How To Hold A Garage Sale Before The Moving Day?

Has the thought of shipping your belongings to your new house feels a little challenging?

Decluttering your house can be the best option to can remove any unwanted items for moving.

And put them on a garage sale if they are in good condition.

With this, you can earn some additional cash and cover a portion of your moving expenses.

You can sell clothes that don't fit you anymore or furniture that you may not want to use in your new home.

Another advantage of a yard sale is you can clear your belongings without the need to transport them to a new location.

To make a garage sale, you must organize it well.

Here we have a few important steps that will help you create a solid plan to organize your garage sale before the moving day.

Sort Items in Advance

Organize your belongings a few weeks before the move. It seems a good idea to identify a place in the basement or garage and set aside items that you want to sell.

Decide which heirlooms you want to donate or sell and which you want to store for your grandchildren.

Here’s how you can sort out items for a garage sale:

• Prepare a list of items you don't need anymore.

• There isn't any need to note them down with a pen or pencil, you can simply download a free inventory app on your tablet or phone.

• Always handle your items with care and don’t be rough on them.

• Possibly, an item you want to throw away can be a pleasure for someone else.

• Don't forget to inspect every nook and cranny in your house, including the attic, garage, or basement.

• You may find things that might have been treasured over the years.

• Set aside the items you are interested in selling and items you are willing to donate.

• Make sure you clean the items for sale.

• If you have electronics to sell, plug them in and check their basic function. This will help you ensure that the electronics are functioning, and you can go ahead selling them.

• Finally, sort the items you want to display in the garage sale as people will not like juggling through bags to find items of their choice.

Fix a Date

Summer is an ideal time to hold a garage sale.

But, if you’re moving in the winter, you can’t organize the sale in summer.

Regardless of the season, here’s how you can choose a date for your garage sale:

• Select a date when you expect the weather to be pleasant.

• Ideally, you can choose the first weekend of the month for a garage sale.

• You will have more people buying your possessions, as it's the time they will get their salary and enjoy the disposable income.

• Make sure you wrap up a garage sale within the first half of the day. It would be a great idea to start around 6 am and end it by noon.

• Find out if anyone else is holding a garage sale in your neighborhood at around this time as this would bring more customers for you.

• It isn't much you can do if a thunderstorm hits on that day.

• But a few tarps hanging between the trees can keep your possessions safe from the rain.

Advertise your Sale

After you have scheduled your garage sale, make sure you put up an advertisement in your area to inform people you’re organizing a garage sale.

Here’s how you can advertise your garage sale step by step:

• You can begin advertising with Craigslist by just adding the date and time of your garage sale. This will help you engage people towards the sale, and they will decide their path.

• After you declutter your house, you can click pictures of items for sale and upload the images to your advertisement.

• You can choose from various websites engaged in buying and selling local products online.

• It seems a fantastic idea to use free apps like Yard Sale Treasure Map and 5miles to promote your garage sale, as well as help people locate you.

• Newspapers, antique publications, local radio stations, and community bulletin boards are a few other advertising platforms for your garage sale.

Describe your Sale and Create Signs

Now is the time to apply your creativity and assign a smart name to your garage sale.

For instance, you can name it as the "best neighborhood sale", instead of a moving sale or family sale.

Also, you can add a reason to it, for instance, multiple families involved, all in one or a nice neighborhood.

Mention the items you are selling, for example, women's accessories, kid's clothing, or grandma's antiques. This will attract more people to your garage sale.

Create bright and easy-to-read signs that will help people reach the location of your garage sale.

Make sure you use straightforward words and put them up the night before the yard sale.

Collect the Essential Supplies

To ensure a smooth garage sale, it’s a worthwhile idea to keep the following supplies ready before the big day:

• Get the shopping bags ready as a courtesy to help people take their new possessions home. A few old grocery bags will also serve your purpose.

• You must keep plenty of change for you as most of the garage sales customers will pay you in cash.

• Don’t forget to bring camping chairs, you will not be able to stand for long hours on your feet.

• Keeping a waist bag would be imperative as it would keep the money you get from your customers safe. Alternatively, if you keep cash in your pocket or a cash box, you may even lose your money.

• Water and snacks are essential as well because we all are human beings, and we can feel hungry at any time.

• Make sure you keep paper, marker, and tape in your stock. A person may pay and book a large item, while they go back home to get their car. It would be great if you marked such items as sold and ensured their safety until the buyer returns.

Tips to Price your Belongings for Sale

Setting up the price and negotiating can help you optimize your profit.

Here are a few tips you need to follow to ensure effective pricing and negotiation:

• Avoid price stickers: If you aren’t using price stickers on your products, the customers will directly come to you and inquire about the price. But, if the price stickers are there, people will often ignore the product, even if its price is $1 more than what they expect.

• Negotiate with interested customers: If a customer likes an item in your garage sale but denies buying it because the price is too high for him, you can negotiate. This will create a good impression on your customers as you are giving them a good deal.

• Avoid fixing a high price: Regardless of whether you are having branded items or less used items, we suggest you don't fix a high price for them. Otherwise, you may have unsold items at the end of the garage sale and might need to deposit them in the thrift stores.

Mostly, in a yard sale, people will expect to buy cheap items, it would be a good idea to price them right and get them sold right away.

Set your Clothes and Accessories Thoughtfully

Here's what you can do to organize your clothes and accessories carefully and make them attractive to your customers:

• Consider hanging the clothes and letting the visitors see them properly.

• You can use a clothing rack to display the outfits, hang them on the fence, or a string in between poles or trees.

• Invest your time and put full outfit sets on the display as this will attract the customers even more.

• Make a few sets of T-shirts and shorts and consider labeling them according to their size.

• Simply, categorize the high-priced items like handbags, dress coats, and jewelry as specialty items and create a separate section for them.

• Display small items like sunglasses and jewelry at the cash counter.

• It sounds fantastic to clip small jewelry on a bulletin board or use hooks to hang them on the window display.

Create Linens Sets

• Pack sets of bed sheets and pillowcases and label them based on queen and twin size.

• Set the napkins together and keep them alongside the tablecloth. This will help the customers match and buy.

• Pack towel sets, including a bath towel, hand towel, and washcloth. You can tie them with twine or string.

Schedule a Donation Pick-up

Don't forget to set up a donation pick-up after the garage sale is over and you need to give the remaining items for donation.

Also, make sure you schedule it in advance as multiple charitable organizations need a month's notice to manage the pick-up.

As the closing time approaches, start wrapping up things, while letting the people continue their shopping.

Takeaway

• A garage sale helps you get rid of things you don't need before you move and makes your load lighter.
  
  
• You can pay for your move by selling things you don't want.
  
  
• You have time to clean, arrange, and show off your things well if you sort them early.
  
  
• Quick sales are helped by smart pricing and easy negotiating.
  
  
• Good ads bring in more customers and make it more likely that you'll sell everything.
  
  
• A tidy, well-organized arrangement makes it easy for people to look around at your garage sale.

Note

Start preparing a few weeks before your moving date. Clean every item, keep enough change, label sets clearly, and stay ready to negotiate. The smoother your setup, the more successful your garage sale will be.

Bottom Line

For any moving assistance you need after a garage sale – speak to our moving specialist. We’ll help you compare moving company rates in your location and give you a free moving quote.

You can check out detailed moving guides for more information, tips, and smart ideas for moving.