Spring Cleaning Garage Sale Tips

Traditionally,, spring cleaning is a thorough cleaning of one’s house on the first day or week of the Spring Season, often in anticipation of some kind of festive events.  As human beings progressed , we manage to clutter our home with more things we don’t need. Spring cleaning has become a more complicated process. It also include the organization of cluttered storage and garage spaces.

Here are some tips for a profitable Garage Spring

Preparation

Draw a sketch of where things will go. Try to group like items together. If your budget allows you to get those garage cabinets, great! Go ahead and purchase a few.

If you are working with a small budget or no budget at all, don’t worry. Do a garage sale to raise the money. Trashes for Dollars! If you can use a screw driver and a hammer, you can just build your own wall shelves.

Get in a good habit of putting things you don’t use or need aside. Dedicate a certain spot for that. Put price stickers on before you put them away. As the year goes by, you will have collected lots of stuff by the time spring comes around.

Schedule a good couple of days to prepare the items for your garage sale.  Dedicate a whole section of your garage to put all your sale stuff.

Pricing it Right

When pricing your sale items, focus on the purpose of your garage sale. Shoot for pennies for a dollar paid. Make your pricing as general as you can. You only use the price stickers for furniture, large electronic items.

Type a list of Prices on color papers by Categories in large font to be displayed. Post them on side of the display tables or walls where people can see easily on the day of sale.

       ·         T-shirts -$0.50 each or 5 for $2.00,

·         Books - Children’s - $0.25 each   Others -$1.00 each

·         Stuffed animals - $0.5 /small, $1.00/medium, $2.00/large

You get the idea.

Organization

Start with all the closets and dressers. Take a few heavy duty white garbage bags and mark them in different categories such as t-shirts, pants, etc.. Write a list of prices for each category. Once done, put the bags out in the garage or storage till your scheduled sale day arrives.

Next, pull out all the outgrown toys, furniture and books in your children’s rooms. Group stuffed animal in small, medium and large sizes. Use a separate cardboard box for books, board games, puzzles, battery operated toys, Barbies, and so on and so forth. Use your stickers for larger items only.

Now it’s time to thin out the kitchen. If you have a utility table or two, set them up in the garage first. As you go through your kitchen items for sale, put price stickers on and take them right out to the tables and set them down in specific sections grouped according to pricing.

Next, go through your linen closet to get out any sheet sets, towel sets, and blankets or comforters. Put them in clear bags or better in their original zip up bags if you still have some.

Your books, movies, music CDs can be separated and put into the cardboard boxes. Keep the pricing general except any collectable items that need to be priced differently with price stickers.

Any computers, printers, electronic items need to be priced separately with your stickers. Move them to the garage as you go.

If you have any furniture to sell, get them ready to be moved and price tagged.

If you have any jewelry and watches for sale, use small Ziploc bags. Use your stickers to price each individually. Scarves and belts can also be nicely folded and put into Ziploc bags and priced individually with stickers. They will look more valuable with a little packaging.

Joint Garage Sale

A lot of times, your family, neighbors or friends will have things to add to your garage sale. There are a few tips that will help reducing problems.

1.       Have them price their items with Initials on sticker before they bring them over to you house.

2.       Have them write down a list of items dropped with their names on top

3.       The items need to be dropped the night before the sale

4.       Get them to help out if they can

In you note book, write down the name of one individual on top of a page.  For example, write Sarah. Every time an item of Sarah’s is sold, you will pull off the sticker and stick it on that page. If sold price is different than listed price, make a note right there. At end of the sale, you will add up all the stickers and pay Sarah her share.

Advertising Your Sale

Chances are that you are not the only one who is having a garage sale. Making it known is very important to have a successful sale.

Contact your neighborhood realtor who keeps dropping flyers at your door step. Neighborhood realtors are usually happy to organize garage sales in their territory. They have access to different resources to advertise the garage sale, more effectively than what you can do on your own. 

You can still go on craigslist and post your garage sale notices if you like for free. Just go to: http://www.craigslist.com , post it in your local area. The more details you put in, the better. You can even upload up to 4 pictures of sale items.

You can buy readymade garage sale signs.  You can also make your own signs with white poster boards.  Be very specific with the dates, time and your address. Put the signs out starting from major busy traffic street corners and navigate shoppers all the way through to your house.  Put them out the day before the sale date.

Display Your Items

Display your best items like furniture, baby equipment or electronics up front. Group together alike items for easy navigation. 

Hang your clothes up on racks if you have some. Otherwise, fold and stack them up by categories on utility tables. Assign someone to check throughout the day to refold and put them back in order. Avoid piling up wrinkled clothes on the table or the floor.

Your jewelry and watches, crystals and small expensive items should be display on the table where your cashier is at.

If you have any electronic equipment to sell like a TV, computer or stereo system. Run an extension cord out so you can plug them in to show how they work.

If you have other things you are not selling in your garage cover them up with sheets.  Time to Sale

The day is finally here. Get a good night sleep and be cheerful the next day.  Get your kids involved in the sale. Get family and friends to help out if you have a lot to sell.

Make sure you have lots of water, soda in a cooler handy for yourself and your helpers. Make some sandwiches the night before for quick meals.

Be flexible to make deals.

After Sale

Pick up your signs.

Count your money. You will be surprised how much you end up with one dollar here and fifty cents there.

Donate unsold items to charity.

Garage sales can seem intimidating to some people. If you do it with good organization and planning, it can be a fun, rewarding event for the whole family.