It is that time of year, y'all! Yard, Estate and Garage sales abound on Saturday mornings and I am finally finished with my semester which means no more working every saturday. I could not be more excited to be going out to some sales this morning. Here are some of my personal guidelines for what makes a successful Saturday morning yard saling excursion.
1. Wake up at a reasonable hour. (To me this means 8 or 9 A.M.) This is easy for me, but I know it isn't so for all people. You will most likely miss out on the good deals though if you don't so make your choice ahead of time. If it's really something you want to do, and especially if you are looking for something particular, you will want to head out early!
2. Get cash. It is unlikely that anyone will accept a check or card. You will want a mix of ones, fives, tens and quarters. Small bills allow you the freedom to barter and believe me, you want to barter! People just want to get rid of their stuff, so don't be afraid to offer them a lower price. I don't remember ever being turned down. If they do turn you down though, don't argue. It's their thing.
3. Log onto craigslist or your local classifieds to see where the sales are happening. In Utah KSL Classifieds is my favorite source for this. Search for your local area- on KSL you can choose how many miles from a certain city or zip you want to look at.
4. Choose which sales look worth your time. The key words to look for are "multi-family" "huge" "moving sale" & "everything must go." Then write down some of the addresses of the ones you want to hit and plan out a route so you don't zig zag across your town twelve times. Huge gas waste! Husband and I usually write them down first and then look at the addresses and number which ones we want to go to in which order. For example we'll hit the western most one first and head east, etc.
5. As you are driving you will inevitably see more signs or actual sales that were not advertised online. We usually give them a looksy. The more the merrier.
6. Bring a tape measure. This way you can measure clothes to see if they will fit you, or furniture to see if it will fit in your house, etc. It's just handy. I keep one in my purse all the time, not just for yard sales.
7. With all yard sales, sometimes they have claimed to have tons of stuff, but then you drive up and all they have is baby clothes laid across the lawn. If that's what you're looking for- awesome, but if not there is probably no point in getting out of the car.
8. Plan on either bringing beverages and snacks or buying some along the way. It can get hot out there and you'll be thirsty. A lot of sales will sell water bottles or soda, donuts, cookies, tamales, or whatever their thing is for fifty cents each or something like that. Since we think it's fun, husband and I usually just buy some of that stuff while we are out but if you don't want to partake, eat beforehand.
I hope you all find these tips helpful. I'm gonna go get out there. Hooray for spring!
-Sarah
If you want to see my tips for having a yard sale, they can be found here.
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