Every year I make a resolution to be neater and less pack-ratty, so spring cleaning is my annual thing I do to get my stuff under control. But what to do with all that stuff? A ritual I’ve picked up from my folks is to throw an annual yard/garage sale to try and peddle off the things you don’t want and make a bit of handy cash (meanwhile, keeping from being wasteful and filling up bins with usable, good things).
- Invite sellers. Drop a flyer at your neighbors’ homes or post to a community bulletin board asking for parties interested in having concurrent yard sales to contact you. The more sales going on the same day in your neighborhood, the more likely you are to get more buyers’ traffic. Round up your friends who might want to buddy up at your sale. They may have a few items to sell, but not enough to warrant their own yard sale, or they might live in apartment buildings where yard sales aren’t all that viable. The more merchandise your sale appears to offer, the more interest you’ll drum up with passersby. Be sure to make the sale dates crystal clear to all who plan on participating.
- Dig up your goods. Clean out your shelves, drawers, storage chests. You know what you don’t want or need anymore. If it looks to be in good enough condition to use, but you personally don’t or haven’t used it for the last year, it’s time to let it go. Keep your sale items in one place in your home or garage, so it doesn’t get mixed in with the things you do plan on keeping.
- Advertise your sales. Most important info to note is the fact that it is a yard or garage sale, sale addresses, dates, and times. Depending on your city’s ordinances, how you post signs may be regulated. In my city, we cannot post signs on utility poles; rather, we must post them on staked signs in the lawns. In my parents’ city you basically can stick them wherever you desire (and they have a big central community bulletin board to boot). Check out the local rules and follow them. Big posterboard is cheap and great for notice factor. If you would like to also advertise in your paper’s classified ads, perhaps you can pool a little fund sharing from neighbors and friends who are selling the same days. Send out emails to all your friends to alert them to the fact that you are having a yard sale and try to ask for a bit of support. When it looks like throngs of people have descended on your sale, others passing by will take notice as well.
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