Have you had a Yard Sale lately?

I have often heard others refer to yard sales as being a waste of time or too much work for not enough money...I am here to prove that idea wrong.

For the last (ok, I am really not going to count); but for as long as I can remember, I have had summer yard sales to earn money for the latest and greatest item I wanted. Since I am soon to be having a baby girl, and that is something totally new and foriegn to me, I have decided to purge my home of anything and everything that I don't use or don't need and sell it. Then I will use the proceeds to buy things that I do need, like baby girl clothing.

So, what does it take to have a fantastic, money making yard sale...and lets face it, the MONEY is the most important part. From years of testing this process, I have deemed 3 necessities for having a great yardsale: Advertisement, Allurement and All-around Order.

1. Advertisement: If you are having a yard sale and you want people to come, you need to advertise at least a day ahead. Avid yardsalers check their local listings the night before or scope out the town the eve of the sale. If you want to be the hot pick on their list, you need to have your signs posted, your craigslist advertisement up and your newspaper add ready by at least the morning BEFORE your yardsale.

2. Allurement: What are you selling? Let's face it, as an avid yardsaler myself, I don't want to come to your sale and buy used underwear, a broken bra and a chipped coffee mug; hence, THROW THE CRAP OUT! Yard sales should be for items that you, yourself, would buy at a yardsale. 'Gently Used' should be your motto. If it is stained, torn or broken, it shouldn't be the front item at your sale.
In addition to nice 'gently used' items, you should include large ticket items in your sale such as furniture. Many newly married couples are too poor to hit the local furniture store and therefore are a prime target at yardsales. If you have furniture that just clutters your home, put it out towards the front of your sale to pull in the possible drive by shopper.

3. All-around Order: Nobody wants to dig though boxes of junk...yes, perhaps your boxes are filled with nice 'gently used' items, but to me or any other yardsaler, we are going to think JUNK. If you have tables, great, if not borrow them. Items are more likely to be bought if they are neatly displayed, with a noticeable price, on a table. Make sure your prices are faced towards the buyer and your items are displayed in categories. Put all your baby clothing nicely folded on one table, and your husbands electronics on another. Order at a yardsale can be just as appealing as shopping at the Mall!

Follow these three tips for success and you will find yourself in the MONEY!

OH, and by the way...if you are in the neighborhood, I am having a great yard sale tomorrow! And yes, I have sacrificed many of my pairs of 'gently used' shoes for the cause of my baby girl...