Simplify: How to Have the Easiest Garage Sale Ever JORDAN HARRELL I recently started doing the grand summer-to-
Fill boxes in the garage for a couple of weeks.
winter clothes transition in my kids’ closets. We are fortunate to have older cousins and a couple of
You don’t have to do this huge cleaning out. We
neighbors who pass things down to us, but
just pulled out a few of our biggest boxes and set
because it’s free, I always feel like I have to take it
them to the side in the garage. For a few weeks, if
all. I mean, who turns down free clothes? So during
we saw something we didn’t love, we would just
my sorting of all the things, I began to realize just
throw it in there. I would take my time going
how much we’d accumulated in the previous three
through a closet here, a bookshelf there. A few
seasons, not to mention the things they’d
things that seem to really accumulate are toys,
outgrown.
books (especially children’s books), and décor. It’s also great motivation for your kids to clean up their
That week also happened to coincide with our
messes, because they know if it’s out too long,
yearly dental appointments. As Chandler Bing
Mom’s gonna throw it in The Pile.
would say: “Could the dentist BE any more expensive?” Clearly, we needed to come up with
Don't price anything.
some extra cash. If you want, you can price the big stuff, like It seemed to be the perfect time for a garage sale. I
furniture. But don’t go through all the knick knacks
was pretty sure we wouldn’t have much to put in,
and take an entire evening sticking price stickers
as we’d just moved here a little over a year ago and
on every little thing. You can easily make $1, $2, and
had a garage sale before we moved. “We got rid of
$5 tables, or you can just let people ask, “How
EVERYTHING at that sale. Surely, we won’t have
much for this?,” which is what we did. The only
anything left to sell.” Wrong. Even if I don’t shop
prices we displayed were for clothing, which we
much, grandmas do. One walk through the house
hung on the bottom of the garage door with a big
left me with three boxes full of stuff that hadn’t
sign that said, “All clothes 50 cents each.”
been touched in months. Announce the sale on buy, sell, trade pages. I know, I know. The thought of a garage sale is daunting. It feels like a huge undertaking, and
Most areas will have a Facebook group where you
when we did ours last year, my husband really drug
can post pictures of what you’ll be selling a night or
his heels. “I don’t want to price stuff.” “It seems like
two before the sale. Craigslist is also a great place
too much work.” “Let’s just take it all to Goodwill.”
to advertise. Write a description of all the stuff that’s going to be out and include a time and your
But we needed the extra cash to offset the cost of
address. Be aware that you will probably get
moving, and we really didn’t want to pack more
messages from people asking you to hold items.
than was absolutely necessary, so we set out to
This is totally up to you, but it might be a pain to
have the easiest garage sale ever. This is what we
keep up with your messages the day of the sale
did then, and this is what we’re doing again this
wondering if they’re actually going to show up.
year. LOVE OF DIXIE MAGAZINE
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WINTER 2018-2019
