6 Tips for a Successful Yard Sale

You get to a certain point in life when you think, "Why am I holding on to all of this stuff?" This is especially true if your kids are grown and gone, yet you've kept all of their prized possessions tucked away in your attic, basement or garage. Family heirlooms aside it might be time to invite your kids over to go through their stuff one last time—and take what they want to their house—and then plan to have a yard sale to clear out the clutter once and for all.

Even if you've never organized a yard sale of your own, here are six easy, tried-and-true tips that can help you get rid of most of your things and take in extra cash too.

1. Only Put Out the Good Stuff
   Sometimes junk is junk, and if you've got clothes with stains on them or furniture that's missing pieces—and you don't want it—chances are shoppers at your yard sale won't want it either. People who shop at yard sales want decent things at great prices. So be honest with yourself as your sort everything: if something belongs in the trash, put it out on the curb on garbage day, not on your yard sale day.
2. Figure Out Your Pricing System Ahead of Time
   You should approach pricing in one of two ways: One is to price everything ahead of time—all books $1, and everything in this box is 50 cents, for example. Some experts suggest pricing in increments of 25 cents only, which makes it easier to make change. The other is not putting prices on anything and then when someone ask you, "How much is this?" you can reply, "How much do you think this is worth?" Many times people offer more money than what you would have priced something for!
3. Make Sure You're Ready to Make Change
   One way to kill your yard sale is not to have enough change on hand. If you take the aforementioned advice of only pricing by 25-cent increments, then having rolls of quarters to make change is a must. So is having lots of singles, and even some fives and tens. Because if you don't and someone pays for something early in the day using a big bill, you won't be able to make change for the rest of the day. And where does that leave you? Not being able to sell as much stuff as possible
4. Advertise Your Sale A Lot
   Yard sale, tag sale, moving sale, garage sale—whatever you call it, you need signs to advertise your sale and to draw shoppers. A few days before your sale, put out signs on well-traveled roadways and busy intersections near your home. When it comes to those signs, keep the information simple: date, time and address.
5. Join Forces With Someone Else
   Sometimes you live in a place that just doesn't lend itself well for a yard sale, such as a quiet street or an apartment building. If you're committed to having that yard sale, see if you can piggyback on someone else's yard sale or organize a community yard sale in a central spot. For serious yard salers having one place to go to be able to poke through lots of different peoples' things is pretty much heaven. That means you're likely to draw bigger traffic when you combine your yard sale forces, and you'll sell more things overall.
6. Be Prepared to Get Started Earlier
   Diehard yard salers are out and ready to shop with the sunrise. If your sign advertises your sale starting at 8 a.m., be prepared to see cars lined up outside your house starting at 6:30 a.m. or 7 a.m. Instead of fighting the inevitable early birds, do all your staging and prepping the night before so you can open up shop when your shoppers first arrive. If you're lucky you might be sold out of stuff by lunchtime!