Having a garage sale is one of the fun aspects of moving. Not only does having a garage sale prompt the opportunity for you to sort through all of your belongings, but you can also earn some extra cash in the process. This additional fund can then be used toward the hired moving service or other housing expenses. A garage sale is especially fun with children. To help out with the process, here are 5 successful garage sale tips before moving!
Keep, Toss, Sell: When preparing for your garage sale, make three separate lists. One list is dedicated to the stuff that you will keep, no matter what. This list may include furniture, kitchen utilities, and the majority of personal belongings. Another list will be for tossing, which are possessions of yours that you realize may need disposing of before you move. The last list will be for items that you will include in the garage sale. Consider the utility behind each item and whether or not you still use these things in your regular routine. All in all, belongings that you do not keep should either be tossed or sold. Check out our 10 must-have’s to put on your moving list!
Advertise: Word of mouth is one of the best ways to advertise a sale, so make sure to spread the word around. After telling everyone that you know that you are having a garage sale, encourage them to tell their friends. Work with the kids to make sale signs for the driveway and entrance of your neighborhood. There’s nothing worse then getting everything prepared for a garage sale and then to have no one show up, so be sure to schedule the date on a day that is guaranteed good weather.
Set Up Shop: When you go into a department store, examine how everything is displayed or set up. They do that on purpose to catch your eye and to make it easier for you to shop. If you have a multitude of clothing items, try to borrow a clothing rack from someone or set up a way to hang up all of the clothes. This makes it way easier for people to see all that you have rather than having it all folded on tables. Same goes for everything else. Group similar things together and maybe create faux little displays. Help the buyers to imagine what they could do with these items!
Shopping Bags: If you know that you are going to have a garage sale before you move, start saving up any shopping or plastic bags that you acquire during the time before the garage sale. Likewise with setting your stuff up nice, having bags make it more of a shopping experience then just a cheesy garage sale. People are more likely to buy stuff if you include shopping bags. This also helps eliminate more clutter for you instead of just having to throw away the remaining sales items.
Donate: Before you even have the garage sale, you need to have a plan on what to do with all of the excess stuff that didn’t sell. Do not fall into the trap of bringing everything back into the house and then hoarding it all away. This is a big no-no. Immediately once the garage sale is over, grab garbage bags and start bagging everything up. It creates less work and less steps when cleaning up. Once everything is bagged up, load it into your car and head to the nearest Goodwill, Salvation Army, or donation place near you. Especially after finishing packing, you may end up needing to donate more things than originally planned.
Garage sales are a lot of work, but they are worth the time and effort when preparing for a move. Besides, who doesn’t like earning some extra cash? These tips for a successful garage sale will not only help only the garage sale easier, but will make your overall moving process go smoother and stress-free.
I have found that advertising is the key to a successful garage sale. A simple ad in the morning paper will draw hundreds to your house. Great advice!