9 Tips To A Sizzling Successful Summer Garage Sale
Posted: Wednesday, June 10, 2009
by Marilyn Bohn
Get It Together Organizing
With the temperature heating up outside now is the time to sell your guilt by clearing the clutter in your home. The saying is one mans junk is another mans treasure. You can start organizing clutter and make money at the same time. The way to do this is to have a Sizzling summer garage sale. If you can, have a street or neighborhood group sale that is even better.
Is the goal to make as much money as possible so you can take your dream vacation?
Or is the goal to get rid of as much stuff as possible to make some spending money for your vacation?
Your goal should be one or the other to have a really successful garage sale as these two goals arent necessarily compatible with each other.
Okay you have been busy going through your home organizing clutter now it is time to have the sale and get rid of it:
1. Have everything prepared and ready to sell the night before. The morning of the sale is too late to prepare because people will be there bright and early to start buying.
2. Advertize well, if you live in a small town advertize in your local paper, also Craigs list and other places on the internet.
3. Make good signs directing people where the sale is: Make them Big and Bold, only put the address and arrow pointing the direction to the location on the posters.
4. Identify who is selling: wear a bright apron, hat, or a tag saying I Work Here.
5. Price EVERYTHING People dont like to have to ask how much something costs. Buy colored dots and put dots on everything. If you are selling everything in a certain area all for the same priceon a table or in a box have a sign saying everything in this box is 50 cents. If you dont want to put the price on every sticker make a BIG poster with the color of sticker and the corresponding price. Have a couple of these posted in prominent places.
(yellow sticker) $1.00
(blue sticker) .25 cents
(green sticker) .50 cents
6. Have some free items to give away. My friend got some free magazines which she enjoyed looking through one evening so you never know what someone will take.
7. If you are selling clotheshang them up or at least separate them out on a tarp on the lawn. You could hang them between two sturdy, heavy ladders that have a clothes line strung between them or string a clothes line between trees.
8. Dont over price items. Price to sell-- Dont guilt the buyer. Never say its never been usedpeople dont caredont price based on sentimentality. The buyer doesnt care that it is important to you. Dont be a stalkerdont follow customers around.
9. Have plenty of change! Start the day with $10.00 in quarters and $20.00 in one dollar bills, 5 $5 dollar bills and 4 $10.00 bills. You can keep your money in a cash box, or a shoe box, but if you do someone should watch it at all times. A fanny pack could be used for money instead.
10. A good time to hold the sale is from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. It is really busy the first couple of hours. After 2:00 traffic really drops off. Anyone who shows up after 2:00 tell them prices are slashed to 75% off. Or make everything free, or give them a grocery bag and tell them everything they can fit in the bag is only $1.00. You may get rid of everything but for sure will have less stuff that you have to cart off to your local charity.
Have fun, visit with the people who come and reap the rewards from clearing clutter.
Marilyn is a professional organizer, a sought after public speaker and author who is passionate about teaching ways to organize your life and how to reduce clutter. She works with women in their homes and offices. On her web site she teaches you to get rid of clutter by using her Lights On Organizing System. She provides practical information on how to declutter your home, office and life. In her blogs, articles, and videos she gives timely tips on how to clear clutter and how to declutter everything in your home and office. She is the author of a book called Go Organize! Conquer clutter in three simple steps which will be in major bookstores in December 2009. Marilyn invites you to visit her website www.marilynbohn.com
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Great tips Marilyn! We have a 'street sale' every June. It's a great way to clean out, start fresh, make some money, meet new people, and have some fun with the neighbours. We've been having one for thirteen years and haven't run out of junk ( I mean treasures) to sell yet.Wow! That is impressive, I imagine you can garage sale within you own neighborhood and not have to go all over town. How convenient.
Some great ideas, Marilyn. I definitely need to plan a garage sale before there is no more room in the house for me! And I could certainly use the extra money.Thanks for sharing.SandraThank you for taking your time to comment on my article. If you do have a sale--GOOD LUCK!
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