Fun Summer Activities for Kids: Hold a Garage Sale

If you always seem to have too much stuff, charge your children with the task of organizing and hosting a garage sale. The garage sale project can be completed in a week or less, and it has elements that all ages of children can help and be involved with, although you may need to help with some of the tasks if you only have younger children.

Help Kids Hold a Garage Sale: Identify Potential Garage Sale Items

Something that all of your kids can help with in this summer garage sale project is to go through their belongings and select any clothing or toys that they no longer want. In addition, they can collectively go through any family items (such as board games or jigsaw puzzles) that could potentially be sold at the garage sale.

Garage sale items should all be placed in one spot together, which is motivating because children see the pile of items growing quickly. Make sure each child selects at least a few items, and when in doubt, you can ask them to identify what they placed in the garage sale spot.

Help Kids Hold a Garage Sale: Family Swap of Garage Sale Items

This procedure of putting attractive toys and clothing in a collective spot is sure to spark some desires for new things, so before moving on to the next step, you should give all the children a chance to select at least a couple items from the family garage sale pool that they would like to have. This is a good way for them to pick out new toys and clothing, completely free of charge for you.

Help Kids Hold a Garage Sale: Advertise Garage Sale

Help the children select a garage sale date, and have them put together signs to post in the area. Make sure to include the date, time, your address, and the words "garage sale" on each sign. Also, if you have older children, you can have them help with putting ads in the local newspapers for your garage sale. Plus, have all your children tell their neighborhood friends about the garage sale.

Help Kids Hold a Garage Sale: Sort and Price Garage Sale Items

Next, the children should sort the items into collections of like things (stuffed animals, clothes, books, toys, etc.). Then they can go through and either put individual price tags on items or if many items will have the same price, use a system with colored stickers representing prices, or boxes of items with the price per item listed on the box.

Help Kids Hold a Garage Sale: Set up and Run Garage Sale

Lastly, on the morning of the garage sale, get the kids up nice and early to set up the sale. Anything to be set up inside the garage should be done first, because as soon as the door is open, you are likely to have early buyers. Then have all your children who are old enough help take a turn (or work in pairs) at the cash register box adding up prices of items and taking payment. Other children can help customers find items, or even make some lemonade or muffins to sell as you run out of other garage sale items.

Help Kids Hold a Garage Sale: Donate Unsold Items to Charity

If there are items that are not sold, you can let the children decide whether they would like to keep them in a garage sale box until the next garage sale, or if they would like to donate them to people who need them and will use them now. If so, take them to Salvation Army or to a local clothes closet, homeless shelter, or another organization.

For more fun summer activities for kids, see the index of all articles, with new activities being added daily!