Tips for Organizing a Successful Garage Sale

A garage sale can be a great opportunity to earn some quick cash and get rid of clutter at the same time. Start by scouring your home for items that you no longer want or use. Tackle one area or room at a time and as you collect items, put them into garbage bags and store them in a separate area until the day of the sale. Keeping items in organized categories will save you the trouble of resorting your items before the sale. The following are tips for collecting garage sale items from specific areas of your home.

Kitchen

Chances are, you have cookware or utensils that you have not used in ages. Be sure to look through all of your silverware, dishes, cookware, etc. You can even sell unopened canned or boxed food items that you do not plan on using as long as they have not yet expired.

Kids Stuff

Don't be afraid to get rid of toys that your children have grown tired of using. Kids will probably give you a hard time about getting rid of toys, but they will soon forget that they are gone. Don't forget to collect clothes and shoes that your children have outgrown. These tend to be popular items at garage sales.

Craft/Hobby Supplies

Take a minute to evaluate how much you use each item in your craft or hobby supply room. Will you ever use all of those fabric scraps or sewing notions? If you can bear to part with them, now is the perfect time to do so. Keep in mind that gift bags, unused wrapping paper and ribbons are hot sale items, especially if they are in good condition and bundled together for one price.

Closets, Bathrooms and the Remainder of Your Home

In your quest for garage sale items, leave no stone unturned. Rummage through unused body lotions, linens, hair care products, towels, and the like. Sort through bookcases, junk drawers and anywhere else that possible garage sale items could be hiding. As far as clothing goes, remember that we generally wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. So be sure to carefully evaluate how often you wear particular items. If you have not worn an item in the past year, you probably will never wear it.

Now that you have collected your garage sale items, it is time to organize and price everything. If you kept sale items in organized categories during the collection period, then your have saved yourself some time. If not, simply organize your stuff into categories such as kitchen supplies, clothing (by size and type), shoes, home décor, and any other logical category.

Try pricing small, similar, less valuable items the same price. For example, whenever I have a garage sale and have multiple clothing items I price all shirts at 25 cents and all pants at 50 cents. That way, I can make one sign with prices instead of marking each individual item. What a time saver! Mark bigger, more valuable items separately.

Resist the urge to overprice your items. A typical garage sale shopper is looking for a bargain and generally does not like to spend too much money on any one item. High prices usually tend to scare shoppers away. Remember, your goal is to get rid of as much as possible and make some cash in the process. The more you sell, the less you have to pack up and store or give to charity.

On the day of the sale, make sure that everything is neatly arranged and clearly priced. Be willing to negotiate prices, especially at the end of the day. You may be surprised at what you can earn when you are willing to negotiate.

Follow these guidelines and you should be on your way to a successful garage sale. Good luck!