We had our first yard sale in a long while this past Saturday. I would call it a success! Our goal was to declutter some things that have accumulated from life, as well as make a little extra cash, and we managed to do a little of both. Our grand total was $465. Not too bad for a Saturday morning.

Our total would have been a lot more had I pulled out items from my garage that have been sitting there, but I never managed to get to it the week before. I did however put one hot item (or items rather) out there – my Star Shower lights from last year. Some of you may remember the 103 lights I bought 3 days before Christmas. (We ended up making almost $3,400 in 3 crazy days because of those lights! You can read more about that flip HERE). Well, I ended up buying an extra 100 lights after Christmas to prepare for this year. I have sold some on eBay the past few months, and pulled some out for the yard sale. These were a pretty hot item at the sale and made us a little over $300 on Saturday.

There are a few things you can do to ensure your yard sale is successful. Here are my top 5:

1.The most important thing you need at a yard sale is PEOPLE! They are your customers. You want people to show up to buy your items. If no one shows up, it’s safe to say you won’t make any sales. In order for there to be a good turnout, people must know about the sale. You can add your sale to local Facebook yard sale groups,  your local online newspaper, or sites like gsalr.com to let people know it is going on. Another great way to get a crowd is good signage. People driving by will stop in if your sign gets their attention. We put bright neon colored signs in 6-8 locations near our house. We write HUGE yard sale on the sign, along with our address, and an arrow pointing where they should go. Sometimes we will even put balloons attached to the signs for some extra attention.

2.Be organized. A good organized yard sale will get people who are driving by to actually stop in. If you just have a few sheets thrown on the ground piled with stuff, most likely you will not sell a lot of it. If people have to sift through everything they most likely will miss a lot of items. Have tables set up in a line with items on them is much more visually appealing and people can find things easier. This past yard sale we only had two tables, but we really needed two more to have more things at eye level for our customers. It is also a good idea to put items that are in the same category in the same area. For example, kids items, kitchen supplies, clothes, outdoor items, & furniture, should all be grouped in the same general vicinity for ease of the customers. Some people may not have any interest in kid toys and completely miss the camera you have for sale sitting in the middle of them.

3.Price all your items before the sale starts. We are guilty of not always getting this done, and it always stresses me out the morning of. It’s so much easier if the buyer knows what you are asking for an item without having to ask you on every single thing. Some people won’t want to ask you repeatedly and you could lose sales because of it.

4.Offer refreshments and FUN! We like to have a cooler with bottled waters and sometimes sodas (for sale), and have even baked cookies and brownies with our nieces and had them sell them at the sale. We also like to set up our toddler bounce house in the front yard so any little kiddos can play while their parents shop (and buy more of our stuff!). Our little ones are getting bigger now and are loving to participate in the yard sale process. They spent the entire morning in the bounce house or riding their bikes in the driveway (trying not to run over anyone). We thought about setting up our cotton candy or snow cone machine at this sale, but didn’t decide to do it. Maybe on the next one!

5.Lastly, have some good stuff to sell. It feels so liberating to get rid of excess. This past sale we focused more on the house (well, Melissa really cleaned out closets and cabinets), than the items I have in my garage and storage. We could have made more money had I brought them out, but we are planning another sale in a month or so. We have some big things in the works which will require at least 3 more yard sales in the next 6 months. I can’t wait to fill you all in on that (soon)! But back to the items, don’t get attached to ‘things.’ It is so hard to let go of things sometimes, but they really make life more chaotic and overwhelming. I prefer to not have things stuffed in every corner, cabinet and closet, and as far as the items I am selling- have a specific shelving system in my garage for those items so I stay organized and know what I have.

Someone decided she wanted to take up sewing:

When are you having YOUR next yard sale? Check out my list of 6 Best Selling Yard Sale Items HERE before your next sale to make sure you can make the most of your Saturday!

I want to hear from YOU!

Do you ever periodically take time to declutter? How do you feel after? Do you miss the stuff you sold?