Yard sale’s are a LOT of work. The prep time, planning time, day of time and clean up adds up. There are a lot of ways to make it easier on you though. Most importantly are planning and organization. If you plan well and organize as you go it’ll be a lot easier on you on the day of.
A few weeks ago we had a huge yard sale at our house. It was up to just the two of us to plan, sort, advertise, prepare and organize. On the day of my dear friend Kaitlin kindly helped us. And it’s a good thing she did because there are some characters out there! Here are some of my tips for helping you to plan a successful yard sale.
PREPARATION
1. Start With Your Supplies: I started by re-using a take out food container to house all my supplies. In there I kept scissors, string, labels, tape and price stickers that I picked up for $1. I used larger labels when I need to write on them or explain the item.
2. Purge Room by Room: We started in the basement and slowly went room by room. Went through every box, bin, closet, cabinet, etc. This way everything stayed a bit more organized when contained to its own room. In the end we did a final walk through of every room again and pulled out a few more things.
{we ran out of boxes, doesn’t look it but it’s still organized. I could tell you where everything is!}
3. Price as You Go & Reasonably: As we purged room by room we stuck price stickers on everything. This way we knew everything was getting priced. It was much easier than going back, digging through boxes and trying to price each item. I hate going to a yard sale when things aren’t priced. I really believe people who price things do better overall. Mostly because customers don’t want to have to ask you a million times how much something costs. And price reasonably. I got a lot of grief about this from family (ahem, Hayley, Al, my Father in Law!!!). I probably priced things lower than needed but in my mind I just want the stuff gone. It worked in my favor, the stuff was gone!
4. Categorize & Box as You Go: We made sure to have empty boxes and bins in each room as we filtered through things. Each box had a category too. For example: sporting goods, office supplies, home decor, crafting, etc. This way when it was time to put everything out on the driveway we could easily keep like items together to make it easier for the buyer.
5. Advertise Appropriately: Signage is very important. When you make signs be sure the writing is large enough and clear so drivers can see it from across an intersection. Check with your town to make sure there are no permits needed to host a yard sale or post signs. Always, always take the signs down immediately after the sale. Craigslist is one of your best bets for advertising. It’s free and so many people scour it and plan out their yard sale route. Also check your local newspaper for ads. They might be inexpensive and another added touch for exposure.
6. Get Change: The day before make sure to go to the bank and get a bunch of small bills. I went a little overboard with the change. You probably need 1-2 rolls of quarters, $50 in singles and $50 in 5’s and 10’s. Even that is probably a lot. You’ll need other change too depending on how you priced things. We made sure to only price in quarter increments so we only had quarters to give back. It made the change situation a lot easier. People paid in dimes and nickles too so we had smaller change if needed.
7. Know Where You’ll Donate Everything: Know ahead of time where you’ll be donating all the yard sale leftovers. This way you can pack up the car and head right there.
DAY OF THE SALE
1. Tag Team: Have one person carting all the stuff out to the driveway, yard or garage and have the other unpacking boxes and setting things up. It takes a while to pull everything out and people often start showing up about 30 minutes before your start time. This is where categorizing things ahead of time works in your favor. You can quickly unload the boxes on to the tables and have all like items already together.
2. Enlist Help: We were so thankful that my friend Kaitlin came to help us. Just having another body there was huge even just for bathroom breaks, food runs, etc. My sister and brother-in-law came half way through too which was great.
3. Have One Money Person: I wore an apron and was the official money person. It was much easier having one of us in charge of the money rather than all of us. Not to say that Al and Kaitlin did sell and take money but it all filtered through my apron to make it easier. Don’t be jealous of my apron, outfit, or Al’s bathing suit that he wears even when he’s not swimming or intending to swim or our totally tired faces. We’d been up since 5am!
4. Have Paper & Bags: You should have these available for those who are purchasing breakables or many items. Makes it easier for them to take them home.
4. Be Happy: It’s overwhelming hosting a yard sale. Be happy though. People will show up early, people will be a little nutty…
{like this lady who made my sister try a bra on so she could see it…}
people will try to buy everything you have for $2. Take it all with a grain of salt. Hold your ground where needed and give in where you can. Remember, it’s stuff you were planning to get rid of anyway.
AFTER THE SALE
1. Count Your Cash! This is the most exciting part. Count up that cash and see how much you made. Hopefully you did well!
2. Pack Up Everything: Have the boxes ready to be filled. We never took anything back in the house, and you shouldn’t! We filled the boxes and loaded up the cars and drove right to the thrift store to donate them. Even the few boxes that didn’t fit, I left outside and brought the next day. Nothing comes back in!
3. Take the Signs Down: Go around and take down the signs you put up. Also delete any Craigslist postings you have up.
4. Have a BEER: Yes. You just worked your ass off. Kudos to you, now kick back and have a drink!
Hopefully this was helpful to you and will help you host a successful next yard sale. Ours was a huge success. We ended up making more than double what we had hoped to make. It was organized, ran smoothly and clean up was a cinch. The rain first thing in the morning freaked me out but it cleared up. Good luck!!
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