Garage Sales 101 – Preparing, pricing and advertising

Here’s the next installment in our Garage Sales 101 series. Today I’ll talking about how to attract potential buyers for your sale, preparing your stuff and pricing.

Step 3: How to Attract Buyers to a Garage Sale

Advertising is obviously a very critical planning task – without bringing in lots of potential buyers, you cannot have a financially rewarding sale. The time and effort invested in having a garage sale is significant, so it makes sense to invest time in promoting your sale to ensure you get the biggest bang for your time investment. Here are some thoughts and tips for promoting your garage sale:

Advertise, Advertise, Advertise

Look for free or very low-cost ways to get the word out about your sale. Neighborhood newsletter, local community papers and signs strategically placed on the street are also good options.

• Capitalize on the internet – I’ve had two garage sales in the past two years and I found Craig’s List to be the best free way to advertise a garage sale.  Several visitors to my sale shared with me that they go to Craig’s List on Friday or Saturday morning to print out the garage sales they want to attend. Then they map their route. I did not do any paid advertising for either of my garage sales after I learned about Craig’s List. Another online resource is http://www.garagesalestracker.com/.
• E-mail friends and family who can pass it along to others. I even shared my garage sale information with Facebook friends and had two people attend that had read it on Facebook. One visitor from Facebook was actually an old high school friend who I’d not seen in 30 years.
• Signs – Make sure these are visible from a distance. Avoid pastel colors, and use block lettering. If your location is not obvious from the address, you will need to post directional signs on the day of the sale. Arrows at each corner also are helpful. Remember to remove the signs once your sale is over.

Step 4: Preparing the Stuff

As you prepare your items for sale, be sure to:

• Search through pockets, purses, and books. You may find items reflecting personal information such as credit cards, Social Security numbers, cards or pictures with sentimental value, or even money. I recall several years ago when I was selling some of my grandmother’s items when she was downsizing, I found a c. 1875 bill in one of her purses.
• Put big items in view of people from the street. This entices buyers to stop. Since certain items like tools, lawn mowers, and exercise and sports equipment seem to catch the eye of make shoppers, be sure these are among your visible items.
• Have bags and boxes available for customers. Begin collecting plastic and paper bags a week or two before your sale. There is no cost to you, and it is a nice convenience that is greatly appreciated by your buyers.
• Minimize buyer objections by sprucing up your items – Use all purpose cleaner or just damp rags to clean off and spruce up your items. I had a buyer once ask me to lower the price on a trash can because she would have to take it home and clean it.

Step 5: Show Me the Money

Now the fun part …setting prices.

Mark the items with a price. This will save constant questioning from potential buyers. Set a price that is realistic and allow for some typical negotiating – but never up – when bargaining with a customer. To price an item in good usable condition, a general rule of thumb is 25 percent to 30 percent of its original value.  Of course, age, style of item will play a part in pricing. For example, an old printer, even in good working condition, won’t bring in the typical 25-30% because of the type of item it is.  It may be hard to sell clothing or accessories in gently used or even new condition if either the style or color reflects its age.

Try to take the work out of looking. If you have lots of similar items like books, CDs or kitchen utensils, save time by simply putting a sign on the table or box indicating your prices. For example, pricing may be 50-cents each or three for $1. Piling all the items on a table or having multiple layers in a box is not conducive for easy shopping. If you take the time to arrange the items in some order, buyers may be more encouraged to browse. Try to set prices at whole dollar or half dollar amounts to make it easy and quick to make change.

Have sufficient money on hand to make change. I typically start with $50-$60 dollars in mostly small bills. Keep all money on your person, either in your pockets, in a money apron or a fanny pack. Money sitting around in an envelope or box is just too tempting if you get distracted. It is advisable not to accept checks.

Post a sign that says all sales are final. You don’t want someone asking for a refund if a cheaper substitute is found down the road.

Originally posted 2010-08-27 13:41:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

How to Avoid the Linen Closet Avalanche

Oh how easy it is to accumulate a large collection of mismatched and worn-out linens that crowd shelves in heaps, so jammed together that when you tug for a towel or reach for that yellow sheet, everything comes tumbling down.

With these tips, whipping your linen closet into shape will be one of the easiest organizing projects you’ll tackle. And it’s an excellent way to feel you have at least one thing under control.

Sort, Purge and Organize
First, sort all your towels and sheets to determine which are worth keeping and which should go. Turn worn-out and thread-bare towels and sheets into rags or garage dust covers.

Have you ever thought about how much is enough when it comes to linens. A guideline that I uncovered is that you don’t need more than three sets of sheets per bed and as few as three sets of bath sheets or towels, hand towels, and washcloths per person (more if you change towels daily.) This gives you one set in use, one in the hamper, and one in the closet ready for action. You’ll need only one or two sets for guests (one on the bed and one in the hamper or closet).

Resist the temptation to hoard extra sets for emergencies. Honestly, what emergency could occur that you would need extras, ones that really just sit in a closet and never to see the light of day? Use the one-in/one-out inventory rule to keep your inventory under control. When you acquire a new set, retire an old one.

Give your linens room to breathe
There are few things more refreshing than the fragrance of clean sheets and towels. But if your linen closet is crammed full, you’ll actually cause the opposite to occur. Textiles experts indicate that air flow is important to the safe storage of most textiles. If linens are crowded without room to breathe the fibers retain moisture, which attracts mold, mildew and possible permanent damage to the fabric. Experts recommend airing out your linens every three months to eliminate trapped moisture. If you find you have musty smells in your linen closet, experts suggest that you can chase away mustiness with an open container of baking soda, activated charcoal, or calcium carbonate.

Over the next several months I will be featuring excerpts of my new book and family chore system ‘Mom, Can I Help Around the House? A Simple Step-by-step System for Teaching Your Children Life-long Skills for Pitching in and Picking up’ To learn more about the book, visit: www.KidsandChores.net

I start this series with an explanation about why, as an Organizing Consultant, I felt this topic of calming the chaos by getting kids on board to contribute to household maintenance was so necessary to write about and put forth.

In my work with clients for the past four years, I’ve observed many characteristics in chaotic homes, but here I focus on four major characteristics that I’ve found to be most common.

1. Lack of systems and homes for belongings
Without systems and procedures, each time a task is performed; it’s like reinventing the wheel. Time, energy and productivity are lost. In addition, if belongings do not have consistent homes, then again, time, energy and productivity are lost when searching for needed items. Without systems and regular homes for belongings, family members have nothing to count on in the home, like “this is the process for performing this task, or this is where we put this item.”

2. Children not consistently performing home maintenance tasks as an active member of the family team
Let me share with you one lesson I’ve learned in my many years as an Organizing Consultant and parent of two … you cannot truly gain control of your home and achieve an organized lifestyle if your children are not an active and contributing member of the family team working toward the common goal of keeping the home picked up, organized, and running smoothly.

From my observation, the less the children are given clear home maintenance expectations (chores) and consequences for not performing these expected tasks, the more chaotic and disorderly is the home, and the more frazzled and overwhelmed is the home manager.

3. Procrastination runs rampant in chaotic homes
Procrastination is a bad habit. There is really nothing positive that comes from choosing to procrastinate. In the organizing world we define it as a delayed decision. There are many causes of procrastination, most notably our increasingly fast paced 24/7 lifestyle, but essentially, procrastination is an impulse to delay an action or decision until a later time. Procrastination is always present in disorganized and chaotic homes. Procrastination often spreads to all family members – when one person gets away with it, it opens the door for others to adopt the same behavior.

4. More stuff comes into the home than leaves
With the massive debt that the average American carries, it is no surprise that our homes are bursting at the seams with over purchasing and consumption. Common in chaotic homes, are often few limits placed on how much stuff comes into the home. Impulse purchasing is common, with little analysis about the purpose of a new purchase or where it will be stored once home. Then as a result of our busy lives, we never get around to the drudgery of purging little used and no longer valued stuff. Without regular efforts to equalize our stuff (eliminate equal amounts of existing stuff as new stuff is brought home), our homes are soon bursting at the seams and in a state of chaos.

There are many more common characteristics than the four I’ve detailed above, but these major characteristics will give you some food for thought. Can you identify your own household in any of these characteristics?

Originally posted 2008-08-22 08:57:18. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

How will you observe “Buy Nothing Day?”

Here are some eye-opening facts as we approach the busiest buying season of the year.

• The average American wastes 55-minutes per day (roughly 12 weeks per year) looking for misplaced belongings.
• 75% of Americans visit malls each week. On average, Americans shop six hours a week.
• Today, many new homes are built with three-car garages the size of an entire house in the 1950s.
• We receive as much mail in a week as our parents received in a month and as much mail in a month as our grandparents received in a lifetime.” (source: USPS)

 

The Day After Thanksgiving is BUY NOTHING DAY! How will you observe it?

 

This internationally-recognized holiday is an opportunity to challenge yourself, your family, and your friends to take a day off from shopping. Recent statistics reveal that Americans spend 6 hours per week shopping. Instead of hitting the malls, spend some time – rather than money – doing things that bring you joy and fulfillment. Here are a few tips to get you started:

 

FOCUS ENERGY ELSEWHERE
Does your “To Do” list have you constantly running, buying, doing, and getting? Try simplifying your life by slowing down to appreciate the good around you. When do you find yourself smiling or happy? Pursue those activities that energize and revitalize you. Starting today, make a few conscious choices to spend your time and energy differently.

 

AVOID TEMPTATION
Do you find yourself running to multiple stores each week to get all those great sale items? Make a decision to try a few weeks without reading the Sunday sale ads. Make a running list of the items that you absolutely cannot live without, pledge to purchase only items that are on that list. You’ll be amazed at the time and money you save!

BE AWARE OF CLUTTER’S CURSE
When you spend money, you’re bound to accumulate clutter. Clutter takes up time, space, energy, and/or money without providing any tangible benefit. Consider the time and effort it takes to care for your belongings. Could you think of better ways to spend your time?

LOOK DEEPER
Before you buy, think about what’s truly important to you. What brings you joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment? Try to look beyond the initial “thrill of the purchase” and see what provides deeper moments of meaning. 

 

Anything less than a conscious commitment to the important is an unconscious commitment to the unimportant.

~ Stephen R. Covey, Ph.D.

Originally posted 2008-11-25 05:14:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Reduce Household Spending One Coupon at a Time

Everyone is worried about the current state of our economy, with good reason. But much of what is going on globally is out of our control.  What we do have control over is how we spend our own money.

One of the easiest ways to reduce household spending is to use coupons when you shop. It’s a no brainer … if you found fifty-cents, seventy-five cents … a dollar on the floor, wouldn’t you pick it up and feel like luck was on your side that day? Isn’t using coupons like finding money on the floor?  You bet! Yet a small percentage of Americans even use coupons, let alone have a system for organizing, storing and redeeming coupons. Consequently they spend much more of their hard-earned money on household purchases than necessary. Yes, it takes some time to get set-up ~ all the more reason to have an organized system in place to greatly reduce the time it takes to use this free money when you shop. I’ll be highlighting three tools and systems here that you can use to stay organized and find the most savings possible with coupons.

To get started learning about the world of couponing, I found a helpful guide written by a money-conscience mom Stephanie Nelson, Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom. This 165-page guide is a quick read and a great resource to help you learn how to find, clip, sort and organize coupons for saving money on every household purchase. Stephanie shares all of her coupon-clipping, money-saving tips and tricks.

 

Another very helpful organizational tool for saving money with coupons is The Couponizer, developed by Amy Bergin, another cost-conscience mom. Amy developed this system for her family when other systems she tried were too cumbersome. The Couponizer system she developed gives you all the tools you need to clip, organize, store and use your coupons to reduce household spending. Included with the Couponizer system are:

• a clear zippered storage bag
• scissors
• Money-saving Guide
• shopping list
• Coupstacker, which is an organizing mat for sorting clipped coupons to insert into.

The Couponizer categories.

Some of the categories are: Meat, Vegetables, Breakfast, Dairy and many more.

The Couponizer even includes a plastic sleeve to store your frequent-buyer cards and coupons that are about to expire.  One of it’s best features is that The Couponizer is designed to lay flat in your grocery cart, making it easier to find and retrieve a coupon and maneuver the cart at the same time.

I’ve heard people say that when they have coupons they often buy products they wouldn’t ordinarily, so they actually spend more money when they use coupons. The solution for this is to never go to the store without a list of what you truly need. In our home we use a shopping list called ALL OUT OF notepad, which is a 6 x 9 sized shopping list pad shopping list pad which adheres to your refrigerator with a heavy-duty magnet.  The ALL OUT OF notepad saves you the hassle of having to write out a shopping list each time you shop. As we deplete household items, we circle the needed item on the ALL OUT OF notepad on our refrigerator. We tear off the already prepared shopping list and take it with us to the store. 

When your coupons are organized it will be much easier to find and use them to save big money during every trip to the grocery store. I get great satisfaction from seeing the subtotal at the register, then watching the total reduce as each coupon is scanned. It’s like getting free groceries.

Originally posted 2009-02-25 13:26:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Celebrate March’s Clutter Awareness Month

The word “clutter” derives from the Middle English word “clotter,” which means coagulate. Think stagnant, accumulated … stuck! When clutter invades our homes and offices, it can our space cluttered … and us disorganized as a result. We lose things, forget to pay bills, we procrastinate and waste time. So stop contemplating your clutter and dedicate some time to conquering it!

DEFINE “CLUTTER.” Clutter is anything unnecessary and extraneous. It can be more than the physical clutter most of us think of. Getting organized means clearing out the clutter in your mind, heart, and life.

START THE PROCESS OF DECLUTTERING. Start small. Divide your desk or room into sections. Pick one section (like a drawer, cabinet or closet) and begin decluttering. Try to touch things only once while going through this process – quickly make a decision to keep or toss.

ASK IF YOU CONSIDER EACH ITEM BEAUTIFUL, USEFUL, OR LOVED. If not, why are you keeping it?  If you’re still not sure if you should get rid of an item, ask yourself, “What is the worse thing that could happen if I toss this?” The answer may help give you the power to discard the clutter.

TO STOP CLUTTER, PREVENT IT FROM ACCUMULATING IN THE FIRST PLACE. Don’t give clutter a chance to form. As you’ve probably experienced, once clutter occupies a space, it has a way of multiplying. Always remember to place your emphasis on quality or quantity. In other words, it’s not important to have a lot of things, many of which you never use. It’s more beneficial to have fewer things, all of which you use and/or enjoy.

THINK BEFORE YOU BUY. Try to look beyond the initial “thrill of the purchase” and see what provides deeper moments of meaning. Once you rid yourself of clutter and make space only for what’s special and useful, you’ll find it’s easier to get – and stay – organized!

Hope you’ll visit The Organizing Genie blog again when you need home and office organizing suggestions and advice. I’m always here for you!

Originally posted 2010-03-10 14:43:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Are You Chronically Disorganized?

Does your home or office regularly look like a tornado just blew through?

Do you regularly waste time looking for something you know “is around here somewhere?”

Do you have paper piles on most flat surfaces and all around your office, desk, floor or home?

Has this been an ongoing challenge for you for 6 months or more?

If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions, then you may have characteristics referred to in the Professional Organizing industry as Chronic Disorganization (CD).  Although it is not a medical or psychological disorder (yet), chronic disorganization can cause you real problems.  You may be shaking your head in agreement at this point, because you or someone you know may fit this description.

Chronically disorganized people have likely developed habits that are having adverse effects on their quality of life or those around them.  They are rarely prepared for meetings, appointments, paying bills on time, deadlines, finishing things they start, filing papers, putting things away after using them, or any combination of these.  They may feel they have little control over their lives, as life tends to control them. (Visit www.nsgcd.org - National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization – for a more comprehensive checklist of characteristics).

If you have children at home, be aware that organization (and chronic disorganization) is a learned skill. Children WILL develop the same habits in their life while still at home and when on their own. Is this the kind of pattern you want your children to learn from you? We all know “children learn what they live…” Your bad habits will be modeled to and assimilated by your children. How are you going to get them to learn to clean up after themselves if they live with the disorganized clutter you’ve created all around them?

A person can be chronically disorganized at work but not at home, and vice versa.  Once one gets so backlogged with mail, paperwork, clutter or disorganization, he/she tends to avoid the situation even more.  This willingness to endure the clutter causes further stresses and frustrations due to the overwhelm generated by the thought of addressing (or avoiding) the issue.

Disciplining one’s self to get organized can be as simple as taking the first step.  Ironically, this can be one of the most valuable uses of a CD’s time.  Instead they spend it compounding the problem.  In the “being busy,” they avoid attacking the situation head on.  While in their office, the avoidance is compounded by working around the piles, not realizing the stress they feel is due to the surrounding disorganization.  The vicious cycle continues until intervention is sought.

The good news is, getting organized does not have to be a painful process.  It is a matter of breaking old habits and establishing new ones.  We, as professional organizers and productivity consultants, are available to guide you through the process.  We not only help clean up, we teach you the systems, solutions  and skills that save time and help you maintain the organization.

Soon, a newfound sense of freedom and control is realized.  This rejuvenation then propels you forward, creating a positive impact other areas of one’s life.

The following tips can get you started:

* Commit to putting in a few hours at a time to get organized
* Find an appropriate place (a home) for each item
* Place papers and items in those homes when they are brought into the home or office
* Set up systems that save time
* Purge files, drawers and closets annually at a minimum

* Make a To-Do list EVERY DAY, the evening before

If you’re open to learning organizing methods and processes from reading, our ebook , Home Organization Secrets for Busy Moms is 80 pages of all my best tips, strategies, and photos for getting control of your space and your life.
I also highly recommend Organizing From the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern. She lays out the organizing process in an easy to follow format.

If you at are feeling overwhelmed by the thought of even getting started or are having trouble focusing on the job at hand, then I have found that it will be difficult for you get started without support. That’s what we’re her for.  We will come to assist you, or if you live out of the central Indiana area, or money is an issue, we can set up phone coaching sessions to assist you. Suffer no longer, we are here to assist you to get back in control of your home, office and your life!

It may not feel possible right now, but I assure you it is possible and it will change your life for the better. But also realize that there is not a quick fix, short of setting your house on fire. It didn’t happen overnight and it won’t be fixed overnight.

As I say to my clients, “you can’t put a price on getting your life back”, and that’s what breaking the habit of chronic disorganization will do for you.

Originally posted 2010-07-16 10:47:23. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Drowning in junk: Hoarding called a public health issue

Hoarding is becoming an increasing public and personal health issue. On August 5, 2010, CNN reported on a recent tragic story of an 82-year-old woman who died in her home, but rescue workers were not able to get in the home due to trash and clutter piled up to the ceiling.  They had to drill a hole in the roof to get into the home to retrieve the body. CNN reporter Madison Parks says:

“They and others like them are hoarders, people who amass excessive numbers of possessions and don’t discard them. In extreme cases, hoarders’ obsession with junk has led to fires, attracted vermin, endangered their families, neighbors and themselves to the extent that experts describe it as a growing public health problem.

Hoarding has become so frequent that a growing number of cities have formed task forces to bring housing, elderly services and health departments together to address the cases.”

As a Professional Organizer since 2005, I can attest to this. In the past two years I have seen more extreme cases of hoarding, which has led me to join the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization to receive additional training and resources.

Fortunately, TV shows like Hoarders on A & E are bringing this health issue to the forefront.

The article also mentions that psychiatrists are considering including Hoarding in the Mental Disorders Manual.

I will let the CNN article tell the story.

Here are a couple of books on the topic that I and others in my field, highly recommend. These, and other books on hoarding are available at Amazon.com

 

I welcome anyone who reads this to share their story with me. Talking about it, even anonomously, can be the first step to getting help.

Originally posted 2010-08-23 10:21:03. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

FEBRUARY is Archive Your Files Month

What’s the shape of your home filing system? Are your filing drawers stuffed so full that it’s nearly impossible to get another piece of paper into – or out of – them? This is sure to create additional piles around your file cabinet(s) because its such an inconvenience to get the filing done.

Once a year, you should schedule time to review your files and purge as much as possible, leaving room for next year’s papers. Consider these tips for maintaining a lean and accessible home filing system.

DETERMINE WHAT TO KEEP

As you sort through papers, ask yourself, “When will I really need this again?” “Can it be easily recreated or retrieved elsewhere?’ Don’t hang onto things unless you have a really good reason! Be ruthless – remember, 80% of the things you file will need get referred to again!

KEEP RECORDS RETENTION GUIDELINES IN MIND 

Your accountant, attorney, or professional organizer can tell you which documents you should keep for legal and tax purposes. Think in terms of what you would need to have to support your tax return. If there is no tax implication for a piece of paper on a current or past tax return, there is likely no purpose to hold onto the paper.  

SOME PAPERS CAN BE IMMEDIATELY TOSSED

Instruction manuals for products you no longer own, old research materials, previous drafts of letters, out-of-date magazine and articles, and receipts for items past their return date can be discarded.

STASH IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS IN A SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX or HOME SAFE

It is imperative that you stock your safety deposit box or home safe with the following papers (originals):

• adoption and citizenship papers
• passports
• birth, death, and marriage certificates
• deeds
• divorce decrees
•  insurance policy papers
• lease agreements and loan documents
• mortgage papers
• personal property appraisals (jewelry, collectibles)
• Social Security cards
• stock and bond certificates
• vehicle titles
• copies of wills and powers of attorney papers

And don’t forget to LOCK your home safe each time you access it. Most home safe’s are NOT fireproof if the lock is not engaged.

Setting up a home filing system can be a time-consuming chore, so I found a great ready-made filing system FILESOLUTIONS Home Filing System, that takes about an hour to set up, and it lasts a life-time. I’ll soon do a detailed review of this product, but for now, here’s more information about this essential ready-made filing system.

Originally posted 2010-02-06 18:18:39. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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