HYD Blog
thoughts on dwelling
The word “garage” came from the French word “garer” which means to protect, shelter or store. This is a helpful to keep in mind as you make thoughtful decisions about what is worth “protecting, sheltering or storing” in your own garage. This brings into question what is most important to you & the people in your home.
Help You Dwell has been busy lately clearing the excess from houses, garages and basements. Springtime is a great time for this! And working alongside our clients as they let go of all kinds of items to go to new homes is so satisfying both for us and our clients. One way several clients have decided to go about the purge is with a yard sale. A yard sale is a great choice if you have the time, energy and neighborhood to pull one off.
HYD recently had the opportunity to help a client from almost start to finish in preparing for a huge sale. We thought you could benefit from some of the planning tips we used to make her sale a success. If a sale is right for you, read on for a timeline of how to go about hosting your own successful sale. This is a great time of year to hold one!
PLAN A DATE, GET A BUDDY (OR A FEW)
- Yard sales are always more successful, less work, and more fun with friends &/or neighbors
- Saturdays always get the most traffic and Spring or Fall are the best times to hold one
- Check your local weekend planner guide for other events you may have to compete with
- Set time. Sales usually start at 8am and we suggest an end time as well, that way you can do an "everything's half off" when you're about to close up shop
2-4 WEEKS OUT
- Gather items and place in one space in your home
- Store sale items in trash bags or boxes so you're not tempted to extract an item once you've tagged it a sale item (Stay Strong - Let it Go!)
- Plan an exit strategy, either schedule the charity pick up (Habitat for Humanity ReStore or KARM Store) or the vehicle you will load to donate the items that don't sell
- Begin pricing. Think to yourself, "How much would I pay for this item at a yard sale?" or check online for suggestions if you're not an avid yard saler. This site is helpful.
1 WEEK OUT
- Place Craigslist advertisement. Read other ads first to get ideas of how to grab shoppers' attention and make sure to be clear on location, date, and time. Also, adding lists and photos of items helps draw more to your sale. Lastly, if you're not interested in "early birds," use a phrase like "early birds pay double" or "no early birds please."
- Use social media. Facebook is an easy place to just post your Craigslist ad.
- Make signs. Think less is more. Your sign should be on bright poster board, backed with cardboard and write with a thick black marker. Just write "Yard Sale" plus location, date, time. Arrows are great too especially for neighborhood sales.
THE WEEK OF
- Gather tables, tarps, tents, tablecloths to display and protect items
- Visit bank to obtain change
- Finalize pricing
- Get drinks and snacks for sale workers
DAY BEFORE
- Set up sale area
- Get items as close to prepared sale area as possible
- Gather grocery bags, boxes, and packing materials for customers to use
- Have apron with pockets, fanny pack or cash box ready
- Keep pricing materials close in case you missed any and need to add a quick price
SALE DAY
- Post signs
- Move all items to sale area
- Sell it all!
HYD got to hit the road in May to head to one of the East's coolest towns, Asheville, NC. We had quite a job ahead of us but the process and results were more amazing than we ever could've predicted.
www.kathleenblanchette.com/images/AshevilleScene
Meet Jen. Wife of a wonderful pastor, Mama of four incredible kids, inspiring musician, laugh out louder, lover of art, and keeper of lots and lots of things because, "Someday, someone might need that."
She was gifted some organizing sessions from an aunt who loves her and knows her well and she chose HYD to help her get down and dirty to clear out and clean up. Add to that a great hope of visiting a family in Colorado this summer but her family needs money for the trip.
HYD Organizing session + $ need for trip = YARD SALE !
HYD spent about 16 hours over two days hauling, encouraging, bagging, listening, laughing, rearranging, sifting, laughing some more, saving and organizing the last 30 years of Jen and family's life. It was awesome to say the least. And I mean awesome in the true sense of the word, as Webster says "causing great surprise or wonder; astonishing." She had no idea how much she'd acquired. She also had no idea how much money she could make and the freedom she would experience in giving others the opportunity to buy it! We just carried items from her basement and home straight to the front yard. And after two days of selling items, the family made almost $1000!!
Jen and her family have experienced a monumental shift in how they will relate to the items they now have and items they will bring into their home in the future. She just gave her own children the gift of seeing how our stuff can weigh us down and keep us feeling behind because we cannot organize it all. Less is more. Her keepsakes are now safely stored in designated containers but the "someday" items are someone else's "today" items that Jen no longer has to feel burdened by.
What a gift this job was to HYD. We will forever be blessed and thankful for this first road trip. Thanks Jen and Mark for letting us Help You Dwell.
