Garage Sale Checklist

25 items · Home · Medium difficulty · 1 weekend

Plan and run a garage sale in order: permits and signs, sorting and price tags, change and payments, the layout on the day, and clearing what is left.

• Check your town's permit and sign rules

  Your HOA, if you have one, may have its own rules too.

• Pick a date, a start time and a rain plan

  A covered space or a backup date saves the sale if the forecast turns.

• Ask neighbors whether they want to join in

  A multi-family sale draws more buyers, and you can split the signs and the advertising.

• Go room by room and pull out what you will sell
• Test anything electrical

  Run an extension cord to the sale so buyers can see it work.

• Clean items and bag the small parts with them

  Tape a bag of screws, pieces or the manual to the item it belongs to.

• Price everything

  Round to whole dollars and quarters so making change stays easy.

• Use colored stickers for price bands

  Post a sign that says which color means which price.

• 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.

• Book a donation pickup or drop-off for the end of the sale

  Ask the charity in advance which items it takes.

• 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.

• Say in the ad whether you allow early birds

  Leave it out and expect people at your door before you open.

• Make big, simple signs

  The words GARAGE SALE, the address, the time and an arrow, in thick marker that a driver can read.

• Get small bills and coins from the bank

  Write down how much you start with so you can count the takings at the end.

• 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.

• Gather tables, blankets, a clothes rail and hangers
• Save bags, boxes and newspaper for wrapping
• Put the signs up the evening before or first thing that morning
• Lay items out by category, with furniture nearest the street

  Big pieces at the curb are what a passing driver sees first.

• 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.

• Line up a helper so someone is always at the money
• Cut prices in the last couple of hours

  Half price, or a set price for a full bag, clears a lot of small things.

• Send everything that did not sell to the donation pickup

  Load it into the car or set it on the porch for the pickup.

• Take down every sign the same day
• Count the takings against the change you started with

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