Tips for a Successful Yard Sale

Clean Out Your Closets - Go through all of the closets and remove the items that don't fit. Hopefully they don't fit because they are too big on you and not because they are too small! Get rid of anything in your household that has not been used in the past 2 years. If items that have been sitting in your closet or cabinets unused for the past 2 years, chances are you will not be using them in the future. It may be best to clean out the kids closets when they are not around. This can save you a lot of headaches.

Would You Buy It? - When you are deciding what items to include in your yard sale ask yourself "If I were a customer would I buy this?" If the answer is no then immediately throw it away.

The White Glove Test - Make sure all items are clean. No one wants to buy something that is dusty or dirty. Pretend that your mother-in-law is going to be there giving everything the "white glove" test.

Advertise! Advertise! Advertise! - Place an ad in your local paper. If you live in a rural area where there are several other small towns you may want to also consider placing ads in a few of the newspapers that are delivered in the other towns in your area. When placing an ad be sure to include the date, time, your address and directions if possible. Most newspapers have a limit on the number of words you can have in an ad. List some of the more popular items such as baby clothes and furniture and kids clothes.

Attention Grabbers - Place your larger and popular items closer to the street. These will grab the attention people driving by and they will be more likely to stop and take a look. Even if they don't find exactly what they are looking for they will still be more likely to purchase other items.

Price It To Go - Remember you are having a yard sale so you can get rid of the clutter in your home. Pricing items low will help them to get sold quicker.

Change Please - Be sure to have plenty of change on hand. $100 dollars in small bills and change may sound like to much but it is better to have too much change than not enough. It is a good idea to carry your change in a fanny pack so you will always have it close by you. If you have a lot of loose change after the sale is over you can take the change to a change counting machine and cash it in. You can usually find these machines at local grocery store. These machines do charge a small fee for using them but they can be more convenient than taking the change to your local bank and cashing it in there. Most banks do not want to mess with counting loose change because it can take awhile to count.

Donate - Once your sale is over immediately pack up the items that didn't sell and donate them to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army Store. Some churches also take donations. Itemize the value of your items and ask for a receipt.

Yard sales are a great way to clear out the clutter in your home and earn some extra cash.