Steps for a Successful Tag, Garage or Yard Sale: No matter what you call it, having a sale of your unused items at your home is a great way to get rid of unwanted items and make some cash whilst doing so. Here in Rhode Island, where I live, we call this type of thing a “yard sale.” Yard sale is a funny term, because the yard is not being sold, and, often the sale itself doesn’t even take place in the yard. Whatever you call it, this type of sale can be lucrative, if you follow a few simple steps that are outlined in my method.
Why My Method?
You might be asking yourself: How does she know what she’s talking about here? Well, here’s a confession about me. For several years, when living in Connecticut, I held and helped to run so many successful sales that I was asked to teach a course on the topic at the local community college. Yup, I taught a course on yard sales (although in Connecticut we called them “Tag Sales”). Word got around from my first few classes and the success that people had using the method. After that, the class was a sell-out every time it was offered and it even had a waiting list. I’m turning red just saying this.
Believe me, I know, this sounds ridiculous. Why shouldn’t you just be able to throw some things out in the driveway and make a few bucks? Well, yes, if a few bucks is all you’re after then feel free. However, if you truly want to make some money for your efforts, simply follow the simple rules from my course. If you do this, you will have less clutter in your home and more money in your wallet.
First Three Steps For A Successful Tag, Garage or Yard Sale:
Today’s blog features the first three steps to my proven, 9-step plan for a successful tag, garage or yard sale. If you are interested in the whole method, my eBook on the topic, including all the insider tips and tricks, is available through the link below. It’s just $1.99. Enjoy! And happy “Sale-ing!”
“Putting your house in order is the magic that creates a vibrant and happy life.”
Marie Kondo
Step #1 For a Successful Tag Sale: Go through Your House, Top-To-Bottom
If you’re going to have a sale, c’mon, have a sale! You want to get rid of all the things you’re not using. Yes, even that! Go through the garage, the attic, the basement. Review each drawer and closet. If the kids have outgrown it or don’t play with it, add it to the pile. A gadget that you just had to have for the kitchen, but only used once, ten years ago, yes, you know where it goes. You need to be thorough, because a week after the sale is not the time to realize you forgot the front hall closet.
Step #2 For a Successful Tag Sale: Organize Items By Category
Once you’ve gone through everything, you will group like-things together into piles or boxes – clothing with clothing, toys with toys, kitchen items together – you get the drill. Because you are going through the whole house, it is likely that you will find that like-things very often will come from different places. This grouping will give you a sense of the sum total of what you have. Later, this categorizing will also help you when we get to Steps 6 and 7.
Step #3 For a Successful Tag Sale: Get Your Materials Together
In order to set up for and put on a good sale, you will need some materials. You will gather together the following:
- Tables – folding or otherwise, yours or borrowed (or things that can act as tables, like 2 saw-horses and a door or two trash cans and a piece of plywood)
- Cardboard and Markers – for signs
- Price Tickets – like sticky dots that they sell at discount and dollar stores or masking tape to mark individually priced items
- Brown Paper Bags – to group like soft-good items together that we will talk about in Step 7
- Boxes – for grouping books and other hard-goods
- Friends – who can help on the day of the sale, or who want to participate – making it the even better “Multi-Family Sale!”
- Cash and Coins – for making change at the sale
- A Way to “Wear” but Easily Access Your Money On The Day Of The Sale – like a fanny pack or apron with pockets (this is for safety’s sake; cash boxes get stolen, I’ve seen it happen more than once).
Hungry For More…
If you’re intrigued, make sure to grab a copy of my eBook through the link below. For more information about organizing, check out my blogs: 4 Secrets For Organizing and Decluttering, 5 Ways to De-Clutter Sentimental Materials and Objects, and The Six Week Box.
And Now For A Little Music Before We Go…
9 Proven Steps For a Successful Garage, Yard or Tag Sale
“Tidying is just a tool, not the final destination. The true goal should be to establish the lifestyle you want most once your house has been put in order.”
Marie Kondo
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