The work behind a successful garage/yard/moving sale can feel overwhelming. Our family holds a sale almost yearly to sell our outgrown items. Here at the blog we shared some great general tips for hosting a garage sale a few years ago, but I firmly believe that what helps a sale go smoothly (and profitably) is how you prepare for it. Here’s how I got ready for our (very successful) sale this year:
To Start:
In Rochester, there are certain dates set aside for different city quadrants (NE, NW, etc) to have city-wide sales, and some neighborhoods plan sales together. While the added draw of many simultaneous sales might bring more shoppers, if the dates don’t work for you, don’t fret…you’ll have less competition for shoppers if your sale lands on a different set of dates. Consider the weeks prior to back-to-school, especially if you have pants and long sleeved kids clothes to sell.
Set a family goal/fun thing to do with the money (or part of it). Since we tend to hold our sale in the summer, we choose some fun summer activities that we’ll use the money toward. I have another friend who inspires her kids to participate in their family sale by using it to pay for their family trip to Wisconsin Dells.
2+ weeks before your sale:
List high quality/large items on Facebook or Craigslist, as outlined in our article here. If you don’t have luck selling them online, then you can lower your price and sell them at your sale.
Have a single location in your home where you accumulate items for your sale. At our house, we have one 6 foot shelf in our basement where I stash outgrown clothes and toys as soon as we cull them from our kids’ rooms. I also store my garage sale supplies (cash box, price stickers, etc.) on this shelf.
Buy a few boxes of gallon-size bags at the dollar store. If an item has more than one piece (pajama sets, toys sets) I place them together in a bag to make sure that buyers get the entire set.
Give your kids the job of identifying books and toys they no longer use. At our house, if they received it as a gift or bought it themselves, they get the money for selling it. We label their items with their initial and keep a tally for them. If Mom and Dad bought the item, it goes into the family sale profits.
Collect plastic shopping bags to use at the sale.
One week before your sale:
Ask friends if you can borrow their folding tables and/or rolling garment racks. Make sure you have a large enough table for your checkout station that it can accommodate stacks of people’s purchases as you tally their total.
Create “lots” or “sets” of smaller items. I make grab bags of leftover party favors and other small items that aren’t worth selling on their own, pricing them at 50 cents or $1 depending on the original value of the items. You can also create bags that go with a theme, such as “Paw Patrol” or “Princesses” and group things together. I packaged sheet sets and towel sets, and they were some of the first things that sold. Add a label that clearly lists what the set contains.
Set blanket prices for items of a certain type, rather than pricing items individually. I do this with clothing, and we’ve also done it with jewelry. Merchandise these items together and print the price size in a nice large font for shoppers to read.
Get money for your cash box. I typically get $50 in ones and $50 in fives so I can make change. Soon you’ll be in over your head with $1s, but it’s easier to be over-prepared than under-prepared. You’ll also need some quarters, but as long as you don’t price anything under a quarter, those are the only coins you’ll need.
Create signs on a single color of fluorescent tag board. Drivers need your signs to be consistent so they know they are headed in the right direction to find your sale. The sign should say SALE at the top, with a LARGE ARROW pointing them in the right direction. You can also include your address, but what matters to a driver is the LARGE ARROW. We bought large wooden stakes at a home improvement store and the fluorescent tag board at the dollar store. You’ll need a rubber mallet or hammer to pound the stakes into the ground.
The day before your sale:
Buy a couple of $1 mylar balloons at the dollar store. Attach one or two to your mailbox to help people identify your sale. I also add one to the sale sign at the main entrance to our neighborhood.
Take photographs once you have most of the sale set up. Post the pictures to local garage sale sites and Craigslist garage sale listings. If you have name brand items, make sure to include those brands in the listing. If you have only specific sizes of clothing, list that as well.
The night before your sale:
Head out and place your signs (delay this step until the morning of your sale if it may rain overnight).
Get your money box ready, and a waist belt, fanny pack or purse you can keep on your body during the sale. During the sale, I constantly take the big bills out of my cash box, so that in the unfortunate event that someone steals it, the bulk of our money is safe. I have a travel money belt that I put it in, but a purse or other hands-free option would also work. We also move some of the money into the house periodically.
Move any large items (like furniture) into the garage, ready to easily move out onto the driveway the morning of the sale.
The morning of your sale:
Get yourself organized before opening your garage door, so all you need to do is move the large items out to the driveway. You may have shoppers who come in once you open your door, even if it’s before your official start time.
Have a water bottle out at the checkout station with you, plus a snack.
Have a book to read or something else to keep you busy during slow times. I use my bluetooth speaker in the garage and stream (kid-appropriate) music throughout the day.
Do you have any other preparation tips that helped you have a great sale? Share them below!
