Here are the facts:
- I want my stuff out of my house ASAP.
- I don’t have any big ticket items.
- I could probably make more in a garage sale than I could deduct by donating my items.
- Donating the items would require multiple 6 mile trips in my minivan.
- It’s supposed to rain between now and Friday.
- On Friday there’s a 30% chance of rain.
- I have no actual garage.
- My sale would have to take place in the yard.
- Having a sale on any day other than Friday isn’t an option.
- Setting a deadline of a Friday sale would make me work a little faster on decluttering.
Now that you have the facts, what should I do? I’ll leave the poll open until Thursday morning. Those of you who are reading an a feed reader might have to click through to my actual site to vote.
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I think you could suffer from a potentially bad sale because it is on a Friday only. But on the other hand, if you can make a few bucks and lessen the number of loads to take to the donation place, then you should try it.
I think it’s worth a try, at least. I’ve been wanting to have one and don’t have any big ticket items either. Your post help me decide to go ahead and try!
This Friday would be a great Friday to try on. It’s the beginning of the month, when some people get their checks in; my mother’s favorite time to yard-sale!
Good Luck!!
I say, go for it. You’ve already done the research and know how to have a successful sale. It’s kinda short notice, but it’ll make you get going full speed ahead…getting rid of more clutter and making some extra money as well. Just don’t forget to get the signs up immediately and the ads out,(probably today) so more people will know that it’s coming up. You might need to tank up on coffee to get an energy burst!
Here’s my latest thought. I just found out that our town’s “yard sale day” where the community center encourages everyone to have a yard sale and puts out a map, etc, is on Saturday the 10th. Now, I know I can’t do a sale on Saturday, but in years past, a lot of people start on Friday.
Sooooo….if I can make myself look at all the junk that’s gathering in my living room for one more week, I should have my sale on the 9th! More people will be in my small town shopping, and I can use that to my advantage. :)
Advertise it as an early-bird sale of sorts. :)
Our street is having one big garage sale this weekend. They sent out flyers two weeks ago asking for street residents to participate. This way shoppers have lots of houses to search in one day. Thanks for the tips about price stickers. That will save a lot of time and effort of everybody’s part! Would it be prudent to put out my daughter;s crib and crib matress? Do people actually buy such large items at a garage sale?
Lynn – Definitely put out the crib and crib mattress! Large items generally sell really well at garage sales!
I say skip the garage sale. Why? Because it sounds like you mainly just want to get rid of the stuff, and after any garage sale there’s always a lot of stuff left over, which you’ll have to throw away/cart across town anyway.
Why the Friday only restriction? Certainly you would do better on the weekend…
For the next 3 weeks, my kids have soccer all morning on Saturdays, and then my husband works in the afternoon. And Sundays we’re at church all morning. That leaves Fridays. And I really don’t want to wait another month to get this stuff out of my house.
I say HAVE THE SALE. What is there to lose? A few hours? It’s worth it to try and get every last penny you can out of your things.
BTW, I’ll be in Corvallis May 9-11… I should stop by your sale! LOL… have anything good?
I think that if you have the patience to have the sale then go for it! Personally, I’m leaning toward getting a dumpster for all my old stuff.
I applaud you for your ambition – nothing drives me crazier on those “clean up/organize” shows than the huge piles of cash they wave around after their garage sales. Where are they selling, Madison Avenue?? That being said, I have had the best success-to-effort ratio during a publicized neighborhood event (like your upcoming Town Sale Day, or local house/garden tour) where there are sure to be plenty of suckers-er-customers. Also consider putting things into bins grouped by price, clearly labeled. This eliminates the agony of pricing individual items. The 25-cent bin was particularly popular with the youngsters – put your kids in charge of that one. One more thing – make sure you check with your local zoning authority; Chicago requires a permit for any sort of yard sale. Nothing kills a hot market faster than an untimely arrest :) Good luck!
Okay Lynnae since we live in the same area all the people I know who have had yard sales say they sold the most stuff on Friday. If you are serious yard sale shopper you go friday and beat the crowds and get first dibs. You can advertise on Craig’s list for free. To other readers I bought my kids crib (which Sam used briefly)at a yard sale and other big items even my daughters bike (which was in perfect condition for $20). Say Sam hasn’t outgrow his bike Yet? :) Personally I had one yard sale and it’s not for me I just donate or give away.
I seldom do it. I know, my friends do really well with these. But my thing is I just don’t like doing them. If that is the case–just the ‘nerves’ involved make it not worth while. I think some folks find this much easier. I’m the sort who is more likely to use freecycle or Craigslist or Goodwill to get rid of stuff. Best bet–don’t buy so much to begin with. ;) I’m loading up my trunk for goodwill sometime this week and not stressing over it. Its good to give anyhow.
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