Morning friends! It’s been just a little over a month since my last post hasn’t it?
Life sorta got crazy and I took a major step back from the blog-o-sphere to keep up with all the changes going on around here.
Margs suddenly became super curious, mobile and verbal and I’ve spent my days adjusting to this new phase of toddler-hood which is simply amazing.
Her little personality is hilarious and I’ve really enjoyed being disconnected for the last stretch of summer and spending all my time running, playing and playing some more.
We’ve also been pickling, preserving and harvesting our summer veggies which has been insanely time consuming. But, it feels so great to know that we’ve got a freezer stash of garden veggies ready to sustain us through the cold Canadian winter months.
Margs is also now in daycare a few mornings a week which has been a wonderful addition to our routine. Outsourced child care isn’t something we necessarily thought we’d ever need since I left my career to stay home with her but the socialization aspect has been wonderful for her so far.
We’ve started our second week and she’s adjusting wonderfully and making new friends which we are incredibly grateful for.
These extra hours of free time I find myself with on a weekly basis are now going to be focused on growing the blog. My month away from blogging although wonderful really solidified how much I enjoy writing and communicating with you fine folks and so I hope to use this time to continue growing This Tiny Blue House and sharing my frugal lifestyle with ya’ll.
A break was wonderful but it feels so good to be back here and typing this very post.
Last weekend we had a wonderful time hanging out with neighbors and hosting a pretty large and profitable garage sale. Most of the families that live on our small crescent have children and not surprisingly were more than happy to take part in a block sale to declutter and make a little extra cash in the process.
In total, we made just a little over $500 which is great considering we sold items that we no longer needed or that Margsy outgrew.
Having a garage sale is far more involved than simply rounding up random items and putting the out for sale. Instead it involves planning and organizing to maximize both your exposure and sales. Here are a few tips that should help make your garage sale a success.
5 Simple Strategies To Host An Epic Garage Sale
Talk to your neighbors
Attracting potential customers is a key component of having a successful and profitable sale. As a garage saler myself I know that I’m often motivated to go out of my way to visit a sale that includes multiple families?
Why? The chances of finding what I need are far higher.
So, absolutely without question mention the sale to your friends, family and neighbors. The more people involved the higher traffic you’ll generate!
Be organized.
Start organizing your items early and never wait until the very last minute. An organized garage sale is key to hosting a sale that is organized and easy to manage.
We started by creating boxes and bins labeled with: adult clothes, kids clothes, kids toys, kitchenware, electronics and DVDs/Games. Once we had our boxes set up is was super easy to go room to room in our house and pull out items we’d like to sell at our sale.
Keeping it organized not only prevented chaos within our home but it make setting up our items and displaying them the day of a breeze.
We borrowed tables from friends and devoted different tables to different categories of items. It made shopping a breeze for our customers because everything was tidy and organized.
Put in some elbow grease.
Clean things that are dirty
As a garage saler I’m far more inclined to buy something if it is clean and in goodish condition. If an item is a little dirty it’s always a great idea to give it a thorough cleaning.
That’s not to say that you wont sell your goods if they aren’t squeaky clean – but, I can guarantee you that you can price the items a little higher if you put in a little elbow grease and clean things up a little.
Price things to sell.
Don’t be unrealistic when pricing your items.
Garage sales are all about getting a great deal for the buyer and decluttering for the seller. If you’re looking to recover a good portion of your investment on your items then having a garage sale is likely not the best route to go.
The goal (for me anyways) is to get rid of things I no longer need and anything is better than nothing when it comes to selling items in my opinion. I always look at it this way: a little is better than nothing!
Advertise.
Getting customers is usually the hardest part especially if you live in a remote area like we do.
Our crescent is hidden and very much out of the way and to make sure as many people knew we were having a sale as possible I bought cheap bristle boards at our local dollar world and got creative.
In addition to making signs, we advertised our garage sale online in local buy/sell groups and on Facebook. We’ll never know which of the two methods drove traffic to our sale but it worked! The combination of posters and online marketing made for a busy two days of consistent shoppers!
A Few More This Tiny Blue House Posts You Might Enjoy
- 10 Clever Hacks to Eat Healthy For Less Money
- 5 Grocery Shopping Tips That Will Save You Money
- Lazy Weeknight Dinners: 11 Family Friendly Meals That Even The Kids Will Love
- 30 Deliciously Cheap Crock Pot Meals
- Reduce Food Waste By Freezing These 25 Surprising Foods
I Want To Hear From You!
What is your GREATEST garage sale find?
I’ve never had a garage sale, but I did crack up at a post that was making the rounds on Facebook a while back. It was a roundup of some pretty hilarious garage sale signs. I’m definitely using some of them if I ever have a sale!
Pricing to sell is key! I hate going to a garage sale and things are priced what they are in the store..
I love your blog and am glad you’re back to posting!
Thanks lady!! ?