Get Ready for Summer by Having a Tag Sale

Summertime is finally here. The sun, the sand, the mess! An organized home can make summertime a lot more enjoyable, whether you are just planning to lounge around all summer or you want to get your home guest ready. It can be a lot of fun to have a tag sale to help you get your home summer ready. The tips that follow will help you get started!

Start at the top, and work to the bottom.

Moving from attic to basement is a good way to get your entire home ready for summer. As you move from top to bottom, cleaning as you go, look for items that are no longer needed. You should find a lot of “stuff” in the attic that you can get rid of, and the basement is another hot spot for overflow from closets and bedrooms. Designate a box on each floor for your tag or yard sale and add items as you work.

Get the family involved.

Have each member of the family sort through their belongings, organizing things as they go. Whatever they don’t need is designated for the yard sale. Clothing, shoes, purses, and accessories, out-of-date electronics, toys that have been outgrown, bed linens that have been replaced – all of it makes for excellent tag sale inventory.

Clean your entire “sale” inventory.

No one wants to buy something that is covered in dust. Put a little effort into cleaning the items that you have for sale and making them presentable. A little elbow grease can make all the difference between selling an item and having to toss it out or donate it.

Organize your tag sale.

Put everything in a box and label boxes. For instance, one box might be “children’s clothing” while another might be “kitchen utensils”. This will help you to organize your merchandise the day of the sale.

Tag it all.

One thing that really cuts down on the success of a tag sale is the absence of tags. Be sure that everything in your sale is marked with a price. Many people won’t ask how much something costs. They’ll just skip it.

Get the neighborhood involved.

The bigger the tag or yard sale, the better. Bigger sales attract more customers – and more customers seem to lure others in to stop and “shop”. Ask your neighbors to join you in your yard sale. Getting the entire block involved can only mean one thing – a more successful sale.

Advertise and promote your yard sale.

List your yard sale on online sites like craigslist.org, among others. Make lots of signs pointing to your home, starting about three blocks out, or further. Advertise your yard sale on bulletin boards at community centers, shopping centers, and so on.

Have an exit strategy.

If you have a particularly large number of items, it can sometimes be beneficial to run your yard sale for more than one day. But you must know when to quit. After a day or so of attempted selling, have an “exit strategy”. This means taking everything that is left and donating it to a local Goodwill or other charitable retailer. Never bring the items that you have resolved to part with back home with you, as this will just clutter up your newly organized home.
by Jessica Ackerman

Targeting “do it yourselfers”, Jessica Ackerman writes regularly for WallDecorandHomeAccents.com, offering simple illustrations of southwestern wall decor and wall art.