Springtime is for yard sales! The first warmth of the season is the perfect time to deep clean and get rid of winter staleness. Dust and germs simply float outside on a beautiful day. This is also an excellent time to take stock of your possessions.
What needs repairing? Refurbishing? Replacing?
Cleaning and Sorting
> Go through your clothes. See what is worn out and needs replacing. When my clothes are not suitable to be seen in public, they become gardening clothes. When they are too worn for that, they become rags. If clothes are too small and probably will never fit again, I need to get rid of them. As good as I am about not holding onto things, I am human and sometimes hope for the body that will fit into that favorite sweater again someday. After a few years of dreaming, I finally let go.
> Inspect your furniture. If wood furniture needs to be refinished, now is the time for sanding, staining and sealing (all non-toxic, of course). Paint furniture you’d like to spruce up. That’s an inexpensive way to change the look and feel of a room. Wash slipcovers, curtains, bedding and area rugs. Look them over for wear. Are you tired of your furniture? There’s a chair in my living room I bought at a yard sale 15 years ago for $20. It is very comfortable, but I’m tired of looking at it! Re-cover it, or sell and replace?
> Go through your entertainment stash. I know a lot of music and movies are digital these days, but there are still people with cassette players, CD players, VHS players and video cameras. Maybe they have tapes and no player, or a perfectly working player and no tapes. Sometimes collectible movies and music are only available in those formats. And my 16 year old tells me vinyl is coming back! She wants a turntable. Pass on what you will probably never listen to or watch again, because someone else is wanting it.
> Clean off your bookshelves. I know I have way more books than I am going to read. It’s almost like a fetish. Sheesh. Definitely something I have to work on. What have you read that you are not going to pick up again? What do you refer to on a regular basis? My retired next door neighbor had a yard sale when she sold her house. She literally had hundreds of hardback novels that she’d read over the years, and they were a big hit at the sale. How about magazines? Another fetish of mine…..
>Do you have knick knacks that are just for collecting dust? Aside from intentional and maybe valuable collections, knick knacks are pointless, in my eyes. I ditched all my trinkets a long time ago in the name of simplicity.
> Clean out your garage. I don’t know many people who park their cars in the garage. It is generally used for storage. What’s in yours? Do you have gardening items? Tools? How about outdoor furniture? Spring is when people are thinking Outdoors, so give them what they are looking for.
> My basic criteria for getting rid of things: If I haven’t touched it in a year, I probably won’t again. I pay attention to what I use daily, what I use seasonally, and what I am holding onto for no-good-reason. I am ruthless about purging and never looking back. Learn that skill, and you will be living simply.
How to Hold a Yard Sale
Now that you have gone through your belongings and know what you want to get rid of, get it ready for sale. (photo flickr rainchurch)
> Make sure everything is clean. I don’t mean wash all the clothes and scrub down furniture, but you will get a better price if it doesn’t look like your items have been sitting in the cellar or shed for ten years. Make things presentable and touchable with a little dusting.
> Determine prices. This is completely subjective. I once lived in a four bedroom house that had countless college students move in and out for a decade or more. For a few months, I was there alone, and I cleaned it out. You won’t believe what some of those people left behind! TVs, stereos, clothes and furniture were in the cellar and attic. I dragged it all outside and sold everything for 25 cents each just to get rid of it. That was probably the most successful sale I’ve ever had!
Price things to sell, but leave a little room for buyers to bargain. That’s the fun of a yard sale – the dickering. Know the lowest price you will take, then pad that figure to leave room for dickering.
> Mark everything clearly. When you get busy, you won’t have time to answer questions about how much something is. You know how annoying it is when you’re in a store, and you can’t find a clerk to find out what something costs? Do you usually leave, like I do? Don’t let that happen to you!
Buy price tags or stickers at a stationery or business supply store. You can also buy masking tape and just tear off small pieces to stick on your items. This is much cheaper.
> Decide where to hold the sale. You want people to be able to see it from the road, and you also need room for parking. Be sure people can get around your items easily. Leave plenty of clearance for several people to be looking at one thing.
> Decide how you are going to display your smaller items. Obviously, furniture and boxes can go on the ground, but you will need tables for the smaller items.
> Advertise, advertise, advertise! Put an ad in the paper, put up flyers, talk to your friends, and tell them to talk to their friends. Get the word out! Then put up signs in strategic places, like intersections, the end of your street, and most important, at your house. Do this the night before, so people going home from work will see them. Use fluorescent poster board, add balloons, and people won’t miss your sale!
> Go to the bank, and get change. Savvy yard salers will have small change for you, but there are plenty of people who go to an ATM that morning to get a bunch of 20s. Be sure you have at least $50 in small bills and quarters. I prefer $100, since a couple of 20s can wipe you out early. Don’t leave a money box at the sale. Wear a fanny pack or have large pockets. Once in a while, take the big bills into the house to make room for more.
> Have fun!!! A yard sale is exciting! The weather is warm, people are happy to be out and about, and they are into buying second hand and finding good deals. I have made lifelong friends at my yard sales, since we have a common bond already.
> What you don’t sell, donate. Take extra books and magazines to the library. You can deliver small items to places like Goodwill, the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, churches or a battered women’s shelter. Sometimes they will come and pick up larger items. We have a freebox at our recycling center. People drop off things from baby items to clothes and large furniture, and others pick them up. It’s a great concept, and I wish more communities did this. If your town does not have a freebox, contact the proper authorities on getting one started.
What’s next?
Now that you have simplified your life and have some cash in your pocket, go yard sale-ing to replace what needed replacing. Find out how to make the most of going to yard sales!
