So, we’ve been talking a lot about interesting things you should buy and fascinating things that you should do, and all of this costs money. Where are you going to get that play money when you are supposed to be saving for retirement? When you are supposed to be acquiring a rainy day fund?

The Czarina is going to let you in on a little secret: you know that “vintage” furniture or junk that you don’t want anymore, like that hideous floral ceramic foo dog with the clock in his stomach from Aunt Gertie? Someone else wants it. You can make money from it. And then you can use this money to have a good time. You know how the Czarina knows? She’s run about 10 moving and yard sales so far, and she can tell you that people will cheerfully buy the ugliest abominations imaginable. But the Thing is only ugly to you! To others that bionic foo dog with a floral affliction is pure art.

The idea of having a garage, moving, or yard sale tends to give people the heebie jeebies. It can feel overwhelming and not worth the trouble. However, with a few simple tips, it is definitely worth it (of which there is some) and it isn’t too overwhelming (it can even be fun!). The last two garage sales the Czar and Czarina held raked in $400 and $300. They promptly used some of that money to go out to dinner at Restaurant Gary Danko.

Read on for how to make money by uncluttering your living space.

Follow up:

Step 1: Selecting your items

First, you go through the house or apartment room by room to find things for your sale. You investigate every under-sink cabinet, every hidden shelf, every closet, and look under every bed. If you didn’t even remember you had that particular thing, it’s fair game for your sale. Put it in the to-be-sold pile. The kitchen is usually a very fruitful place for finding garage sale items, because most people have pans from college they don’t use anymore, or even have things still in the box from the wedding that they don’t want. If it’s new in the box, even better - you can sell it for more money! Kids’ clothes, games, and toys sell very well, and when you advertise make sure to stress these items. The Czarina has found that table linens, as long as they are not stained, also sell well.

There are two schools of thought on used makeup and fragrance. Some hard core sellers insist that people do buy these things. The Czarina has found that no one wants her used makeup unless it is new, and clothes are very hard to sell. Curling irons, hairdryers, and curlers go if they work. Clothes should probably go to a second hand store, especially if they have designer labels. You can try and sell it at the garage sale, but don’t be surprised if no one wants your used clothing in that kind of setting. However, there are exceptions: hats, belts, handbags, gloves, sunglasses, and other accessories. Another thing that you can get 5 cents each for: sample bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and bath gel from fancy hotels.

As for totally broken items: again, some people say that people will buy anything for spare parts and they should put out for purchase. However, I have never had anyone buy anything broken, not even by self-proclaimed Mr. Fix-Its. If it’s metal, you’re probably better off recycling it for the metal - or throwing it in recycling or putting it out for the junk people to take. If you’re upset with an appliance that’s too slow or runs too cold for you, this is NOT broken and will probably do the job for someone else with less demanding work for it to do.

Step 2: Money, honey

By far the most annoying thing you have to do is to mark every item. Do not think that it is a good idea – in any way, shape, or form – to “wing it” when people start coming to your sale. You will not be able to process this quickly and you WILL lose money. Plus, people don’t like it when items aren’t marked because it makes them suspicious of you.

I always buy multicolored price marking dots from Office Max or Office Depot. As I collect items (see Step 1) I think about how much I want to ask for the item and then mark it as I put it in the to be sold pile. Do NOT deal with pennies, and don’t let people give you pennies. Everything should be priced in 5 cent increments. That means your lowest priced item is 5 cents; the Czarina’s absolute lowest price for the absolute lowest tier of junk is 25 cents. For some reason known only to marketers, people like the idea of something marked at increments (95 cents) on the dollar more than full dollar ($1) items, so keep that in mind when pricing.

You need a fairly large and diverse inventory, because it tends to attract more people to your sale. Once people are there, they tend to find other things they want, including things that aren’t for sale – like the chair you’re sitting on. It is up to you how much you want to bargain or whether you sell the chair you’re sitting on, but expect that people will want to bargain and buy whatever isn’t nailed down (or even stuff that is). I usually do bargain, unless something is absolutely worth the price to me that I’m asking for it. If that’s the case I’ll write “$40 firm", for example, on the tag.

You must start with change when you open the sale. The Czar and Czarina invested in a money box. Make sure your money box is visible to you at all times and any jewelry or other quasi-valuable items sit with you near the money box so you can keep your eye on them. When we start out, we start with about $40 in cash - with a mix of one dollar bills, quarters, dimes, and nickels. Put large bills in your pocket, not in the money box. Have a calculator handy if you can’t do math in your head.

Step 3: Advertising

I’ve found that the local paper – like the Pioneer Press or the Chicago Journal – is a good place to put ads along with Craigslist. When the Czarina is feeling cheap, Craigslist alone seems to do the trick. Make sure you include the date, your address, the hours of the sale, big ticket or high-interest items (such as baby stuff, furniture, place settings, antiques). Try to write copy that grabs the reader and stands out from the pack. For instance, when the Czar and Czarina lived in San Francisco, one title for a garage sale was “Pick through the remnants of our shattered lives” – an homage to the Dotcom bubble bursting. Use colorful adjectives like HUGE and AMAZING. Then add “And MORE".

Balloons and signs in the neighborhood attract attention - don’t forget the signs, and put them up early (about 7 am).

My sales start at 8 am on the weekend, and I close up shop about 11:30. In my experience, almost everything that is going to move leaves early in the day. Some stragglers wander in during the afternoon but there gets to be a point of diminishing returns. If you find that you are ready to kill yourself with boredom and someone every hour is coming in to buy a 5 cent item, it may be time to end it.

A word about early birds – these are people who will ring your doorbell at 7 am and want to see what you have before everyone else gets there. Once a woman rang our bell the day before the sale and wanted to see the merchandise. Don’t do this. It’s not worth the hassle because early birds rarely buy. Just tell them to come back when the sale is open. Don’t let them convince you, unless you are selling honest to goodness antiques and they are antique dealers with a business card to show you. Never, never, let anyone inside the house – and yes, this means any furniture needs to be taken to the sidewalk or garage.

Step 4: Setting up

Clean your garage. Goes without saying. Don’t leave anything out you don’t want people to buy; people don’t like fake-outs. If something has to stay, put a tarp or “DO NOT CROSS” tape over it. Make sure you clearly mark anything that anyone could trip over for liability reasons.

Second, it’s nice if you have bags to give to people when they buy several things. You can recycle your plastic grocery bags in this way.

Third, make people comfortable. Have some music going. If it’s a hot day, if you can sell lemonade or water in bottles, this would be very appreciated by your customers. If you are doing a huge estate sale and you have a lawn, consider a tent in case it rains. Otherwise, if you’re holding it outside be prepared to have a rain date and post it in your ad, or else make sure you have tarps handy for “rain or shine". Garages don’t have this problem but a very rainy day makes for low foot traffic.

Fourth, arrange things nicely, with space in between tables so that people can walk around. If you just dump everything in a pile it will look much more like junk than it will if it is neatly presented.

Step 5: Dealing with customers

You will probably need help. One person walks around and answers questions, and one person hangs around the money box and supervises things that you don’t want stolen.

Let people form a line at the cash box when they are ready to purchase. If people are trying to interrupt a transaction to ask a question, tell them to kindly wait until you can give them your full attention - after you finish counting money and giving change.

There’s an old Dave Barry joke that goes something like this:

Dave: “This is an emerald broach given to me by the Queen of England.”
Garage sale customer: “I’ll give you 10 cents for it.”

This scenario is pretty accurate. Don’t be offended, they’re just looking for your line in the sand.

Finally, remember this important thing: do NOT sell yourself down the river for a few cents. You need the money to play with. You may hate to bargain but for true garage sale devotees this is the thrilling part of the day. If you need a rule to feel more comfortable with bargaining try this: come down one time by 25%. Then stick with that price unless you absolutely want to purge the item. Or, alternatively, tell them to come back during the last hour and if that item is still there they can have it for their offered price.

After the sale

I have never had a sale at which I didn’t clear at least a couple hundred dollars. This is partially because I will pretty much sell anything that isn’t bolted to the wall, and this has become a joke in the Royal Family. Family members say to me when they give me furniture, “I don’t want you to sell this. Promise me.”

Some of this tendency to sell anything is because I come from a long line of salespeople, and the rest of it arises from the fact that I find that my mind is less chaotic when I have less clutter in the house. While it might be hard for you to part with some things, keep in mind the feng shui principle of reducing clutter. You don’t need to sell the bed you’re sleeping on to make a decent amount of money; just take a hard look at what you have. Odds are you haven’t used several items in a while because, deep down, you don’t really like them and are only holding onto them because they were “on sale"… or because they’re your skinny clothes. Or because they remind you of college (Ahem – I’m looking at you, Czar).

We all – and I include the Royal Household in this – need to get back into a mindset where we aren’t throwing out everything under the sun. In fact, around the turn of the 20th century, Americans were notorious for reusing and repairing things until they fell apart beyond all efforts to the contrary. Some say disposable razor blades changed all that.

Garage sales are the ultimate in recycling and will go a long way towards building your green cred. All in all, it’s a great way to keep perfectly usable things out of landfills and garbage cans, and to fetch yourself a pretty penny in the bargain. I promise I won’t tell Aunt Gertie what you did.

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