Unclutter Your Life - Have a Garage Sale
Whoever coined the phrase "you can't take it with you" wasn't talking about moving your possessions from one house to another. ... But maybe he should have been.
Whether you're showing a house for sale or moving into another one, having less stuff can be a great advantage. For starters, your house is going to look great with less clutter, which could lead to a quicker sale. And when it comes time to move, having less is far easier on you.
It could be easier on your wallet, too. Professional moving companies often charge by weight. The less you have, the less they have to charge. It's that simple. If, however, you want to put a little extra weight in your wallet, consider having a garage sale.
Summer is a great time for garage sales. It's also the perfect time to re-assess what you should keep and what you should take with you. If you're like most New Englanders, you have more clothes than you need; more kitchen gadgets than you use; more books than you can read; more skis than feet; more feet of hose than yard; more yards of fabric and a small mountain of other items in your closets, attic, and garage. Even if you're not moving, a garage sale is a great way to simplify and unclutter your house. But because you are moving, you may want to consider selling anything that is packing fodder that you're not particularly attached to - bicycles, grills, lamps, furniture, lawn equipment.
Not only will you eliminate bundles of boxes to pack, you could make a small bundle for your bank account, too. So here are a few tips to help make sure your garage sale is successful: First, make sure covenants, restrictions, or rules in your neighborhood allow you to hold a garage sale in the first place. Check with your neighborhood association or with the town clerk.
Even if you are permitted to hold a sale, your yard may not be the best place for it. Where will people park? Make sure there's space for at least five cars. Can you put up signs without offending anyone? If you don't have favorable answers to these questions, consider holding your sale at a relative's or friend's house, where the location is better suited for bargain-hunting traffic.
If you live off the beaten trail, you should place a classified ad in your local newspaper. Most newspapers also have an Internet presence as well, where your ad will also be available to Web surfers. But don't neglect other advertising methods. Put up fliers at community bulletin boards, for example.
And on the day of the sale, post directional signs. Sticking up signs on wickets, however, can be a sticky wicket. Do not, for instance, put signs on utility poles; it's illegal and dangerous to utility workers. Nailing signs to trees is bad for the trees. And placing placards in neighbors' yards without permission is downright rude.
Affixing sturdy cardboard signs to tomato stakes is the least invasive method of posting a freestanding sign. And if your neighbors don't mind, you could tell them that such signs aerate yards.
If it is possible to post polite and legal signs, make sure the letters are big enough for drive-by viewing. And - on the good-manners' scale, this is a biggy - make sure you take the signs down when your sale is done.
Even with advertising and good signs, however, most of your yard sale traffic will come from the casual drive-by visitors and neighbors. To attract their attention, make sure you have the good stuff on display up front. Dressers are a big attraction, for example. To attract male visitors (who weren't just dragged along by their spouses) put a few prime garage items up front as well-ladders, lawn mowers, working TVs, and recliner chairs are good choices.
Children's clothes can be a big attraction, too. To make a nicer presentation, put clothes on a rack rather than on a table. Folded clothes won't stay folded, and having a rack will be easier on you to keep things neat.
And finally, make sure you price your stuff to sell. If you don't sell it, donate it to Goodwill or charity. The point is to eliminate the amount of stuff you'll have to stuff in boxes later.
When you let go of your material possessions, it may not be Nirvana exactly.
But it can be a very moving experience.
