Clutter: What If You Hold A Garage Sale?

Holding a garage sale is a profitable way of getting rid of your clutter.

Clutter is stuff that you no longer use or that you never used. They pile up when kids grow up or when members of the family leave home, when you receive gifts, and when you buy new stuff to replace them. Although they are useless to you, your neighbors and friends may find them useful. What if you hold a garage sale? Holding a garage sale is a profitable way of getting rid of your clutter. 

Here are seven steps that can guarantee a successful garage sale.

1. Collect your clutter. Go to your attic or basement where you may be keeping old bikes, toys, appliances, and furniture. Check bedroom closets and drawers for unused clothes, shoes, bags, accessories, and probably toys. Look over shelves for clutter like vases, figurines, and books. Go through kitchen cabinets and drawers for excessive pots, pans, silverware, and other kitchenware.
   You do not have to do this in one day. Depending on your clutter, your can set a day or a half-day for an area. If you work during weekdays, you can schedule two or three weekends to do this. You can start tidying and reorganizing your house as you collect your clutter. For every area that you have covered, you will feel pleased for having a more spacious and neater spot.
   While collecting your clutter, you will be able to determine when you will be ready to hold your garage sale and thus approximate a date. If you set a garage sale date before assessing the bulk of your clutter, you will have to meet a tight deadline when you find out that you have too much clutter to collect. This will result in an unnecessary stress.
   
2. Put price tags on your garage sale items. Use masking tape and permanent marker to mark most items with a price. For clothes, toys, and other stuff that you can group by price, put them in boxes, set them up on tables, or hang them in racks with a price tag on a cardboard. In setting a price, think more of how much you want to get rid of an item than how much it actually costs. Leave room for haggling though. Buyers are delighted when they get an item at discounted price and they tend to look for more items to buy.
   You can do this right after you collect and clean, if needed, your clutter. This way, you do not have to go through your collected clutter again just to put price tags. Also, pricing so many items at one time can be overwhelming.
   
3. Set a time and date for your garage sale. In step 1, you already have an approximate date. To pinpoint the date or dates, consider the availability of your neighbors and friends. If you have too many items to sell, consider a two-day garage sale and pick a Friday (for those who do not go to work on weekdays) and a Saturday (for others). For a one-day garage sale, pick a Saturday.
   
4. Advertise your garage sale. Advertise two or three days before your garage sale. Advertising too early may make them forget while advertising too late may cause them to be unavailable.
   Make posters and flyers with a big and bold invitation to your garage sale. Next, indicate your complete address with a brief description of your house, say “Pink House.” If you live in a place where houses are more identified by their residents than by their address, include your name, say “Aguila Residence.” Next, indicate the dates with day, say “20th (Fri) and 21st (Sat) of January, 2012” and time, “9 am to 5 pm”. Next, indicate what will be on sale, say “Furniture, Appliances, Kitchenware, Toys, Clothes, Shoes, Bags, and many others.” You can also put a come on like “at low low prices” but only if it is true. Hang your posters in places where passersby can notice and read your invitation – at nearby intersections, at the entrance to your neighborhood, and in front of your house. Ask permission also to hang them in nearby stores. Distribute your flyers to neighbors, friends and people you come across in your neighborhood. Be friendly and informative while you distribute your flyers. Cordially invite them and give them more details about your sale such as what specific furniture is on sale and how much. This will also prepare them on how much money to bring when they come to your garage sale.
   You can also make calls or send messages to friends and acquaintances.
   
5. Prepare materials needed for the garage sale. This includes
   
   • plastic or paper bags, newspaper and other packing materials for purchased items,
   • a cash box with coins and small bills of known total amount to be subtracted from the total amount of money in your cash box after the garage sale to determine your garage sale income,
   • a calculator, a pen and a pad of paper for computing individual purchases, and
   • a cash table to be set up near the entrance.
6. Set up your garage for the sale. Make sure that your garage is clean. Make all your displays easily accessible, well organized and visually attractive. Put a welcome banner in front of your house.
   If you can do this the day or night before the garage sale, you will be ready without any more preparations on the day of your garage sale.
   
7. Get on with your garage sale. Be ready an hour before your advertised time. Customers who come ready to buy often arrive before the posted time to get premium items. Welcome your customers with a friendly smile as they arrive and promote your merchandise proudly. Offer package deals and bulk discounts.
   

A delightful outcome of a successful garage sale is more cash in your purse, less clutter in your home, and a bonus of getting acquainted with yours neighbors.