So you think you wanna have a yard sale to help fund your adoption? Great!! Get ready for a lot of dirty, sweaty, fun work!!
This is just a collection of things I wish I'd known before our first sale and things that proved very true for our second sale ... Please don't hesitate to contact me for more info!! I would love to help you plan your sale 'cause I'm bossy like that ...
First and most importantly - pray! pray! pray! There are a bazillion moving parts! Pray that God will direct those who need a good bargain to your sale. Pray that you will encourage and show love to everyone who comes. Pray that God will take all this junk and use it for His glory, as only He can!!
Beauty for ashes, y'all - that's what this is!! The making of families, the redeeming of lives brought about by so much stuff that will eventually rot or be burned away. Pray that your sale goes according to His divine will. He may choose to provide hundreds of dollars to help fund your adoption, or He may choose to provide thousands. Either way, pray that your sale will honor Him and bring Him glory and fame among the nations ... or at least among your neighborhood :)
This is just a collection of things I wish I'd known before our first sale and things that proved very true for our second sale ... Please don't hesitate to contact me for more info!! I would love to help you plan your sale 'cause I'm bossy like that ...
Pray! Pray!! Pray!!!
First and most importantly - pray! pray! pray! There are a bazillion moving parts! Pray that God will direct those who need a good bargain to your sale. Pray that you will encourage and show love to everyone who comes. Pray that God will take all this junk and use it for His glory, as only He can!!
Beauty for ashes, y'all - that's what this is!! The making of families, the redeeming of lives brought about by so much stuff that will eventually rot or be burned away. Pray that your sale goes according to His divine will. He may choose to provide hundreds of dollars to help fund your adoption, or He may choose to provide thousands. Either way, pray that your sale will honor Him and bring Him glory and fame among the nations ... or at least among your neighborhood :)
Location, Location, Location!!
I cannot emphasize this enough!! If your house is located on a cul de sac at the back of a quiet neighborhood, that's a great place to raise a family, but you need to face the cold, hard facts of yard sale-ing. You will probably draw in your neighbors, your friends who already know where you live (and most likely don't want to buy back their own stuff), and the few persevering folks who followed the maze of signs you painstakingly erected. And speaking of signs, they do need to be good, but if you're relying only on those to bring in the traffic ... that does not bode well for your sale. You'll attract infinitely more traffic if your sale is on a busy street or is at least visible from a busy street or intersection.
Do you have a friend who lives on a busy street?? Or maybe one turn off of a busy street?? Is there ample parking?? Ask if you can use their yard!! A very good friend graciously donated her house as our location last year - then found out she was pregnant and was horribly sick all summer! When it came time for this year's sale, I hesitated to approach her again. It was such an inconvenience to her last year. Surely this is asking too much. I hate to impose. She just had a baby; there's no way she'll say 'yes.' But God is bigger than my fears. Randy encouraged me to ask - you never know until you ask. I saw her at church - first time back after having the baby. I did it. I asked. And do you know what she said? Heck yeah! Let's do it! Oh me of little faith.
After the sale, I wondered just how busy the intersection we were near was. I Googled 'traffic volume by intersection memphis' and found this website. Pretty awesome!! Based on the three nearest check points, I'd estimate that the intersection we were on sees over 22,000 cars per day. That's a lot of volume. People on their way to work. Moms who just dropped off carpool. And none of them had to go far to find us. They could see us from the intersection. It was obvious that we were worth a stop! I would guess that we had no fewer than 30 shoppers at any given time. I wouldn't be surprised if that number were closer to 50 or 60 at our busy times.
Once you secure a location ... it's time to start collecting stuff!!
Got Junk?? Can We Have It??
Unless you have rooms and rooms and rooms of extra stuff lying around your house or you don't plan to sell every stick of furniture that you own, you're gonna need to ask your friends, your friends' friends, and your friends' friends' friends for stuff.
Start early!! Two to three months before the sale, start letting people know what you're doing. Ask them to be on the look out for any unwanted treasures they may have lying around. Send emails. Post it on Facebook. Tweet the need. If your church has a bulletin and will allow you to advertise there, do it!
We had a graphic designer friend make up cards that we handed out everywhere we went. Hand out cards at church, to your neighbors, in the carpool line, at the dentist's office. And don't be stingy with those cards! Give them out three at a time and ask your friends to pass them along. Ours simply said: "Got Junk?? Can We Have It?? Donate your gently used items for our yard sale to help us bring our children home from Ethiopia. To arrange a drop-off, pick-up, or to volunteer, please contact {my info} And don't forget to come and shop on {dates} at {address}." Simple, catchy, and informative.
People called all the time asking if we wanted {whatever} or if we were taking {whatever}. We always said YES!! Our motto was: You be as generous as you'd like to be, and we'll let God sell whatever He'd like to sell.
We had a graphic designer friend make up cards that we handed out everywhere we went. Hand out cards at church, to your neighbors, in the carpool line, at the dentist's office. And don't be stingy with those cards! Give them out three at a time and ask your friends to pass them along. Ours simply said: "Got Junk?? Can We Have It?? Donate your gently used items for our yard sale to help us bring our children home from Ethiopia. To arrange a drop-off, pick-up, or to volunteer, please contact {my info} And don't forget to come and shop on {dates} at {address}." Simple, catchy, and informative.
People called all the time asking if we wanted {whatever} or if we were taking {whatever}. We always said YES!! Our motto was: You be as generous as you'd like to be, and we'll let God sell whatever He'd like to sell.
Stalk your neighborhood, Facebook, etc. for other people's yard sales. Stop by or send a message telling them what you're trying to do and ask if you can have their leftovers. Chances are they are planning to just box it all up and take it to Goodwill after their sale (that's what we always do) and would be just as happy to give it all to you, especially if you volunteer to come back at the end of the day and pick it up. We had great success with this technique. I don't think we were ever turned down! One family called and said they decided not to have their sale after all and wanted us to come by to get their stuff. It took about 4 hours and three trips to the storage unit with the trailer loaded down to empty out their attics. We were blessed!!
Keep a keen eye out on trash day. We always find good stuff on the curb on trash day. In the past we've scored luggage, furniture, kid's toys, cribs, and all kinds of other random stuff that was still in good condition. It was just plopped out on the curb because the owner wanted it gone and didn't know what else to do with it. Keep your trunk empty and your pride in check ... stop and pick up that junk!
Now let me just say ... Being a fundraising family is hard. I have a whole new level of appreciation for missionaries. It is hard to ask your friends for financial help over and over and over again. It hurteth the pride muchly. Very muchly. Satan is quick to condemn, quick to discourage. You hear these thoughts in your head, and you're convinced that people are thinking these things about you. (And sadly, some probably are.) Should you really be adopting if you can't afford it? You haven't sold both of your cars, your house, your wedding rings, your kidneys or your first born child yet. Shame on you for asking people for help. And asking people for their stuff?? While still potentially awkward, it kinda feels a little easier to me than straight up asking for cash. Americans, especially, are accustomed to getting rid of stuff they don't like anymore. The more you ask, the more you'll realize that SO many people are thankful that their castoffs will go to directly impact the life of someone they know, rather than the unknown of donating to Goodwill. Which brings me to my next point ...
We'll Have a Truck on Your Street Next Week!!
I get calls from NAMI every few weeks asking if I have anything to donate. We'll have a truck on your street next week. Can we count on you for a donation of gently used household items, appliances, or clothes? I usually keep an open garbage bag in the hall closet. I toss random stuff into it whenever I find it lying around the house. It's a great way to keep clutter at bay. Do those shoes you never wear hurt your feet? Toss them in the bag. Kids outgrown their winter jackets? Toss them in the bag. Has that horridly loud plastic toy annoyed you for the last time? Yup. Toss it! Then when NAMI calls, I am thrilled to say, Yes! Please send your truck to pick up my stuff! It saves me a trip to Goodwill. Goodwill had a good thing going with their drive-thru donation centers, but when another charity offers to pick it up from my front porch? I am so there!
Let people know that you're willing to pick up whatever they would like to donate, hitch up that trailer, and get haulin!!
Let people know that you're willing to pick up whatever they would like to donate, hitch up that trailer, and get haulin!!
For those who graciously volunteer to bring their stuff to you, have a place to put it! Be sure they know where they can drop it off if you're not home. I can't tell you how many times we came home and noticed a new pile of stuff. Sometimes there would be a message from the donor on our voice mail or inbox. Sometimes we never knew who dropped off the stroller, four bags of clothes, and the kitchen set. It's those little mysteries in life that drive me crazy and yet teach me to trust :) I know ... I'm weird that way.
Okie doke. So you've found the spot and you're ready to collect stuff. Where in the world are you going to put it all??
Start Looking for Extra Space!!
Rent a storage unit!! If you time it right, you'll only need to store stuff for about a month. Once people are starting to collect stuff for you, let them know that you'll be ready to collect it all 3 - 4 weeks before your sale. Almost all of the major self storage chains offer the first month free. After paying for a lock and insurance (and maybe another charge or two that I didn't pay attention to), we were able to rent a 10' x 30' space for $40. That is a HUGE space that usually rents for $200+. TOTALLY worth it!!! {{btw ... Another expense that was totally worth it -- we rented a huge moving truck to haul everything over to the site of the sale. HUGE time saver!!}}
Sort It As It Comes In
Easier said than done. Hopefully stuff will come pouring in, and you'll be completely overwhelmed! I've said on more than one occasion, We're drowning in blessings!! Buy or gather some good-sized moving boxes. As stuff comes in, sort it into major categories. Ours were: kids' stuff, housewares, tools/outdoor, books/movies, and clothes. You can micro-sort as you're putting it all out at the sale -- we had a lamp table, a holiday decoration table, a dishes and glassware table, etc.
Be on the lookout for old jewelry. People donate all kinds of stuff, and they often underestimate what their old jewelry is worth -- or maybe they don't even realize what they have. The price of gold has skyrocketed in the last few years. You would be amazed at what an old, broken gold chain sells for as scrap. After digging thru it all this year, we made over $700 in gold and silver alone. Not bad for an hour or two sorting thru old jewelry with keen eyes. Be sure to find a reputable jeweler in your area!!
Tables are a good thing!!! Borrow as many tables as you can get!! People will dig thru boxes on the ground, but why make them work hard to buy from you?? The easier and more convenient you can make their shopping experience, the better off you'll be!! The only exceptions might be toys, stuffed animals, and maybe linens. Comforters, blankets, pillows, etc. need space. People want to see the whole thing before they make a decision. Spreading it out on a tarp on the ground doesn't seem to bother people. Boxes are a great way to organize books and movies to keep them from sliding off tables, but be sure to stack them so the spine is showing and people can read the titles easily. They will dig thru boxes, but not very deeply -- books are heavy!!
And oh the clothes that you'll have!! We had bags and bags and bags of clothes!! Here's how we dealt with it all ...
Women's and men's clothes were hung on rods suspended between ladders. Kids' clothes were sorted into boxes that were labeled according to gender, size, and item: 0 - 24 mos, 2T - 5T, 4 - 8, 10 - 14. Shirts and dresses in one box, shorts and pants in another. While it's nice to start with everything nicely sorted and folded, don't expect it to stay that way :) We laid out a huge tarp, and set the boxes out in order of size with boy's clothes on one side and girl's clothes on the other. It's also a good idea to have a smaller tarp nearby for shoes, purses, belts, and other accessories.
Pricing??
Don't bother!! It takes for.ev.er, and the stickers just fall off or get switched around anyway. When people start asking about prices, just tell them you were blessed with so much stuff, that you simply did not have the time to price it all!! And really, you don't have the time. If your gathering went particularly well, you'll spend hours and hours pricing it all. If you have big stuff, you might go ahead and label the price on that. You should at least think ahead and maybe research reasonable prices for used whatever-you-happen-to-have. It's a good thing to let your helpers know what you're hoping to get for the larger items. You'd hate to see something go for $5 first thing in the morning when you were hoping for $65!
If you do have items that you think would sell for significantly more on Ebay or Craigslist, take pictures and try to sell them before the yard sale. If they don't sell early, you can reduce the price and sell it at the yard sale. Research what you've been given. If you think it's something special - it just might be!! You never know what will get donated!!
Be reasonable on the stuff-stuff. You may have paid $40 for that set of glasses, but at a yard sale they're only worth $2 - $5. Your $400 comforter set will punch you in the gut when it walks away for (hopefully) $65. We found, though, that it's a lot easier to sell stuff cheap when it wasn't ours to begin with. Oh, wait a minute. I feel a lesson coming on ... none of what you have belongs to you! All of it came from God, and all of it is to be used for His glory! If that means parting with something for a fraction of its original cost so you can bring those sweet babies home, so be it. Things are only worth what someone is willing to pay, and at a yard sale ... that usually ain't much. Adjust your expectations accordingly. And get tough with yourself!! Would you rather have $3 for that ceramic bunny or take that ceramic bunny back home??
We told people to gather up what they wanted and we'd make them a good offer. They'd come back with a handful of stuff for which we would guess $7? Most often, they would happily dig into their pockets, and you just made a sale!! Very, very often, their eyes would get big, and they'd head back into the aisles to see what else they could find!! If your prices are great, they're excited to get a good bargain and will happily spend their dollars with you. They might even call their friends or bring their co-workers back after work. We got to know several people over the weekend simply because they kept coming back to dig some more!!
Please, please, please!! Whatever you do, price everything in $1 increments. If it's not worth a dollar, tell them to go find something else to put with it, or tell them they can just have it. The last thing you want is to carry around 40 pounds of quarters all day!! Yes, quarters add up, but dollars add up faster!!
We priced clothing items at $1 each, and told people they could fill a plastic grocery sack (purchased at Sam's) for $5. We saw bags and bags of clothes fly out all day long!! Winter coats were a bit more ($5 - $10 depending on the size, quality, etc), shoes were $2 - $3 per pair, purses were $1 - $10. If you have time before your sale, you might even go thru the clothes yourself and take some of the best stuff to a consignment or second-hand store. If they give you more than $1, you've come out ahead!!
On the Day of the Sale ...
Put out your signs. You want to direct people who might be driving by the nearest intersection. You also want to let people know why you're having this sale. We had our teenaged friends make several 'Thanks for supporting our adoption' signs that we put at the end of the driveway and at various open spots in the yard. We wanted people to know that their purchases were supporting a higher cause than our family vacation or a new TV. Most people never mentioned it. Some politely asked questions. Some (very few and usually people we knew) gave donations. We even had a few people ask which animal shelter we were supporting. I will admit that I was horrified to have to explain that we were adopting actual human beings and not animals. I also took it to be a sad commentary on our society -- 'adoption' is sometimes more readily associated with abandoned pets than with abandoned people. But that's a discussion for another day ...
Wander around and stay visible!! We opted for multiple people collecting money wherever people wanted to pay, rather than a single 'pay here' table. If people have to wait in line to buy your stuff, they may just put it down and walk away. People expect yard sale transactions to be quick and painless. Quick being the more important characteristic. Hopefully you'll have friends helping you with the sale, so it should be easy for shoppers to find someone to help!! Wear the same color shirt, wear hats, look around and greet people (but don't hover). Do whatever it takes to stay visible and let people know who's in charge. Straighten your tables as you wander.
Wearing a fanny pack (nerdy, but useful!) or a small messenger bag is a great way to keep your money organized. You'd hate to drop bills on the ground as you're pulling a big wad of cash out of your pocket. Periodically throughout the day, empty your proceeds into a safe place inside the house.
You might want to have a concession stand. Our kids did this both years. They grilled hot dogs and sold chips, drinks, and desserts. Both years they broke even, but we made a donation to their travel funds from our proceeds :) They get a chance to work hard and participate, and you get a free lunch and all the bottled water you could want!! Even if you choose not to have a full-blown lunch counter, you might consider having a couple of coolers full of bottled water and sodas. Thirsty shoppers are not good for business :)
We'd all like to sell every last bit of what we collect, but that's not likely to happen. You need to have a plan to deal with the leftovers!!
Last year we couldn't find another family who wanted it, so we called around until we found a local charity that would come pick it all up. Every bit of it, except furniture, had to be in boxes or bags. What we didn't have containers for, I loaded into the back of our suburban and hauled to Goodwill.
This year, we found TWO families who were having a yard sale just a few weeks after ours to raise money for their adoptions. Perfect!! We boxed it all up, and they hauled it off to their free-for-a-month storage unit.
What About the Leftovers??
We'd all like to sell every last bit of what we collect, but that's not likely to happen. You need to have a plan to deal with the leftovers!!
Last year we couldn't find another family who wanted it, so we called around until we found a local charity that would come pick it all up. Every bit of it, except furniture, had to be in boxes or bags. What we didn't have containers for, I loaded into the back of our suburban and hauled to Goodwill.
This year, we found TWO families who were having a yard sale just a few weeks after ours to raise money for their adoptions. Perfect!! We boxed it all up, and they hauled it off to their free-for-a-month storage unit.
And Finally ...
Because no blog post should go without a picture ... this is sunburned, sweaty, stinky us holding over $11,000 in cold, hard cash!! Cash that will help to bring FOUR (or FIVE!) precious children home to their Forever Family!!
Happy selling,
