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| Distracting the kids with a DVD |
We had one before our first child was born. In order to make room for a nursery, we had to clear out what had been our guest room. That resulted in combining our bonus room and our guest room. We got rid of a couch and our spare entertainment center, among other things.
Then we had one before our daughter was born. That was the most complicated purge. She now lives in what used to be our office. It was difficult to take an office down from an entire bedroom to a hallway. We ditched a ton of books and DVDs at that yard sale.
The latest purge and resulting yard sale was yesterday. After we lived without half of our stuff while we were in a smaller space in Florida, we realized we didn't need (or desire to hang onto) a lot of the things we paid to store. We had a garage full and even spent time going through every drawer, closet and corner in the house to add to the sale. It's refreshing to let go of stuff. We already knew that. In addition, we've spent a lot of time in other countries with missionaries who have sold off most of their belongings in order to move overseas. I'm not saying that's where we're headed, but it sure does make you take a good, long look at all your own unnecessary stuff.
Now, I'm no yard sale expert, but we've been pretty successful in each of our four sales over the years. Based on our experience, here's what you need to know about having your very own yard sale:
- People won't buy the stuff you expect them to buy. The stuff you expect to be stuck with will fly off the shelves. For example, people always buy our old towels and pillows.
- Be prepared for people to offer you pennies for your fine, gently-used treasures. It's almost insulting. But it adds up quickly.
- Put an ad in the paper and one on Craigslist. Mention any big ticket items or groups of items (furniture, clothes, collectibles, baby items, electronics, etc.) that you have.
- If you have neighbors who might like to have a sale, recruit them to do it on the same day as yours and advertise it as a multi-family yard sale.
- If you're having it on a Saturday, don't be surprised if people show up on Friday and try to buy your stuff and resell it at the flea market.
- If you're starting at 7:00, be prepared for people to show up at 6:00
and stalk your house.
- Make noticeable signs directing people from the entrance of your neighborhood to your house. Neon is good. Big letters are also good. For yesterday's sale, I had two big signs at our main entrance (one for each direction from the main road. At the first cross street, I had a sign that said "SALE" and a neon arrow pointing straight ahead. At every cross street thereafter, there was either a neon arrow or a "SALE" + arrow. All the hardcore yard sale shoppers commended me for the good signage. (That gave this marketer warm fuzzies.)
- Settle in and be prepared for some stellar people watching.
- If you have things you want to get decent money for (instead of pennies), don't hesitate to put them out there and be firm on your price. But, simultaneously list them for sale online. You can always pull a listing if someone buys the item on the spot.
- If you're crafty, you can always add a side business of selling your craft. Or coffee. I think we sold coffee by the cup one year. Or your kids can have a lemonade stand. The possibilities are endless.
- You'll enjoy watching the $$$ roll in for your junk. If you're anything like me, you'll do several walk-throughs of your house during the yard sale to see if you can find anything else to stick out there.
- You may want to pre-price stuff with stickers...and again, expect people to negotiate down. Overprice slightly so you can get what you really wanted when someone negotiates. However, I just saw on the Today Show recently that you're likely to get offered more money for your stuff if you don't pre-price...
- Get a change box ready prior to your sale. Stock it with plenty of quarters and one-dollar bills.
- Get several tables to get your items up off your driveway. Organize your things into loose categories that make at least a little sense. For example, have an area for kitchen things, a spot for girly things, a table for kids' toys and clothes, a place for knickknacks and decor. Other things can be placed in boxes on the ground. Get creative, too. I used two crates with ground stakes stuck through them to display necklaces and bracelets. Lots of people use ladders to hang things or two ladders and a rod to make a display to hang clothes.
- Know what you're going to do with your leftovers. All of our things that weren't worthy of trying to sell online for a bit more time went (in less than one carload, no less) to a local ministry. I also withheld a box of unsold children's items to try to sell at our church's consignment sale in October.
