by Susan Hibberd

Created on: November 14, 2009

Having a garage sale is a great way to clear out your clutter and to make a bit of money at the same time. How many other ways are there of earning money when you don't even leave the home!

Get all the family involved in the day, and you can have a great time. Invite relatives to add their clutter to the sale items and you can make it into a family party. Having other people involved will allow you to divide the workload and lessen the stress. Get people to bring barbeque food or buffet items and set out lunch in the back yard for friends and family to keep the party feel going. You can all sit down and celebrate after the event!

To start organizing a garage sale, you first need to plan the date. Choose one in the not too distant future, but one that will allow you time to plan, collect your clutter together and advertise.

Advertising

Your garage sale will not be a success if you don't advertise it well enough. Put up posters two weeks in advance outside your home, on nearby trees, in shop windows etc. Give out leaflets to the Moms at the school gate, and at the local community center. See if your local supermarket has a free noticeboard that you can use.

If you are raising money for charity, local newspapers and radio stations will do an article on your event and advertise it for free.

Furniture

It sounds silly, but you can't have a garage sale without furniture. Beg or borrow some pasting tables to put out your items on. People won't want to keep bending down to look at things on the floor. Label these tables as NOT FOR SALE or some keen helper will sell them off to the highest bidder!

Organize your wares

Organize your bits and pieces into boxes by type. Have a box for toys, one for kitchen ware, clothing, books etc. This helps buyers find what they are looking for. You will need to find room in your house or garage for this stuff, as it takes up quite a lot of room when it is in boxes. Park the car on the road or give over your living room to the cause for a week or two.

Pricing

This is always a difficult one. Remember that you won't get anything near what you paid for an item if you sell it at a garage sale. Go to other local sales and get an idea of local pricing before you decide on your own prices. Either label individual items or place them in boxes of all one price ie EVERYTHING $1

Bags

Buyers will come without bags. Either start collecting plastic bags well before the date, or find a local craftsperson who will come along and set up a stall selling homemade bags.

Most of all, enjoy the day, after all you're basically getting money for free!

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