$$$$Yard Sales$$$$

I know it seems like the snow is never going to go away, but it is. On the 14th of March will be daylight Savings time. We will have an extra hour of light and the weather will be starting to warm up, people will be coming out of hibernation looking for activities to be a part of. People are already making reservations for their summer vacations.

Want a way to make some extra spending money? How about a Garage or Yard Sale? What a great way to rid your home of useless items you no longer need and make some extra cash in the process. They are not hard to plan and can be quite profitable. Renting tables at church bazaar during the spring and summer months is also a great way to pick up on some extra spending money especially if your a crafter. You can use this opportunity to sell your products and help grow your business if you have one. When selling your items use it as an opportunity also to pass out your business cards. Make sure to include your website links and contact information for future sales. If you are gonna to be organizing yard sales throughout the summer print up some colorful flyers with the place, dates, and times on them so treasure hunters will know when and where to go to make purchases.

Having a yard sale can be a lot of fun but there are a few things you should keep in mind when preparing one. Preparations should begin now, start using this time to pull out what you are going to sell, if they have collected dust clean them off and pack them back away in rubber storage bins that you can pull out later and transport your sale items to your yard or the bazaar where you will be selling them. You can sell a variety of things at a yard sale, your trash is another person's treasure. You can sell anything from clothes, toys, books, household items, furniture and even baked goods. Why not bake some cupcakes or sell cups of cold lemonade during the warmer months, people like to nibble and grab a drink while hitting the pavement looking for deals. Why not be the one seller to provide them with that special treat. Be wise in scheduling dates for your yard sales. Saturdays are a good choice and during early afternoon hours while most are out and about shopping right after breakfast, for example 9 am- 2 pm or 10 am- 3 pm . Try not to schedule dates on holiday weekends. Mother's day, Father's Day, and graduation time is a good time to have yard sales. I sell my gift baskets during these times. People are looking for cute gifts for these occasions and I be sure to have items for sale that go hand in hand with these occasions on hand.

Visit your local dollar store and grab some price stickers, make a price listing of your items and then tag them. Pull out your folding tables and clean them off. Make your flyers and order new business cards if your running low.

Start saving singles and loose change. Never be without them in case people bring big bills. People get discouraged when they have to find a way to make change to buy from a seller more than likely they wont return and you will lose a sale. Always be prepared. Start saving your plastic and paper grocery bags so buyers can take their purchases away securely and if you are going to be selling fragile items stock up on newspaper or inexpensive bubble wrap from the dollar store.

People eat and buy with their eyes, make sure your selling area is clean and neat. Colorful signs and balloons will make your area stand out. Dress up your tables with lace tableclothes for those special items. Grouping and organizing your items can be a plus. Be friendly, greet your buyers and thank them for their purchases. You can catch more flies with honey vs. vinegar. Make your customers feel important. make them feel like you are so glad they chose to stop by and check out what you have to offer. If your going to be selling at a outdoor bazaar don't forget to take your chair for resting your feet in between sales, take along a bottle or two of drinking water and some fruit to snack on. Relax and enjoy yourself, it will be worth the effort you put into it when you are left holding your profits and have that extra money you wanted to spend on summer activities with the family.

Blessings!!!