10 Easy Steps To A Successful Yard Sale
10 EASY STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL YARD SALE
As the summer season quickly fades away and fall and winter are approaching, we start to make plans toward spending more time indoors.
But before you put away your sandals, shorts and sunglasses and que up the new fall TV season, you might consider ways to clear away clutter, so you can stretch out and be more comfortable this fall and winter. As specialists in home de-cluttering, we at Decently and In Order have found that one of the best, most rewarding ways to get rid of unwanted, unused items is to have a yard sale.
A yard sale is a great way to put some extra cash into your pocket, while getting rid of some of those items in your closet, basement, and living room corners, which you no longer need or have use for.
Don’t worry if the items you have are not brand new, odd or in your estimation “worthless.” The old adage, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure,” is really true.
Yard sales can be really fun, but a successful one requires a little planning and advertising. Pulling out items and placing them on a table in your lawn is just one step in the process.
Here is a quick, step-by-step primer on staging a profitable yard sale:
1. Select the items you wish to sell. (Keep in mind that many items you have held onto in hope of someday putting them to use again, are now merely taking up space.) I have found these kinds of items sell quickly:
kitchen appliances
yard tools
ceramics
old jewelry
gently used shoes
unopened school supplies
Clothing and some furniture don’t usually sell as well.
2. Next, select a date for your yard sale. Check the weather four to five days before you actually have the sale, so you’ll know if you need to postpone.
3. Once you have your date selected, collect the following items you’ll need for preparation and advertising: poster board (white), markers (black), zip/cable ties or yard sign holders, hammer, nails and a bag of multi-colored balloons.
4. Next make your yard sale signs. White poster board is best, because color signs are harder to read from a distance. Use extra large Sharpie markers, and print in large block capital letters. (See pictures)
5. On your poster, include: date, address and opening and closing times.
6. Post your signs throughout your neighborhood two to three days before the sale -- within a five-block or half mile radius. Post on busy intersections, if possible. Two to three days may seem a little early, but it works to plant a seed in people’s minds that a yard sale is going to happen. (Check with your city’s planning department to make sure local zoning laws allow you to put up signs.)
7. Make directional signs, giving basic directions to your house and an arrow pointing the way. Don’t put them up until the day of your sale.
8. On sale day, put up your directional signs. Attach balloons to all of your signs – the ones on the street and the yard sale sign on your yard. The balloons will catch the eye of the people and cause them to read the signs.
9. Lastly, display your items on tables and in your yard, putting space between each item. The key is to make the items appealing to the potential buyer!
10. After the sale is over, box up all unsold items and take them to one of the drop-off containers. In that way, what you don’t sell can still be used by someone else in the community. Relax and enjoy your profits and your spacious rooms.
OR…let us do it for you! As a part of our residential de-cluttering service, Decently and In Order staff would be happy to plan and operate your yard sale and arrange for charitable donation pick-ups, so you can receive a donation receipt for tax purposes.
Contact Decently and In Order, the home de-cluttering and commercial cleaning specialists, at (513) 259-0143 or visit http://www.decentlyandinorder.us
