Annual spring cleaning, or decluttering before moving, are very good reasons to organize a garage sale. Not only you will ditch a bunch of unnecessary items but you might earn some extra money. However, sorting out the collection of your items and organizing the event is not an easy task. Fortunately, there is a couple of handy tips for organizing a garage sale that can make the entire event enjoyable.

Useful tips for organizing a garage sale

Like with any other event planning, organizing a garage sale takes both time and effort. It will take you at least a couple of days to fulfill all the necessary preparations. But, before you proceed, consider a few things:

• in case of moving – consider donating or giving away your items to those who need it more
• if you are a student going on spring break – check out places like moving-storage.com/student-storage before you sell something that you might need again
• in case of regular spring cleaning – think about recycling some of the items, especially if you are planning to buy a similar new item in the near future

Now, when you are finally sure about what to do, here is a couple of tips for organizing a garage sale.

Check on permits for organizing a garage sale

Check with your local authority if you’ll need a permit for a garage sale. Also, don’t forget to check if it’s allowed to make signs. If it is, then make sure they are large enough for people to see them from distance. To go even further, you can pay for an ad in your local newspaper. Or, you can make use of social media and advertise your sale online.

Keep your home at bay

You don’t want strangers to roam the places that are off-limit. So, place signs of restrictions in front of your house, backyard, or any other place you want to keep private. You never know who will come to a sale so don’t take any chances.

Sort out your items

Develop a system for grouping items together, it’s a great practice for decluttering your home. One way is to group items by purpose or type. Another way is to group them by rooms they belong to. Any type of classification will do as long as you have a clear picture of your possessions.

Deal with empty space

Don’t forget that your visitors will need enough space to walk between the items. Generally, you want to use tables, boxes, or other flat surfaces to display your items. Place them properly to visible areas and lift them off the ground. Convenience for them will be a convenience for you as well. Additionally, bring some chairs out. You, as well as some elderly visitors, will need a place to rest from activity.

Clean your items when organizing a garage sale

Before displaying, you want to make sure your items are clean. No one will want to buy something that is dirty. Especially if you are selling clothes. For wooden items, it would be a smart move to clean them with some kind of wood cleaning solution. Just to bring them back their old shine. Remember, it’s all about presentation.

Use electrical cables

If you are selling something that needs electrical power, you should bring some cables out. That way, you will give the visitors the opportunity to test the items by themselves. You will also save a lot of time not having to explain if it’s still working or not.

Financial part

Place the prices on visible places and make them proportional in size. Also, bring enough money for the change. Finally, if you have something in the area that is not for sale, don’t forget to place a visible label on it.

Once you are done with organizing a garage sale, try to enjoy the results. And of course, if you had any help, be generous to them. After all, money is not the primary goal of this kind of event.