It’s easy to tell when spring has sprung around here… garage sale signs are popping up faster than the flowers! Garage or yard sales can be a great way to let go of items that no longer serve you. But, the notion of having a garage sale someday can also be an obstacle to letting go. Use these tips and ideas to decide if holding a garage sale is right for you, and then to make it happen.
Will a garage sale help or hinder your decluttering?
If you struggle with the idea of donating items because you could make money on them, then having a garage sale could be the right choice for you. In this case, a sale could help you declutter faster. It’s important to remember that in order to convert these items into cash you have to invest a lot of time into the process. Consider what your time is worth, and then weigh that against how much money you could make selling your stuff. Also remember that your items are only worth what someone else is willing to pay for them. With all that said, if the only way you can feel good about letting things go is to make some money…by all means have a sale! The most important thing is that you do what you need to do to move forward.
On the other hand, if the thought of holding a garage sale becomes overwhelming, and you don’t really have space to store items that you will ultimately sell, a sale may actually slowdown your decluttering efforts. Likewise, if you don’t have many high ticket items, you may find that a sale isn’t worth your time. In this case, find a charity you’ll feel good about donating your items to and schedule a pick-up or drop-off. Or check out www.freecycle.org. In no time, you’ll have treasure hunters lining up to relieve you of your things!
If you’re still on the fence about whether or not a garage sale makes sense for you, I have one whole post dedicated to helping you decide it it’s right for you. Click here to read To Garage Sale or Not to Garage Sale? And be sure to check out all the great ideas and tips in the comments, and add our own!
Make it Worth Your Time
If you decide to have a garage sale, set a date, and go through your home with a fine tooth comb to maximize your inventory for the sale. If you’re going to have a sale, why not go all out, and really make it worth your time? Then, be willing to negotiate so you can sell as much as possible, and not have to haul items away for donating. The more you can sell at the sale, the more you maximize the investment of your time.
If you decided to go ahead with a garage sale, go here to read How to Organize a Garage or Yard Sale. I share how my friend and I got ready for our sale in only a week’s time!
And if you’re going for it, be sure to get all my tips for staying organized the day(s) of your sale. I laid them all out there in How to Organize a Garage or Yard Sale (Part 2).
OK readers, where do you weigh-in on garage sales? Do you love ‘em or hate ‘em? Do you have garage sales to offload your stuff? Do you make good money? I’d love to hear your ideas for holding a *profitable* garage sale…or any good excuses you can think of to skip it altogether. 
Plus you might think about whether you really want to invite strangers to case out your house or neighborhood. It’s a perfect opportunity for people who make their living in shady ways. Our community has a community yard sale, if you don’t mind hauling your loot there. (We now donate our excess stuff to a thrift shop that donates all proceeds to animal rescue/medical facilities.)
Thanks for your comment, Beth! Good points.
My neighborhood has an annual community garage sale day. We all pool our sales and get the same signage, and hand out maps to everyone who is participating. Then we post one ad in the newspaper and publish info on social networking. It helps me to plan a garage sale when I know that I won’t be able to move the date because I didn’t get everything together. And it motivates me to get my garage spic and span.
Also, the date is always the weekend before our town’s big garbage pickup. Anything that you don’t sell you can just take straight to the curb after the sale (although I first fill up my car with anything that could possibly be donated). The key is to never let anything back into the house.
Yes – I love your last point: Don’t let anything back into the house. 🙂
One of my neighboring communities holds “Junk in Your Trunk” sales. You “rent” a space at the local community center’s parking lot, and haul what ever you want to sell. Nobody by your home, lots of people walking through, very social, and best of all, everything is already in your car so on the way home, hit the local charity donation station.
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