16 May 2011

Garage Sale Tips

This past week and weekend were crazy! We have been busy preparing for our annual garage sale. Every year I say the same thing...I will never have one again, yet every year I run around the house, collect odds and ends and have a garage sale. The hubbie made me promise we won't have one next year. Although we always laugh and have fun, they are a lot of work for not a lot of money. And, it's a little harder with three kids and a dog who ran away. Yes, Bailey ran away Saturday morning just as I was setting up and Jon was taking the boys to soccer. Thank goodness for our wonderful mothers who were there to help! They manned the sale for most of Saturday while I attended a funeral and Jon did soccer. Luckily, Jon found Bailey on the way to soccer....swimming in a lake. Seriously, what is wrong with our dog??

Here are some photos from our busy weekend followed by some tips if you decide to have a garage or yard sale.

sale collage
sale collage 5
sale collage 3
sale collage 4

TIPS FOR A SALE:
Start your preparation early....don't wait until the week of the sale.
Use this time to go through every closet and drawer in the house.
Rather than price everything have an entire table be priced the same then just make one sign.
Make sure to include the kids. We decided to set up a lemonade and cookie stand. It was a hit!
Check the weather forecast and be prepared. We set up a canopy tent next to the garage to help keep out that rain.
Mark things down on the second day. Our goal was to get rid of items and not bring them back in the house.
Have an idea of where to take the unsold items. I made a trip to Salvation Army, baby items went to the Pregnancy Crisis Center and cloths went to the Woman's Shelter. There are people out there who need your help and this is a great opportunity to give back to the community.
Most important....HAVE FUN! We had a great time playing with the toys and dressing up in the costumes. We ate way too many cookies and drank too much lemonade, but we had a great time AND the kids got to pick out one toy from the toy store with their hard earned money.

5 comments:

  1. i do the exact same thing--have a garage sale and swear the next year we won't and then we do-ha! in fact i have a bin of stuff collecting in our basement just waiting for a sale. most stuff i don't mind taking to goodwill or wherever, but then there's that stuff that you just can't part without unless you make a tiny bit of money, which really isn't worth in the end, but i still do. :)

    i do love going to garage sales though, you know, to collect more junk i don't need. ;)

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  2. I know....I always come home with more stuff :) I am trying SO hard to declutter. With three kids there is just too much s t u f f .....

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  3. I've never had a garage sale of my own before! I bet it is a lot of work, though your kids seemed to have fun! :D

    I agree that garage sales are just oozing the "but what if I need this?" buying mentality lol!! Sometimes you get really good deals, sometimes not haha xD

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  4. You make it sound so easy when it's pretty difficult right off the bat! Not that it's hard to look for, price, and set them up. You can do all those if you have the time. What would be difficult is realizing you have to let go of something that's close to your heart. Kind of a keep it/throw it dilemma. Things with sentimental values are the ones we usually don't have places to store in, yet they're the most difficult to part with!

    Kimberly Stanford

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  5. @Kimbery You are right...I didn't touch on the sentimental aspect. To be honest, if something truly has memories then I save it. I wrap it up and put it in a big rubbermaid container that I store in the basement. And, the boys had a hard time parting with some of the toys I picked out and they ended up back in our home :) Which was okay with me!
    Thanks for the comment!

    @Cindy They are a lot of work, but as long as you have fun they are worth it. Although...not sure if we're having one next year!

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