustrated, stick with one room at a time.
Step 4 - Try to do a room per day if possible and get your family involved unless you think that is way more stressful!
Step 5 - Get the signs out and the ad in the paper if it is in the budget at least a week before. If you
Step 6 - Find a room in your home to congregate all the boxes, bags and furniture you have decided will be for sale as close to the door as possible to make it easier that morning. Do this at least the week before if you can. Yes it means its all in the way, but this is only temporary.
Step 7- Display Tables - Take a look at your items and decide the best way to display them. Clothes could go on a portable clothes rack if you have one, or string up rope between trees, get creative, just don't leave them laying flat. Card tables work good and so do lawn chairs, or place an old piece of wood or a door across chairs for an instant table.
Step 8 - Pricing. If you have a lot of items that you just want gone, it is best to price "like with like" in a box, such as a box of books, or craft supplies, or baby toys etc. This is a very attractive way to sell and they have to take the entire box for 5, or 10 bucks, or whatever you want. Don't price too high if you want the items sold fast.
NOTE: Selling lots of smaller "like with like" things in boxes for one price works very well. You get rid of so much stuff and get a few dollars for it. This was the best way for me.
Put the price tags on your items ahead of time, but be open to suggestions if you want it gone!
Step 9 - Watch the weather. If at all possible have a gazebo or tent or shelter you can have outside, or have a rain date, meaning another date for the sale and have this in the ad or on the signs.
Step 10 - Get up super early. Most professional yard saler's get started at 7am. Organize a much as you can in the house into the boxes or into similar piles to make it easier to get them out in the morning.
Step 11 - Place all your display tables in the yard and driveway and move your cars. This will also stop others from parking right in the driveway which you want to keep open for walkers.
Step 12 - Have an extension cord ready and plugged in for any small appliances you may be selling to confirm they are in working order.
Step 13 - Make sure you have lots of small change and keep it close to you.
Step 14 - Make sure only things for sale are in the yard. Move any other important items away. It can get pretty busy in these sales and someone may give your hubby or kids 10 bucks for garden knome you didn't plan on selling!
Step 15 - Enjoy selling your junk to someone who thinks it is treasure. You are doing your part for recycling and keeping it out of the landfill.
Step 16 - When it gets close to your decided closing time, you can start to place things at the end of the driveway to give away. Remember don't take them back inside once you decided they were going out unless they are valuable antiques. From experience I find expensive items do not sell at yard sales, stick to smaller easy to carry items the best you can.
Step 17 - Enjoy your now clean house!
You can find many supplies online for a great price too. If you don't have much in the way of shade in your yard and the sun is burning hot, this will keep people away. If you can put up a shelter this would help especially if you are having a larger yard sale.
Check out this page of party shelters to get more ideas.
Organizing for a yard sale or a garage sale just takes a bit of planning ahead of time. You want maximum people for maximum sales, so get the ads out, don't overprice, and be open to negotiations. Decide if you want this item out of your life.
We now have a rule in our house which is:
If something comes in, then something must leave!
This keeps the clutter down, and when we move next time we will not be paying for clutter to move with us.
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