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  1. Becky R says

    I have started pricing for my sale this week too! We are going to have a few sales this next month. Yay for spring!

  2. Carrie says

    We just had a moving sale this weekend. It was a great success. Our secret is, we never price ANYTHING! Sounds strange I know, but people buy more this way. They never look at a price tag, and put it back. Instead, they ask how much, I offer a price, and they barter with me. Makes the day fun too. I always go in with an idea of what I want for each item. I ususally set a price for clothing. Like 5o cents for single clothing items, $1 for sets, $2 for jeans and dresses.

    Also, after a recent study about tithing, my husband and I were strongly convicted to tithe 10% from our profits from the sale. It was a very exciting change for us. If you haven’t heard of it, check out “The Blessed Life” by Robert Morris. It will change the way you look at tithing.

    Good luck to all of you getting ready for a Spring sale!

  3. Ann says

    I’m trying to decide if I have enough time and “stuff” for a garage sale. Our neighborhood sale is in a few weeks and this is such a busy time of year for me. I may invade my sister’s neighborhood sale. But whatever I decide, I am definately purging some things!

  5. Lacey says

    Funny that I just read this post b/c we are having a garage sale tomorrow, Friday and partially on Saturday. I used to think Thursday was not a good day to start. It is a great day for my street (real busy), but not great in my Mom’s neighborhood. Of the 3 days, it is usually my most profitable. I save all the kids clothes for at my Mom’s garage sale though. We live a couple miles apart, but my kid’s clothes (many of which are name brand or boutique) just don’t sale well at my house. People want them for dirt cheap. I can easily put $4-$6 on a dress, at my Mom’s, and people don’t even bat an eye. So, we are focusing on other stuff we need to get rid of then my Mom will have a sale in May at our house. It feels so good to get rid of stuff!!!

  6. Denise says

    We had a garage sale a few months ago to earn money for my daughter’s school oceanography field trip. It helped us clear out some of her things that were previously hard to part with. I helped at my sister’s garage sale a few weeks ago. She had a Qwest modem and we had just paid $75 for a new one at Wal-mart. Hers worked fine and we took the other one back to Wal-mart. Totally worth helping my sister!

  7. Challice says

    Having a yardsale in two weeks! So excited cause i want this stuff GONE

    and my brother totally blessed me with two bags of stuff he didnt want, even though he knew he could make a lot of money, he just gave em to me. <3

  9. Susan (FrugaLouis) says

    O yea, definitely garage sale time! Even without peeking at your hint! =)

    So glad you’re speaking at Relevant again…and with Jesse too! Hurray! You guys will be a great pair!

  10. Ashley says

    That’s my weekend project this weekend! I want my house back! My husband needs to keep everything and he is driving me crazy. “The office” has turned into “Husband’s clutter-catch-all.”

    • Zena says

      I just gave 10 bags and 5 boxes of junk to the AMVETS. I couldn’t look at it anymore. Nice thing about them is the come pick it up for you. I didn’t even have to drive anywhere 😉

  12. Mary Ann says

    We had one last week and sold over half of our stuff! Since we have ashed where I can store stuff without tripping over it constantly, I put the leftovers back in storage and will do another sale early fall then donate everything that’s left after that one. I already filled another box while cleaning today so I think I’ll have a decent amount come fall!

    I find that I do the best in either early spring when the hard-core yard salers are itching to get out or in the fall after the weather cools down a little.

  13. MaryEllen says

    That’s pretty much what my living room looks like right now! We’re not having ours for a while, though, but we needed a “dumping ground” to keep all the yard sale stuff organized as we clean out closets, etc. Sad to have my living room looking like that, but that’s the only place to do it. Oh well, it’s worth the $500 we usually make! Hope yours is a success!

    • Crystal says

      Um, yes, it wasn’t a brilliant idea, not sure what I was thinking. But my extended family is all helping, so other than cleaning out my house — which I did a few weeks ago — and pricing and organizing my stuff and opening up my garage, I don’t have that much else I’ll have to do!

  15. Christine says

    I’ve had two garage sales in the past, about 10 years ago, and I vowed never to do it again because it was way more work than it was worth. I’ve just been donating over the years.

    Fast forward to now when my kids are begging me to do one. So, I’ve decided I’ll have two categories: free (these are items that need repair or clothes that are stained or torn that I can’t bear to just throw away) and $.50 (unless otherwise marked). This will save me from the unbearable task of pricing things, which I refuse to to. There will be a handful of items more than $.50, and I will price those individually.

    I hope it works! I’ll let you know!

  16. Nony (A Slob Comes Clean) says

    I LOVE a garage sale, but for right now I’ve decided that donating is the thing for me. Things need to leave my home at lightning speed (because there’s so much to get out!) and so I’ve eliminated the need to store things for any longer.

  19. shelly says

    Too funny, I just came in from the garage working on organizing our garage sale. We’re having one this Friday and Saturday 🙂

  22. Jessica says

    I love the feeling after having a garage sale! My husband and I haven’t been married for quite a year yet and we’ve already had 2 very successful ones. Not only do we make a little extra cash (we always decide what we’ll use it for before the sale) but we also get rid of a lot of the clutter laying around. That’s the best part for me 🙂 I routinely try to declutter the house and anything I find that’s worth selling goes into the “garage sale” box(es).

  23. Kristi says

    I need to do this as well, but I feel like I just got my house back to normal after the last one in October, then the holidays, then my twins birthday in February. I want my house to stay normal for a little while before I start that mess all over again.

  24. Becky says

    You guys are much more dedicated than I. Don’t get me wrong, I love going to garage sales…. I just hate having them.
    They never make enough for me to feel like its worth my time. I would much rather sell baby and childrens items at my local Just Between Friends consignment sale… the rest gets donated, and i get the tax write off.

    • shelly says

      I tried doing Just Between Friends, but it was just as much work as a garage sale. Then after their cut, I didn’t really make more than i would have at a garage sale 🙁
      The best thing about selling my items by having a garage sale, I can do it all while my babies are sleeping 🙂

    • Montessa says

      We have Trading Hands near us & I just made $300 on a small load of stuff that I had hoped would bring in half of that, so I was excited. More money toward our Nicaragua missions trip 🙂

  25. Mandy Mejia says

    I have posted pics of some of Lily’s clothing and things on facebook..and if the people are willing to pay the shipping price I will sell it to them. I am having a sale at my house Thursday and Friday. In the spare room we have two clothing racks full of baby girl clothing, maternity, and mens! I can’t wait to see how much we get! Last year we had a yard sale and made almost 1,000!

  28. RuthS says

    I am not bothering with the garage sale and taking 3 garbage bags to Goodwill tomorrow. I’ll just take the $50 deduction on my taxes and save myself all the work of last year’s sale, where I only made $100 🙂

    • Debbie in PA says

      Yes, me too. I’m just blessing others with my mess. Got tired of people haggling me on what I already think are reasonable prices and would just rather give it away.

      • RuthS says

        @Debbie I gave a bunch of stuff to my sister in law first. Money’s tight for them right now, so I was excited to pass down some toys and such to my nephew 🙂

      • Spendwisemom says

        Same here. I just pass it on to people I know who need certain things or just donate it. I hate the haggling too. But, you can make some money if you are willing to do the work and you don’t have to haul it off yourself if you are doing a garage sale!

    • Milk Donor Mama says

      Same here. I take stuff to the maternity center, freecycle and donate to a charity-run thrift store. The tax write off comes in handy. A few years ago we tried having a sale on the neighborhood sale day and our street just doesn’t get enough traffic. I think we made like $25! 🙁

    • Lynn says

      Here’s another member of the “I don’t have Garage/Yard Sales Club”. I did a couple when we were first married and when my kids were young, but haven’t done one in over 8 years. It’s much easier on my sanity to just bag it up and donate it. And, I’m sure this will make many of you shudder, I don’t even bother with getting a tax receipt. When I have a full bag or two I just drop it off when I’m in the vicinity of an organization that gives clothing and household items to those in need. It brings me much more joy than holding a garage sale would and it keeps the clutter out of my house. I’m a minimalist who tries not to buy anything we don’t really need, so there’s never a ton to get rid of.

      • sarah says

        I’ve never had one – always donate and take a deduction – but was thinking it might be fun for my little boy to “earn” money. But looking at her picture, it just looks like a lot of work – man, I’m lazy – and I don’t know if people would buy my junk. Do you have to sell pretty nice things in order to make it worthwhile?

      • Lyn says

        I totally agree with you and do the same. 🙂

        I find that by donating stuff (food and toiletries to the food pantry), clothing and household items to a local donation center, etc. that God seems to bless us as all our basic needs of life. I don’t get tax receipts either. Since God gives freely to us, I only feel that giving back freely is the right thing to do.

        Also, we live on a very modest income, and probably could use the money – but I get more joy in just giving as well. It makes me happy to know that others can use these things. I also believe in giving quality, not junk. If I wouldn’t use it, I don’t donate it.

        Like you, Lynn, I am seeking to live a lifestyle of less and it feels great.

    • Angie says

      My condo association actually doesn’t allow garage sales. Thus our stuff gets donated.

  29. RD says

    I too have a Silas and his twin (age two) helping me. It’s taking hours longer than it should. I’m unpacking boxes from moving in eight months ago. I guess it’s taking months longer than it should! 🙂

    • Sara says

      Don’t be t00 hard on yourself! I too moved when my son was 1 years old. He started walking soon after his first birthday so I spent a LOT of time chasing him. I unpacked my final box a year later!

  30. Kimberly says

    My family is having a MEGA sale in about two weeks! We have been decluttering for a few months now and have nearly HALF our garage full of stuff to sale! Do you find that you have success on Friday? Or, do you only do Saturday/Sunday sales?

    • Megan says

      From my experience, Friday-Saturday sales are very successful. My husband and I held one on a Thursday once and it was a hit. We got a lot of stay-at-home moms (who told us they’re usually too busy to come out on a Saturday) and also avid yard-salers who came out because no one else was having a sale that day. Good luck!

    • Rae says

      It really depends on where you live. Where I used to live, yardsales were always Saturday and/or Sunday almost never on any other day. When I moved here I was shocked to see that almost all of them are Friday. Occasionally they will extend to Saturday if stuff is left. And rarely they will be on Thursdays but almost never on Sunday. If I were you I would go look in your paper (or craigslist) to see what days people usually have them on in your area. I know as a shopper, I don’t get up early more than one day per week for the shopping so since most sales here are Friday (or Fri-Sat), I will go out Friday. I’m not going to waste my time and gas to go to ONE sale on Thursday or just a couple on Saturday. I’m not saying you wouldn’t get shoppers that just how I myself shop and my mom does the same things. Good luck 🙂

      • Megan Gaff says

        Where we live (Indiana) we only have our sale on Thurs, and Friday. Saturday’s are HORRIBLE and Sunday’s are very rare.
        We normally have non stop cars all day long. Once we counted 60 cars at one time…. CRAZY (it was a HUGE sale tho!!)

      • Lea Stormhammer says

        When I was growing up the days were Saturday and Sunday always. Friday was unheard of and Thrusday was definitely a no-no. When I moved to a different state for college, it was Friday and Saturday with some carry-over to Sunday (usually $1/bag, 10 cents/item, etc to move things out).

        Here in my fourth sate I’ve lived in it’s Thursday and Friday. It frustrates me because I can almost never get to one and then its usually late in the day when everything is picked over. The large “group” sales (community ed, churches, etc.) are usually Saturday AM only and so packed you can hardly walk. No fun!

        I guess it really does make a difference where you live! (And I too have given up on garage sales because the ROI for us hasn’t been worth it in the past. We sell the big ticket items through my husband’s work newsletter and donate the rest!)

  31. Davonne says

    I still have so much to clean out before I can have a yard sale! Next week is our spring break from homeschooling and I wonder if I could be ready in a week? 🙂 I’ve already done a lot and have a huge laundry room FULL of stuff to sell. So I guess even if I don’t finish decluttering, I could at least get rid of what I have so far and save the rest for the next yard sale. Ohhhh, I might do that! Thanks for the inspiration!

    • Davonne says

      I just read the tip about not waiting until the last minute 🙂 If I have the house decluttered, and yard sale signs and stickers purchased by Wednesday, is allowing Thursday and Friday to prepare and organize yard sale items enough time? It looks like it might be, but I’m not 100% on that 🙂

  34. Emily says

    Hey, that’s pretty much what my house looks like too!!! I’m loving yard sale season!!!!! 🙂

  35. Nicole says

    I am having a moving sale Friday, sell what I can then donate the rest. I already ready tour tips but now I need help moving lol.

  38. chandler says

    Yea for yard sales. We have doing a major “decluttering” around here. I am no longer willing to clean and maintain everything we have as it is draining valuable time away from other things. So, result….get rid of it!

    I plan to have a yard sale soon so the items don’t creep their way back into the house.

  39. Donna S says

    Oh, I need to do this too!! I dread it. We need to have a yard sale in May and I have tons of stuff to go through and price. Maybe this will motivate me to get moving! Have fun!!

  40. Ally says

    I am totally getting ready for one too with my mom in May.. for our city wide sale. I am selling a lot of my baby junk, as I don’t know when we will be *able* to have another one. I am following your guidelines and marking everything pretty reasonably cheap!