Garage Sale 101

We have all seen that sale item or special buy that we just have to have. Maybe you have told yourself "I so need this" or "How have I been living without this?"

My personal favorite is "I will use this everyday!" Just to make it OK that you're spending money. Then six months later, it ends up in a garage sale.

So for a few weeks now, I have been going through my stuff and asking myself, "Do I really need this?"

Do I really need 10 pairs of black capri pants? Do I really need three copies of the same book, because I can't remember that I've already read the book?

On the plus side, I did come across some items that I was glad to find, like my scientific calculator that has been missing for three months. Found it under the bed; along with Tigger's secret stash of my hair ties.

Looking at my cast-offs and soon to be merchandise for the big sale, it brought up a new question: "Where did I have all this stuff?" And boy, there is a lot of it.

My family and I are not professional garage sellers, but it's a yearly thing for us. We are not the kind of people that go to other sales just to stock up the merchandise for our sale. Our motto has always been if you don't use it, get rid of it! What doesn't sell we donate, and this works for us.

This last weekend, my family and I had a garage sale. You could say we were a bit crazy to have it in 90-plus degree weather. We had something for everyone. Tools, toys, jewelry, books, clothing; it was your typical garage sale.

Here's a bit of Garage Sale 101. The holy grail of garage sales is the multi-family sales. Even if it isn't a true muti-family sale, I would still put it in your ad to get the die-hard garage sale-goers to come. Those two words are like bees to honey. They have been know for camp out in front of the house just to get the chance to be the first one to lay there eyes on your cast offs. I mean "merchandise." At times, they can be mistaken for waiting to but the latest iPhone or concert tickets.

Also, you can never have too many ones, fives and tens. There will always be someone that wants to buy a 25 cent book, but all they have is a $50 bill. Also, putting up an "All sales final" sign wouldn't hurt.

Mark all your merchandise with some kind of tags and make sure that they are legible. Be open to people wanting to negotiate a price. It goes hand in hand with garage sales.

If you asked me before the sale started, I would have bet that the large dream catcher and the two life-size, evil-looking Christmas elves wouldn't have sold. But I guess the old saying still holds true: "One man's trash is another man's treasure."

I just figured out that its the book publisher's fault for changing the cover art on me. That's why I keep buying the same books over and over again.