Tips for Having a Garage Sale and NOT Lose Your Sanity -

Summer is a great time to hold a garage sale since you can enlist your children and friends to help. You can have your children try on their Summer wardrobe at the end of Spring so you know what still fits. Then you can sell items that are too small and won’t be passed down to other family members. If you have a large list of items that you need to buy then you will want prepare for garage sale season early so you are ready to hit some sales yourself.

Make sure you have a successful garage sale with these tips and keep your sanity in the process!

Advertise Your Garage Sale For Free

Post 3-5 pictures of your sales tables on local Facebook groups either homeschool groups, moms groups, or rummage sale groups. I have seen some people post to Facebook Marketplace as well. Just be sure that you are available to answer peoples questions about prices and availability otherwise they might show up.

If you post signs around your neighborhood just be sure to follow your city ordinance so you do not get fined for illegal sign posting.

Prepare Your Garage Sale Ahead of Time

Try to price items as soon as you decide they are going in the sale. Do not price your items too high but don’t cheat yourself by offering only .50 for each item either. In our area $1 per clothing and $3 for kids jeans without holes or stains does pretty good. Brand name or designer clothing might go a little higher but not too much. Higher priced items will definitely need to be advertised in order to sell. Make sure your clothing is folded or hung nicely.

Ask a Few Friends to Help

Multi-family garage sales are very popular and lightens the load for everyone. Moms can take turns watching the sale vs. watching the kids. Everyone can help set-up and tear-down to make the event less stressful for everyone! If each mom invited a handful of friends to shop then everyone will be more likely to have higher sales during the garage sale.

Have Lots of Change

Many times when people are hitting garage sales on the weekend they have twenty dollar bills from the atm. Be sure to have lots of change which you keep just inside or in a cash box. I would start with $50 in change being mostly ones.

Allow Kids to Sell Snacks during the Garage Sale

Giving your child a job such as a snack table will keep them occupied and allow them to earn some money. They can sell bottles of water for $1, brownies or rice krispie treats for .50 and bags of chips for .50. If you plan ahead they can even help bake the items the day before. If your child is old enough ask them to decorate a sign for their cafe!