Spring Cleaning for the Family
Spring is here!! Finally. It seems Mother Nature teased and taunted us this year, but at least she finally relented. When I think of spring some terms that always come to mind include fresh, new and clean! Spring also makes me want to declutter my home. And what better thing to do with your “treasures” but to sell them in a yard sale!
Yard sales really are a great way to get rid of things you don’t need, and make a little money in the process. Believe it or not, they can also be a great family activity. We get our children involved in clearing out old toys in exchange for the three of them sharing all of the proceeds from whatever it is they sell. I actually have to tell them NOT to sell everything –or they would!
Of course, you can’t just toss some items on a table and call it a sale. It does take some prep work in order to have a successful sale. Here are a few tips that have helped our family:
Pick a good day and time for your sale. Most sales are best held on a Friday and/or Saturday. However, you should drive around your own neighborhood to see when sales are held and plan accordingly.
Set up and display. If you take extra time to wipe down items and make sure they are clean, you are more likely to sell them. In addition, make sure everything has a price clearly marked. It is also best to arrange your items in categories. Set up a table that has nothing but kitchen items on it and another table with your kids’ toys. If you can, hang your clothes by size and take small paper plates and cut a center out of them to use them to divide the sizes (as you see in your clothing stores). Anything you can do to make it easy for your visitors to shop can make them more willing to buy.
Be ready on the day of your sale. Always have enough small change to break larger bills since many will use $1 to purchase something priced at $0.25. Make sure there are signs up and down your street to help your shoppers easily find you. Be ready (and willing) to negotiate your prices – people love to haggle to get an even better deal.
Get the kids involved. As I mentioned above, we always have our kids help decide what they want to sell. We’ll also have them help set up the table and toys so they can see what they are selling. Our oldest daughter also sets up a lemonade stand – all by herself. She creates the sign, sets up the cups and then tries to sell it to everyone who comes in. Of course, shoppers try to negotiate down mom’s prices, but don’t bat an eye to hand her 10x her sales price for a single cup of juice (yes, she has an irresistible smile)!
No matter what, just have fun spending some time with your family. Remember that even if you make $25 that is $25 you didn’t have before you started. Plus, as a bonus, you’ll get lots of items cleaned out of your house. A win-win situation!
