That is the question. Or at least that’s one of the questions I received recently after my garage organizing post. Here’s the question:
“I have a question about garages, and I hope you can help – I’m at my wit’s end. LOL. My husband and I moved into our condo in October, and needless to say, we have more stuff than room. We’ve been weeding out ruthlessly and now our garage is getting taken over by “garage sale” boxes. We’ve planned a sale for June…. I was wondering, do you ever advise your clients to just donate stuff rather than messing with a sale? We had a sale last year and made $400, but it was a ton of work. I’m getting so frustrated every time I open the garage door and see all the boxes, plus, the garage has a whole bunch of boxes that haven’t even been opened. Like Peter Walsh’s book…it’s all too much!!! I’m thinking about ditching the boxes (and the guilt), but I’m having second thoughts. Ever run into this before?”
What a timely question! Around here, garage sale season is just starting up again. I saw several signs this weekend for the first round of garage sale frenzy. So here’s where I weigh in on garage sales. First, here’s the advice I gave in last month’s newsletter:
If you’re deep in the midst of spring cleaning, a.k.a. doing the spring fling, you may be tempted to have a garage sale to make a few extra dollars off those items you no longer use, need or love. I say, hats off to you for lightening your load, and then, encourage you to draw a line in the sand in terms of your sale. Here’s what the line looks like: you set a date, you conduct your sale on that date, you make a few dollars, and then, anything and everything that didn’t go in the sale gets donated and leaves your premises for good!
While a sale can be a huge motivator for getting rid of things you no longer use, need, or love, be careful not to let the lure of the sale get in the way of your organizing progress. You go through the tough job of deciding to part with your belongings…only to end with them stuck in your midst until the day of the sale. And if that sale is some arbitrary day someday in the future…you’ve done the work without a benefit any time in the foreseeable future. By drawing a line in the sand and setting a date for your sale, you have the best of both worlds. You have a non-negotiable deadline for getting it all done, which can be a huge motivator for going through your home with a fine tooth comb. Plus, you have a bright light at the end of the tunnel…that moment in time when your unwanted items are no longer in your midst.
For myself and the clients I work with one on one, I usually don’t recommend having a sale. I make continual runs to Goodwill throughout the year, get receipts for my donations and keep track of what I donate so I can get a tax break. I use a free, on-line service called “It’s Deductible” to keep track of what I’m donating. While the process of entering all my donations on-line takes time, it’s nothing compared to the effort of holding a garage sale. I’ve had two garage sales in my life…and made very little money for a whole lot of time and effort. From sorting to staging to advertising to pricing to sitting in my garage for eight hours! I just didn’t find it to be worth it…but I have to be fair and point out that I really do get rid of things all the time. So my garage sale was quite puny and not super exciting to would-be bargain hunters. Which is another thing…the people who come to garage sales want deals!
So, to sum up an answer for my frustrated reader, you really have to balance your time and effort with the anticipated payoff of a sale. It’s really a personal choice. If stuff lingering in your garage is driving you nuts, you could consider moving up the sale date to early May instead of waiting until June. Simply sell what you have ready by that point in time, and donate the rest for a tax write-off. This could be the best of both worlds for you.
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. 😉 Can’t wait to your thoughts on this juicy organizing topic.
Personally, I never have a garage sales, and most of my clients choose to skip them, too. Once they have decided to get rid of something, they want it gone right away!
I mostly donate things to my local thrift shop and other good causes (getting that tax deduction) or offer them up on Freecycle for the odd items that don’t seem like thrift shop stuff.
I do have one client who is paring down a lot and selling a few things on craigslist. After he realized how little he could get for most of his items, he donated more than he originally thought he would, deciding it just wasn’t worth his time to sell things for so little money.
And I know someone who did go the garage sale route because she was helping someone clear out a LOT of stuff, and that person needed the money a garage sale would bring in. But in this case she worked with a garage sale specialist who did all the work (pricing, running the sale, etc.) for a cut of the proceeds; running the sale would have been beyond what she could take on herself.
I hate garage sales…giving them that is. I love getting a good deal on things when I shop at a garage sale though!
Holding a garage sale is so much work and planning with very little monetary reward. If I’m getting rid of something, I like to just get rid of it before I change my mind!
I must admit that holding a garage sale has been a great motivator for my kids when I’m wanting them to get rid of stuff. The lure of cash is great for them. Every once in awhile I’ll cave in and hold one for them.
If I’ve got something of particular value, I’ll sell it on ebay. When it comes to scrapbooking stuff, my friends and I will hold a swap of sots and donate unwanted items to a school. That works really well!
I’ve had two garage sales in my life as well and I found it definitely wasn’t worth my time. I’m like you though and like to continuously get rid of things through out the year, it’s just so much easier!!
Laura
The last garage sale I had included adorable baby and toddler clothes that were marked $1 & $2 (for 2 pc sets) and the very first 2 “ladies” that showed up tried to steal over half of a full table of baby clothes! One kept me busy w/goofy questions about some appliances while the other stuffed clothes under her sweatshirt! Luckily my neighbor across the street caught her and confronted her. Screaming in spanish,she dumped it all on the floor, wiped her feet on it, spit on it and several other items and they both ran off. DH, my neighbor and I were all shocked! I ended up throwing the baby clothes all in the washer so I wasn’t selling stuff that was so nasty and cleaning all the other stuff with Clorox wipes.
Needless to say, that was the last garage sale I have ever had.
I now make monthly trips to Goodwill and save those receipts for the tax accountant. The sad thing is if they had really needed the clothes I would most likely have just given them to them but by trying to steal them from me (even though they were so cheap) just ruined the whole day. But, lesson learned, as my DH says.
Wow! And I thought I had rude customers! How awful!! I hate when customers act like you “owe” them a good deal.
Here’s a couple of quick thoughts if you SHOULD have a garage sale:
* you have children and you want them to “learn” retail skills and the ability to “let go.”
* You need the money MORE than the tax deduction. For instance, you are a new home owner, and are cash poor after your mortage gets approved. You have given up all your cash for closing costs and now you need the money to “live on” for the next two-three months until you can catch up with bills. Or you want the money to buy new furniture.
* You have help, friends, family, etc.
* You find garage sales fun, family-oriented events. You like to meet you neighbors and socialize.
* The actual physical location is easy, and you can just “open the door” to have the sale.
Time and time again I have seen wasted time with sales. Consider food costs, supplies, water, gas, etc.
But Hell, if you love commerce, and the thrill of meeting new people, go for it! Sometimes it is not just for the money. There’s something in our genes about our need to barter. Like cavemen.
I love a good garage sale but I would rather give my extras away. You have to give to receive right?
LOL—what timing! Our neighborhood association sponsored a large garage sale at our local plaza (at one time it was a busy grocery store, drug store complete with soda fountain) but now it is the Masonic Lodge. Anyway….I took a bunch of furniture down there Saturday along with a huge bin of Beanie Babies. People looked, told me how beautiful the pieces were, asked me what I wanted for them and then promptly walked off. I originally thought that I would sell the Beanie Babies for $1.00 each but they didn’t move. I dropped the price for 3/$1.00 and got rid of them ALL!!!!! Ended up bringing every piece of furniture back to my mom’s garage to store while I list on Craigslist. We will see. As for me. NO MORE GARAGE SALES!!
My husband wanted to have a garage sale last weekend with the neighborhood. I hate the whole process and told him that I would not help him. Holding a sale is a lot of work for very little reward. I would rather give things to my friends for FREE than to sell them to strangers for dirt cheap.
About 9:30 a.m. he came in the house after making $2.65 & said, “You win!” He sold $10.00 more through the morning and then we boxed it all up and donated to Goodwill. Now we both say, “Never again!”
http://www.cleverparents.com/2007/06/01/oh-trash-and-treasure-yard-sale-fever/
IF you decide you do want to host a yard sale. Above is a link to an article (I wrote) with tips on what/when/how to do it.
A few years ago we had a lot of items to sell, furniture, lots of kids/baby clothes, lawn equipment and tools, etc. Held it over two days and made over $500. It was worth it for the amount we made and what we had to sell. These days I am buying far less and thus have less to get rid of, so no more garage sales. We donate to charity and take the tax deduction or give it away.
Best of both worlds.
i love going to garage sales but hate having them. i’d rather find a family that i can dontate clothes, toys, furniture to rather than go through the hassle of having a sale. and i’m not buying as much “stuff”. i really ask myself, do i NEED this or do i WANT this? most of the time it’s a want and i pass it up. good topic aby – hope jay had a great b-day weekend.
Our community yard sale was this past weekend and I “foolishly” thought with my ridiculously low prices that everything would be gone in three hours. Four sweaty hours later, I had made $27 and will now be making a trip to the local Salvation Army with a carload of unsold items!
The location of the garage sale is the huge deciding factor. In one house we lived we always did the garage sale route because the location was outstanding and when the garage sale was done you put a sign on the lawn that the rest is free and it goes away too.
Now, we live in a different location and although I’ve joined up with a friend who has a lot of stuff and done a few garage sales, it really just isn’t worth it.
I do try to sell furniture items on craigs list, but I’m even finding that daunting these days because people respond but never show.
My problem is seperating everything to the organization that can “use” it the most. Even that is becoming to bothersome anymore.
I hate them.
There is nothing worse than making the decision to get rid of something…and then have it hanging around. The wait always allows second thoughts…having someone paw through my stuff spread out on the lawn irritates me. You really do not make enough money to make the time and energy worth it.
When i donate things quickly – it gets it out of my home and mind right away. Plus, I can imagine someone else getting use out of it.
I say FORGET THE YARD SALE!
We have one every year. All I have to sell is clothes and toys. Last year I made the least I ever have at $700 (have made over $1000 in the past). I put all the clothes on a table and put a sign that says all clothes $1.00. The rest of the stuff I price cheap. We have our sale Saturday only from 8:00 – 1:00 at noon everything is half price. I place a ad in the paper and put up 2 signs. Then all the left overs gets itemized for taxes and taken to Goodwill that day. Very easy. My kids love to “work” the yard sale. I give them each 10% of what we make. The rest goes to our vacation.
I have to add to the NO list. I don’t have garage sales — I feel like our weekdays are full of work and activities, most weekends have other commitments so setting up and holding the sale are a bit too much. I prefer the tax deduction route and give items in good repair to Goodwill or Salvation Army. A local consignment store will take the nice pieces and sell them for me (for a cut of the price, but hey – they are out of my garage!) and if they don’t sell, they donate it for me (and I still get the tax deduction).
Jen
typically – I say not worth the effort. . .but we are having a block party and yard sale – coordinated by someone else. . .I figure I can haul some stuff out there and put stickers on it. . .LOL
Hillary
The is the first year I have decided not to do a garage sale. It is too much work for what little money I make. I have always thought I had great deals (my children’s clothes were all marked under a dollar), but it never seemed that items moved.
This year, I packed everything up and donated it. For some of the items I used Freecycle. I know that I do not get a receipt for a write off, but seeing how appreciative a person is, is worth it. I had a lady pick up one box of clothes almost in tears because she could not afford to buy summer clothes for her kids. I ended up giving her two totes full of clothes. I guess maybe it is more fullfilling helping a person, rather than making a couple of hundred dollars.
I think it makes a huge difference if you are doing an individual sale or a neighborhood sale. If you try not to overwhelm yourself with getting prepared for it, the payoff can be worth it!
No garage sale. I did it once and decided never again. We are moving in June and have purged a huge amount of stuff to the good will and the recycling depot at the dump—people were picking up our stuff as soon as it landed.
Personally, I don’t feel the money you make is worth the time and effort you put into it. It was also good to have the stuff leave consistently instead of piling up.
In this area I’ve found people are trying to make money at their sales so it’s hard to find deals. If there are deals, they are usually snapped up by dealers who will have the item in their shop later that day at an inflated price.