The Day Before Your Yard Sale

I am writing these posts as I prepare for my own yard sale. Perhaps you are doing the same. If you have not read the last several posts, I encourage you to that. By the time you execute this post, you have gone through your home (at least once) and gathered clothes, shoes, appliances, gadgets, toys, dishes, and other things you aren’t using, don’t need, or don’t want- but others can still use. You have selected your yard sale date(s)/time(s). You have freshened up, sorted, and priced items. You have solicited help and maybe even gotten someone to co-host the event with you.

Tomorrow’s the big day and you have a few big things to do. It’s going to take a tremendous amount of energy on the day of your Yard Sale. You’ll have adrenaline to help get you through, though. If you haven’t had a yard sale before, you might underestimate (like I did), how long it will take to setup outside (and cleanup afterwards). Setup will take possibly 1.5 hours, if you have a lot of items- a little less if you have some helpers with muscles and energy. The day before is important.

Stage Your Items

Small items that are similarly valued should already be in a tote for the same price. Use medium and large totes, bins, boxes, or bags to group similar things together. Some items you might chose to keep in the totes the day of the event. Others are only being placed in bins, for the purposes of keeping like items together and for carrying them outside. They shouldn’t be so big or heavy that you and your helpers can’t lift them. So put the lightest things, like comforters and stuffed animals in large totes and heavier items, like shoes in medium size totes. Don’t put clothes on hangers inside totes because they’ll be a mess to get out. Just drape clothes across the sofa, a chair, or table. Everything won’t fit in totes and that’s fine.

Move things near the door you’ll be using to carry things outside. Stack display tables, tents, signs,

totes, bins, boxes, etc., near the door in an organized way. Try to get everything at least in the same room. Don’t leave miscellaneous things in that room, that might get accidentally picked up and set outside by your helpers. You’re staging items near the door because you’ll be making several trips to bring items from inside to outside and although it was necessary to spread them out for sorting, you’ll need to save time and energy every way possible. If you have steps, it’s going to take tremendous energy every time you all have to go back inside to get something. I made the mistake of using my whole first floor. I had things grouped all around and on the day of, things were being dragged out that shouldn’t and I found things inside that never made it outside until hours later. I learned from that.

Check-in

Check-in with your helpers. Make sure everyone is still planning to come. You may be tired, but sound excited when you talk to them. It’s not a fake-out: you really are excited. Tomorrow’s the big day. You’ve put a lot of work in and you’re anxious to see how things will turn out. Don’t waste their time, catching them up on everything you have been doing, even if they ask, “How’s it going.” Give them the short answer, confirm their attendance, let them know what time to arrive, and remind them of how they’ll be helping. If they are helping to setup, they should arrive at least 1.5 hours prior, if you have a lot of stuff to setup. Confirm you have something for them to eat and drink, tomorrow.

Get Some Rest

Staging your items and checking in with your helpers should have taken 1.5 to 2 hours. It should still be early in the day or evening. Turn in earlier than normal.  Shower, review your checklist (adding and checking off any last-minute to-dos), pray, and try to go to sleep around 8 or 9pm. You’ll have to be up around 5 or 6am and ready before your helpers arrive.

Conclusion

If you have been following these posts, your yard sale prep should be going well. This increases the likelihood of success on event day. Staging your items near the entrance, doing your final check-in, and getting to bed earlier, are going to help make the day-of tasks much easier.