Cleaning can be an arduous task if you’re unorganized and don’t know where to begin. Here are some quick tips for organizing excessive clutter as you’re preparing for a garage sale:
-
Categorize your items. Designate a cleared space in your home where you can bring in your clutter. Allocate a space in the room for each category of items you have. For example, put all the kitchenware in one corner, all the small furniture in another, kids’ toys in another and miscellaneous/home items in another. -
No matter how you’re planning to sell your items (online or during a weekend tag sale) your next step should be to clean and dust the items. Items presented well will sell quicker and for more money.
-
Once your items are clean, determine which have value, and which are better off being given away for free or donated.
-
Do some homework. Research prices on sites like eBay, WhatSellsBest.com, or Amazon.com to see what some second-hand items are selling for. This generally works well for collectibles, electronics and furniture. If you don’t know what price to place on an item, don’t price it. Simply ask those interested to make a fair and/or reasonable offer for you to consider. That will give you an opportunity to haggle until you’re comfortable or make a quick deal.
-
Price your items and arrange them by category on tables. This is an optimal setup for people browsing and shopping for stuff.
-
The items/clutter you declared for sale were up for grabs, so don’t take that clutter back into your home unless your committed to trying to sell it online or if your housing it for a couple days until the Goodwill or Salvation Army comes to pick it up (or you drop it off). You might also consider donating gently used items to your local Churches if they’re having a fundraiser sale, or to one of your municipalities’ institutions for their use.