What’s the hottest place at your house–your Garage! This month’s topic is garages and garage sales. If your garage needs a purge, now is the time to do it before the real heat—or if you’re in the West—smoke hits.

If you’re thinking about cleaning out the garage this summer, you’re not alone. A lot of people have needed help with garages and storage units lately. I’ve got some helpful tips for you, as well as some ideas for how to organize the stuff you want to sell as you go, to keep it really efficient and as quick and painless as possible. The mantra “touch it once” applies in garages too!

The first thing is to plan out your project and work smart. I definitely prefer the cooler morning hours for garage clean-out. I’ve been working in some storage units and garages lately and have some new tips for you, as well as some ideas for how to organize the stuff you want to sell as you go, to keep it really efficient and as quick as possible.
The mantra “touch it once” applies in garages too!

Setup: To stay cool, work in the morning, drink plenty of water, use a fan if you’ve got it, and once the air warms up, close the garage door. I do this in garages and storage units, where the black asphalt outside can quickly heat up the unit. Make sure to have plenty of boxes and trash bags on hand.
You’ll need more boxes than you think!

Plan a few areas to collect similar items:

Camping gear
Tools
Party supplies
Paper towels, TP
Boxed archives (like tax returns)
Garage sale items

Purge any items you don’t use any more, or are old or outdated. Here’s a list of no-brainer stuff to purge.

Garage clutter to purge now:

Items inside unopened moving boxes
Duplicates
Old paint and painting supplies
Empty cardboard boxes
Expired food
Seldom-used sports equipment
Baskets
Donations
Stuff you’ve been meaning to sell
Damaged camping equipment
Broken tools

Remember anything for the sale goes directly into boxes or 1
area of the garage. This will make it much easier to see what you have and if
it’s worth your time to have a sale.

Make sure as you are sorting, keep like items together. To heed the mantra “touch it once,“ which is repeated in offices, you’ll need to find a “home” for each tool or basketball you find.

Garage storage ideas:

Install organizing systems

Try a pegboard with some hooks for hand tools. Many people have one behind their workbench. If
you’d rather have shelves and bins for your tools, that’s great—just make sure to label them so you can find them easily later.

Apply Labels to Everything:

Make labels big and bold, especially if the stuff is stored on an upper shelf. I use a labeler, but you can also get actual tape and label it with a permanent marker.

Take time to label every shelf or cabinet. Many people use the garage, and it’s much more likely to STAY organized if everyone knows your new system!

Use Bins or boxes

Bins work great for larger items like balls or life jackets. The larger the items, the
larger the bin. A clear plastic bin or a metal gridwork-style box will make it
easy to see what’s inside. The internet, especially my Pinterest board on
Garages, has many storage ideas.

Pinterest link:https://www.pinterest.com/jennyrossomorin/garage-organizing-ideas/

Garage Sale Wisdom

Best practices for prepping for your garage sale:

Advertise well. This is one time when advertising in your local paper pays off. Broadcast your event on FB too. You can create an event and invite friends.

Label prices clearly. To avoid having to tag everything, have a$1 box, a $5 table, a $10 table, etc. Go ahead and tag large items like furniture, mirrors, power tools, etc.

Don’t forget to comb the house for items to sell, especially
the kitchen and kids’ rooms. People love to buy kitchen gadgets. And some people collect toys.

Buddy up: Find a friend or two who want to have stuff to sell. Big items like furniture tend to draw “drive-by” buyers. Put large items out in the driveway or on the lawn to draw in customers.

Be flexible: If someone offers less than you were hoping for an item, be willing to entertain that offer. Make a counter offer that’s higher, and you will find most people will meet you in the middle.

What’s sure to sell: “Dishes, cookware, kitchen gadgets are at the top of buyers’ lists. Other popular items: toys and kids’ gear (strollers, playpens), artwork and frames, tools, lamps, and furniture (don’t rule out pieces with a few nicks or chips).

Save items like these to sell online:

Anything high-end with a searchable name (like Venetian
Glass). Use ebay for trinkets that are easy to ship like jewelry, gold coins,
comics. Use Craigslist or FB marketplace for heavy or large items so buyers
will be responsible for pickup.

Caution: “If you know you’ll never get around to selling online, you’re better off purging stuff at the yard sale, though you probably won’t make as much as you would through a resale site. “

~ from Real Simple,
May 2014