How to Get Organized for a Garage Sale
A garage sale is a great way to get rid of things cluttering your space while making extra money. It could be a simple one-day yard sale or even 2-3 days long.
When hosting any garage or yard sale, it’s essential to ensure that all merchandise is organized and accounted for. The organization is especially vital to hosting a successful garage sale.
Most people don’t have enough free space in their homes to spread everything out that they have collected to sell. Don’t worry, there are a few steps you can take to organize the items you want to sell without overtaking your whole house.
Start collecting your garage or yard sale items as soon as you realize you want to have a sale. It will be easier to tackle a little bit at a time rather than trying to go through your entire house right before the yard sale. Focus on one or two rooms at a time, and store anything you want to sell in labeled bins or boxes.
If you can, try to categorize your merchandise into groups as you go through each room in your house. Keep boxes for home décor, toys, clothes, books, kitchen supplies, etc.
If you’re having a hard time deciding what to sell, ask yourself 3 questions:
- Would you repurchase this item in a store today if you didn’t already own it?
- If you regret selling it, can it be easily replaced?
- Do you care who buys it/what will happen to it? If the answer is yes, you’re not ready to part ways with it yet.
Think about prices once you decide what you will sell. It can be helpful to price your items while putting them in groups, so you don’t have to go through everything twice. This will save you a ton of time on the actual day of your garage or yard sale.
You won’t have to worry about figuring out your prices or sorting everything out as buyers arrive. On the day of your yard sale, it will be easier to see how many tables you’ll need for each category.
To learn more useful strategies for deciding what to sell, click here.
Basic Pricing Tips
Labeling Price Tag Ideas: Use white or neon price stickers for each item, and make sure you price everything that’s for sale. Many customers won’t bother asking you the price if an object doesn’t have a price. Don’t miss an opportunity to make sales; ensure that everything has a price sticker.
Use tie-on price tags if stickers don’t work on everything you have. To save even more time, consider purchasing pre-printed price stickers.
Deciding On A Price: If you’re having trouble deciding on your prices, think about how much you would be willing to spend on an item if you saw it in someone else’s garage or yard sale. Consider the quality of the item, not just how long you have had it or how much you originally paid for it.
Be aware that many customers will want to negotiate prices; write “firm” on any tags of items that you’re not willing to change. If you have several people or families joining in on your garage or yard sale, label each seller’s specific price tags, so you know who make the money from each of the sales.
Caution: be careful not to price too far in advance if you use price stickers. Even removable price stickers can become difficult to remove if they are stuck on a surface for too long. Try to wait a month or two before your garage or yard sale before putting on price stickers.
With clothing, it’s best to put the price stickers on the tag. If you lay clothing out in the sun, it’s possible that the sun could lighten up the article of clothing. When you place a price sticker on clothing, you don’t want it to reveal a dark spot.
Prepare for the First Day of your Yard Sale
We recommend having one person who is responsible for handling the money. It is easier for customers to pay you when they know who to give their money to.
Plus, it’s also an effective way to keep track of the cash flow on your end. It’s a good idea to have a marked cashier’s table prepared with any supplies you might need throughout the day.
Cashier’s Table Supplies
- Cash (Start with at least $100 in cash- a $10 bill, $50 in 5’s, $30 in 1’s, and $10 in quarters, feel free to adjust based on your yard sale)
- Money Box
- Notebook (for keeping track of items if you have multiple sellers)
- Permanent Markers & Pens
- Calculator
- Extra Price Stickers
- Plastic Grocery Bags
- Boxes & Paper or Bubble Wrap (for heavy or delicate pieces)
- Extension Cord & Batteries (for testing electrical items)
- Tape
Once you have gathered everything you need and organized your merchandise, you are ready to make sales! After organizing, focus on advertising your yard sale and nailing down last-minute details.
