Even I have to agree that the extent to which I have been excited about having a yard sale for years – years! – is a little bizarre. It significantly pre-dated ownership of an actual yard in which to have said sale in; I started sequestering items away in boxes marked “YARD SALE” about ten months prior to our move to the ‘burbs. Which meant both that I created a very annoying storage situation in an apartment that was already more than slightly lacking in that department…and also that I had a lot of stuff to sell when the big day officially arrived.
Why all this excitement? Some combination of the following:
1. It lets you play out the fantasy of owning a boutique (which is a fantasy that I have, although I’m aware that the reality of boutique-ownership is likely not nearly as idyllic as the picture I have in my head);
2. It creates an instant decluttering effect on your home (hate clutter; LOVE THIS);
3. It gives you the immediate gratification of collecting actual dollars with which you can buy actual pizzas later on that day;
4. It’s so much fun seeing things that you loved once but no longer get a ton of use out of go to people who are truly excited about them (the two teenage girls wearing plaid shirts and tortoiseshell glasses who showed up at my sale were practically bouncing up and down at the discovery of Kendrick’s oversized wool sweaters and my Marc Jacobs blouses).
Also, sitting in your yard all day long in the sunshine, chatting with your neighbors and essentially getting paid to do it is just really nice.
Now let’s talk tips. And lest you think that the fact that this was my first actual yard sale makes me unqualified to dole out said tips, let me settle your fears on this score, because the completely crazypants amount of preparation and research that I did in the months leading up to that sale makes me the official Champion Of All Yard Sales. I’m serious: I KILLED that yard sale.
SLAYED IT.
Here’s what I did, in case you would like to have – and then slay – your own.
1. Gather supplies in advance. Prior to the yard sale, I bought sticker labels and hanging labels in bulk on Amazon, and then rented two small tables and two clothing racks for a total of $58 (which ended up being very worth it). More must-haves: pens, a container (fanny pack-type thing or large wallet) to hold your money, at least $100 in ones and fives for change, and picnic blankets to lay out the ground so you can set things on the grass without getting them dirty.
2. Prep as much as possible. Make sure to put prices on your stuff prior to the morning-of: a surprising number of people will show up early, and you don’t want to be frantically trying to label items during that initial rush.
3. Arrange items in a way that makes sense. I cannot tell you the amount of husband eye-roll I got when I directed Kendrick to “please create visually coherent spaces” while he was setting out old bangle bracelets, but really: it helps if people aren’t just sifting through loads of stuff and can go right to the areas that hold the most interest for them.
4. Keep an eye out. The not-so-fun part of yard sales: thefts happen. I only had one – someone snagged a perfume out of its box – but I’ve heard stories of people having full-scale grand larcenies take place during yard sales. It sounds obvious, but it’s worth a reminder: lock your doors, have someone watching the sale at all times, and keep your items in as small (and thus manageable) a space as possible.
5. Call in a helper. (I asked my mom for help, so that Kendrick could take Indy to do something that he might enjoy slightly more than sitting still for ten hours.) You need at least two people to run a yard sale, in case one has to go inside for some reason. Also, it’s more fun that way.
6. Set out a mirror. If you’re selling things like jackets and sunglasses that people might want to try on, it’s considerate to pull out a mirror so they can check out what they look like in their potential new acquisition.
7. Set up a 25-cent box. Some things don’t require their own labels: go ahead and pile all the inexpensive odds-and-ends into one big box and let people sift through them on their own.
8. Divide clothing by price. Renting racks may seem like overkill, but if you have a lot of pieces that are in relatively good condition, it’s worth it. I put all my outerwear and nicer pieces on the hanging racks and labeled them with individual tags, and then piled sweaters, t-shirts and more casual items into bins.
9. Make a kid’s day. I put a bunch of little toys in a box and let each child who stopped by choose something for free; it kept them happy and entertained while their parents shopped – and made me happy, too.
10. Have a contingency plan. Rain happens. Know what you’re going to do if it happens to you.
