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Have a Yard Sale
Personal Development & Community: Self-development

So, it's done. Yard sale is O-V-E-R. Thank goodness. I really do hate doing them. Didn't make much money (as expected). However, the stuff did NOT go back into my house. It took 4 car trips, and my boys helped out a lot, but we brought all the left over to my church for it's annual flea market which will held in 2 weeks. I won't say I feel "great", but I feel good. Glad it's over, exhausted from being out all day, relief that it's all out of my house. It was a beautiful day. I had 2 good friends over to share it with (who were also selling some stuff).

Why were you inspired to do this?

Extra money. Simplify. Get rid of everything w/o just throwing it all out. Whatever I don't sell will be donated to my church's flea market.

What were 3 things you did to make this happen?

Go through my house room by room with a clear head to see what I can get rid of.

Pick a date. I want to have it done before camping season starts in May, so it'll be either April 23rd or April 30th.

Get a permit. Set up and sell, sell, sell.

How did you feel once you had accomplished this?

I absolutely HATE having yard sales. People are rude, and they steal stuff. I'm usually a liker of all people, but I need to be ready and focused to deal with some of these people (not all ~ I wouldn't make that general a comment).



5/3/2011 7:51:18 PM

So sorry to hear that about the turnout and lack of profit. The good news is, the goal's been accomplished and some other people can benefit from those items you don't need any longer. Maybe you have some extra space too and probably feel a whole lot lighter and neater after all that reorganizing and purging. I hate having yard sales too but I do like getting the excess out of the house one way or the other.

5/1/2011 4:34:47 PM

Weird. I thought I posted my whole end story. I guess it didn't work. Weather was fantastic! Turnout was bad. I didn't sell much. At the end of the day, I brought all the stuff to my church for donations. House is emptier. I guess that was the goal, but the added $$ would've been nice. Wasn't worth it, but it's done! Yes, very happy to have it behind me!

5/1/2011 2:03:57 PM

How did it go? Did you have a good turnout? Weather? I bet you're happy to have this behind you.

Why do you want to do this?

Extra money. Simplify. Get rid of everything w/o just throwing it all out. Whatever I don't sell will be donated to my church's flea market.

What three things will you need to make this happen?

Go through my house room by room with a clear head to see what I can get rid of.

Pick a date. I want to have it done before camping season starts in May, so it'll be either April 23rd or April 30th.

Get a permit. Set up and sell, sell, sell.

What is the biggest barrier to your achieving this?

I absolutely HATE having yard sales. People are rude, and they steal stuff. I'm usually a liker of all people, but I need to be ready and focused to deal with some of these people (not all ~ I wouldn't make that general a comment).

4/6/2011 1:41:24 PM

This is perfect timing, Zin! It's great to purge this time of year and take that extra money to put toward your summer adventures. I had one a few years ago and made more than $2,000, which was stunning. Who would've thought my junk had that much value? 

One tip I really benefited from knowing was the "fill a bag" trick. Clothes are notoriously hard to sell. You can either clean and press them all and hang them on rented racks and get top dollar for a fraction of what you're selling, or you can pile them up and let people fill a bag for a pre-set price. They sell in volume that way.

Good luck! I hope it goes smoothly for you.

4/11/2011 6:13:27 AM

Well, a lot of cleaning got done this weekend.  This is helpful toward getting to the point where I can go through to get rid of.  We cleaned up the back yard yesterday as well, and realized I have a whole set of outdoor chairs we haven't used in years.  I don't even care when I get for them, I'll hose them off and sell them.  Whoever buys them can go through the bleaching process to make them look better (unless I have time beforehand~we'll see).  There's some other stuff back there I can get rid of too. 

I wish I wasn't dreading the actual yard sale day, though. 

4/21/2011 5:44:15 AM

Currently working on getting through the kids' room.  That's where I think I get rid of the most.  They continue to outgrow their clothes, and I need to get rid of it.  Hoping to get their room done today.  Friday/Saturday, will scour the attic! 

Putting ads in the local paper and Craig's List today...

Sale date ~ April 30th!  Gotta get this done!

4/26/2011 6:32:18 PM

Wow, you're making great progress! Do you have all of your supplies lined up, little price stickers, tables for display, etc? I know it's a lot of work but just think how much lighter your life will feel!

Do you have anything special planned for what you'll do with the earnings? 

4/28/2011 10:51:22 AM

Just wanted to check in on all my goals.  Starting here...

Kids & I had some fun going through all the stuff in the attic.  At ages 9 & 11 (almost), I feel I can now get rid of all their baby clothes, swing, vibrating seat, high chair.  We brought most of it downstairs.  I need my hubs to help with the heavier boxes, which we'll do tonight. 

My living room currently looks like a disaster, but it's all stuff I brought down from the attic, so it's all good.  It'll be gone on Saturday. 

As for pricing, unless it's something I want to get a minimum amount for, I won't be going through that process.  Shea - I will be taking your advice on the bags of clothes for a set $$.  I'm thinking from 8 a.m. - 11 a.m., $10 a bag; 11 a.m. - noon, $5 a bag; noon - 1, $1 a bag.  I'm ending at 1. 

Ads are up on Craig's list as well as the website for my local papers.  It was honestly way too much $$ to actually put in the papers themselves, but most yard sale customers know where to look, so I'm hoping that'll be enough. 

Tonight, we'll finish getting the stuff out of the attic, and start separating piles (mostly of clothes~ my clothes, husband's clothes, kids' clothes).  I've also gotta figure out where I can get more tables to put this stuff on.  Also have to finish going through the basement.  I can do that between tonight and tomorrow. 

I need to get small change, and cases of water to sell.  I can buy a case for $3 and sell each bottle @ $1 :-).  And, it's supposed to be warm out on Saturday, so hopefully people will need to buy themselves water.  If not, then I just have bottles of water - it will not go to waste! 

Yesterday, I also put out the old resin chairs that I'm selling so that hopefully today's rain (tornado, actually) will wash them up for me a bit. 

I have no idea how much I'll make at this thing.  I usually don't make too much, so I'm not making big plans for what to do with the $$.  I have some debts I'm still working on and/or my son wants to go to Martha's Vineyard w/ his Boy Scout Troop, so maybe I'll put the $$ toward that.  We'll see....

4/30/2011 7:18:11 PM

How did it go?  Good turnout?  Are you exhausted?  Hope you had a fantastic sale and that you were able to lighten your life.   Looking forward to your update.

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