How to Organize a Successful Garage Sale

A garage sale is a great way to free yourself from excess clutter in your home and make some extra cash at the same time, but many people shy away from garage sales because they can be time-consuming and overwhelming. Don't be scared off. With a little prior planning you can organize a successful garage sale that will rid you of your clutter, not your sanity.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Folding tables
• Price stickers
• A permanent marker
• Garage sale signs
• Balloons
• A cash box
• Approximately $20.00 in small bills and coins to make change
• Shopping bags

1. Choose a date for your garage sale. It is important that you set the date first so that you do not procrastinate in preparing for the sale.
2. Visit your city offices to find out whether a permit is required for a garage sale. If so, obtain the necessary permit and sale guidelines.
3. Place advertisements in local newspapers to let people know you will be having a sale. Word of mouth is another great way to advertise your sale so tell everybody you know.
   
   Purchase or make some garage sale signs and post them around your neighborhood at least one day prior to the start of your sale.
4. Clean out every room, closet and storage space in your home to set aside items to be included in the garage sale. As you gather the items, place them in one area to be sorted and priced. The garage is ideal for this purpose.
5. Once you have gathered all of your sale items, sort them into groups of like items. For example, make piles of books, clothing, kitchen items, toys, household decor, etc.
6. Once you have your items sorted, decide upon the best way to display them. Books can be displayed binding side up in a small cardboard box, smaller toys can be grouped according to price and placed in boxes, larger toys can be laid out on a folding table, larger items and furniture can be displayed on the ground, etc.
7. Begin pricing your items. A good rule of thumb for deciding on a price is 10% to 30% of the original cost of the item, depending upon its current condition.
   
   If you group like items together and place them in a box, it is not necessary to price each individual item. Simply make a sign indicating the price for any item in that box and display it prominently on the box.
   
   Place a price sticker where it can be easily seen on all items that are displayed individually.
8. On the day of the sale begin setting up at least two hours prior to the starting time of the sale.
   
   Make sure to put balloons on your mailbox to grab the attention of passersby.
   
   Arrange your tables so that people can walk easily in between them and create zones for like items, placing all toys together, all kitchen items together, etc.
9. As the sale is going on, walk around as much as possible to answer questions and tidy up your sale items so they can be seen easily.
   
   If you have downtime during the sale use it to consolidate items and eliminate any unnecessary tables. Doing this throughout the day will make clean-up at the end of the day a lot easier.
10. Always be willing to negotiate prices. If you notice a person deliberating about an item, offering to knock off a dollar or two will often tilt the scales in your favor and make the sale.
11. Remember to offer shopping bags, especially to people who have purchased multiple items.
12. When the sale is over, make a list of all remaining items and their condition. Pack the items up and donate them to your favorite charity. You will be doing yourself a favor by not allowing the clutter back into your home and you can write off the donation as a deduction on your taxes.

Tips & Warnings

• Talk to your neighbors and ask if they would like to have a sale at the same time as yours. More sales will generate more traffic and you can share the advertising costs.
• If you are selling items for friends or family members at your sale, color code the price stickers and use a notebook to keep track of each person's sales. Simply peel of the price sticker and place it on the appropriate page of the notebook. At the end of the day, simply add up the price stickers to find out how much each person made.