TickYouOff
Sign in
Back
🏷️

Garage Sale Checklist

Medium 25 items · 1 weekend
testuser's avatar
testuser Published 1 day ago
Home

Look up your town’s rules before you pick a date. Some cities and homeowners’ associations require a permit for a garage sale, limit how many you can hold in a year, or ban signs on utility poles and street corners.

Price every item before the sale opens. A buyer who has to ask what something costs may put it down and move on, and in the first busy hour you will not have time to answer everyone. Colored stickers for a few price bands are much quicker than writing a price on each thing.

Decide before the morning what happens to everything that does not sell. A donation pickup booked for the afternoon, or a car loaded straight to the drop-off, stops the leftovers going back into the garage for another year.

Progress
0 / 25
  1. Check your town's permit and sign rules — Your HOA, if you have one, may have its own rules too.
  2. Pick a date, a start time and a rain plan — A covered space or a backup date saves the sale if the forecast turns.
  3. Ask neighbors whether they want to join in — A multi-family sale draws more buyers, and you can split the signs and the advertising.
  4. Go room by room and pull out what you will sell
  5. Test anything electrical — Run an extension cord to the sale so buyers can see it work.
  6. Clean items and bag the small parts with them — Tape a bag of screws, pieces or the manual to the item it belongs to.
  7. Price everything — Round to whole dollars and quarters so making change stays easy.
  8. Use colored stickers for price bands — Post a sign that says which color means which price.
  9. Cover or rope off anything in the garage that is not for sale — The tools, the bikes and the freezer will all get offers otherwise.
  10. Book a donation pickup or drop-off for the end of the sale — Ask the charity in advance which items it takes.
  11. Advertise online two or three days ahead — Post on local listing sites and neighborhood groups with the address, the start time and photos of the best items.
  12. Say in the ad whether you allow early birds — Leave it out and expect people at your door before you open.
  13. Make big, simple signs — The words GARAGE SALE, the address, the time and an arrow, in thick marker that a driver can read.
  14. Get small bills and coins from the bank — Write down how much you start with so you can count the takings at the end.
  15. Set up a way to take card or phone payments — Check that a payment has arrived in your account before the buyer leaves with the item.
  16. Gather tables, blankets, a clothes rail and hangers
  17. Save bags, boxes and newspaper for wrapping
  18. Put the signs up the evening before or first thing that morning
  19. Lay items out by category, with furniture nearest the street — Big pieces at the curb are what a passing driver sees first.
  20. Keep the house locked and the cash on you — A money apron or a pouch on you is safer than a cash box on the table.
  21. Line up a helper so someone is always at the money
  22. Cut prices in the last couple of hours — Half price, or a set price for a full bag, clears a lot of small things.
  23. Send everything that did not sell to the donation pickup — Load it into the car or set it on the porch for the pickup.
  24. Take down every sign the same day
  25. Count the takings against the change you started with
Sign in to save
📝 My Notes