Back-to-School Strategy: Garage Sale

What would you say if we told you that in one fell swoop you could:

• Get rid of your gently-used, unwanted belongings
• Make some extra cash
• Keep the kids busy

It’s as simple as a garage sale, and the weeks before school starts provide the perfect window of opportunity. We can’t take all the credit for this great idea—we stole it from the Greater Houston Builders Association Remodeler’s Council. Cabinets & Designs President Maria Frank serves as the Education Chair for the Remodeler’s Council, and they are currently busy planning their 2014 garage sale event. We promise more on that in weeks to come.

In the meantime, an end-of-summer garage sale is the perfect way to get organized before the next school year starts, and it gives the kids who are home for summer vacation a few chores to keep them busy. You can even sneak in an economics and math lesson having the kids help price items before the sale, and—if they are old enough—run the “cash register” during the sale.

Before the Sale

After you have chosen a date, start choosing items for the sale. If you don’t feel like you have enough “stuff,” invite your friends to join and have a multi-household sale. The more items available, the more customers you will attract. Use bags to keep sets of things together (silverware, spare parts) and put a price tag on absolutely everything!

Don’t forget to advertise! Include your street address, and the time the sale starts.

Day of Sale

Put your biggest items out near the street—you need to catch the eye of passersby, not just the folks who are already coming to the sale. Another way to attract customers is to include a large, easy-to-spot FREE pile—anything you were planning to donate is perfect here, and anything left can (and should) be donated.

Put a price tag on everything to make things easy for the cashier. If multiple people are selling at the sale, use color-coded tags to keep track of sales.

After the Sale

Any big-ticket items leftover can be listed on Craigslist, if you have the time and space to continue to store them. Unsold items can also be donated to your local shelter, donation-based charity, or thrift shop. Don’t forget to inquire as to whether they can pick up larger, heavy items.

And of course, no summer Houston yard sale would be complete without cold refreshments! On a hot day, your customers would appreciate a glass of lemonade or iced tea—another great way to get the kids involved!

Check back with us at Cabinets & Designs during the month of August for more information on the GHBA Remodeler’s Council Garage Sale, as well as tips to help your post-garage sale life become more organized.