How to organize your yard sale. The flea and flea market season is approaching and a garage sale will be an opportunity for you to get rid of the clutter in your home. Anything can happen and your selection depends on your ability to accumulate items and… get rid of them.

Spending a day behind your stand is not improvised and the purpose of a yard sale is twofold: to make room at home and bring back a small nest egg that sounds and stumbles. This day will be an opportunity to play the grocery store, to try the art of negotiation, to meet people of all kinds who will push “Whaous” in front of some of your objects that will remind them of their childhood: I had the same one and then I lost or broke it… Promise to hunt for treasures or good deals, a garage sale is always a happy moment of shared idleness.
The 5 steps to prepare your garage sale
1 – Selection and sorting
We start with the above attic and from room to room we take the objects to the basement to gather them. Use it as an estimate to determine its value. If you are single it will be easier than in a couple or family because otherwise you will have to go through endless negotiations about “but you never use it”. Then they are sorted by theme and size so that when loaded they can be best wedged into your car, which has been transformed into a Sunday caravan.
As for the condition of your second-hand vehicles, the cleaner and in good condition they appear, the more likely you are to sell them. So take the time to wipe it with a cloth to dazzle passers-by.
2 – The survival kit of a garage sale
You are not going to go to the front without equipment, the basics are a table or board and trestles, chair, carpet, sheet or blanket to arrange your offerings. However, the essential unknown of a flea market in Mexico City or elsewhere is, as is often the case for any outdoor event: THE WEATHER! Don’t rely on your wet finger or your neighbour who guaranteed you good weather. Whatever the forecast, equip yourself with tarpaulins in case of sudden rain, a parasol in case of strong sun and why not an arbour which you will ensure the fixing so that a gust of wind does not spread it on the neighbouring stand… (lived experience!).
Taking bags and boxes can be useful or even decisive for a potential buyer during a yard sale. If he can’t transport the item, he won’t buy it. Same thing for the currency, if you can’t give it back the difference, the sale will fail. Prepare a discreet cash register and bring a few cents and banknotes as well as many euro coins. You are ready to charge, do it the day before if you have a closed garage.
3 – Arrival and unpacking
Arriving early at the garage sale will ensure you a break because as soon as you park in front of your site you will see a few browsers approaching who can turn into snoopers. Keep them at bay because these finders are looking for the rare piece, the “collector’s kinder”, and tend to stick their noses into your boxes even if they don’t come out of the trunk.
Immediately sympathize with your neighbours with a friendly hello as you will spend nearly 8 hours side by side, so make it your allies.
4 – Keeping the distance: food and drink
Whatever the weather, you will need to either warm up or cool down and eat throughout the day of the garage sale. You will have taken care to prepare a “picnic basket” and a cooler. To avoid boredom when attendance drops, you can come with a few volumes of your favorite author or reread your classics for sale in front of you.
5 – Negotiate your chips
You are sitting and sheltered, the cooler nearby, a friendly smile illuminating your face. The layout of your stand is essential. On land, heavy and bulky objects as well as clothing, classified by season or age. On a table, the small objects in front, the largest behind, all grouped by theme, the walkers will scan your stand and if it is messy, they will go directly to the next one.
You should know that a garage sale is not the collectors’ lounge but rather the meeting place for bargains: items from 1 to 10 euros leave easily, higher is more complicated except for strollers and some electronic items as long as you demonstrate how they work, and what is your preparation?