How To Be Ruthless And Get Ready For A Yard Sale

There's no way around it. It's beyond time to clear the clutter, clean out your stuff and get a sale set up. The idea of having some extra cash sounds great, and the thought of reclaiming your house makes you smile. But actually making decisions and decluttering send you into a mild panic.

If you recognize yourself in this description, I'm right there with you. We're in that process right now, and it can truly be overwhelming at times. Can I just curl up in the corner and wait until the house cleans itself? Because that would be great.

Yeah, but not practical. Or useful. Honestly.

Instead, here are some simple ways to make decision-making a little easier as you sort.

* Figure out when the last time you used it was, and if it's been more than a year or two ... let it go!

* If the poor condition of an item would stop you from buying it, no one else will buy it either.

* Don't keep it just because you spent a lot of money on it, especially if you're not using it.

* If you can't explain exactly why you want to keep it, put it in the sale box.

* No excuses - fight through the temptation to stop sorting and cleaning just because it's difficult.

* It's ok to set some things aside while you think about them, but don't let that pile get very big.

* When you have multiples of an object you love, keep the ones that make your heart race and sell the ones that are older or less special.

* Tackle one space at a time instead of having a grand plan for your whole property.

* If you have vintage or antique items that are hip and trendy again, now's the time to part with them and let a new collector enjoy them.

* Pick a place, preferably out of sight, where you can stack your full, packed boxes so you're not living surrounded by cardboard until your sale.

* If you're really, truly overwhelmed, this is the time to enlist some help. No one else wants you to live in an overwhelming environment either.

What are your secret strategies for being ruthless and sorting for a yard sale?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holland Creme - That Amazing White Stuff In Donuts

Image
I remember going to the grocery store every Saturday morning when I was growing up, and my favorite place in the entire store was the donut case. All the glazed, powdered and filled baked goods drew me like a magnet. My favorites, far and away, were the ones filled with that beautiful white, fluffy creme. At the time I didn't know it was called Holland Creme - I just knew it was the most amazing concoction ever. Ever. Here is my version of this sweet treat. You can make your own fried donuts and fill them, or like I did here, you can cut a crevice into store-bought donuts with a knife and fill them with creme in a piping bag. Either way, you're going to love it. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup shortening 1 cup butter 1 Tbsp vanilla 7 cups powdered sugar 1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool complet...
Read more

Recovering An Old Card Table And Making It Usable Again

Image
This card table recover project has been on my to-do list for months. I've been using it as my workspace in the craft room for quite some time, and it sees a lot of abuse. Here it is now, with a neutral cover on it so I can take better pictures for my tutorials. There were dents and dings in the old blue covering from metal tools. And yes, I've used my embossing heat tool on it several times, leaving pretty good scars. The padding underneath the blue cover also made it difficult to keep paper crafts flat when adhering them together, so it was time for something new. That's where a simple vinyl tablecloth comes in handy. The process to recover the table is pretty simple, but I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. I share them with you now. First, don't do this on any surface but a carpet. I tried it on the deck int he sunshine to get better pictures, but all it did was tear up the cover. Second, get a second pair of hands to help you kee...
Read more

Crafts For Teen Girls To Make

Image
In our teen girls Bible study, we're studying our way through the Proverbs 31 woman and it's been such a blessing to me, as I hope it's been to them. Every month we spend an afternoon or an evening together studying Scripture, making something amazing in the kitchen and creating something that corresponds to the verse we're in. Choosing the crafts each time can be a challenge for several reasons. It needs to be something they can completely finish (or do most of) because once they leave they're probably not going to work on it themselves - that's just the nature of teenagers. Remember? It also needs to be a project that keeps they're attention, is age-appropriate and is cool enough that they'll want to keep it or give it to someone special. But hey, no pressure on the Bible study leader, right? Here are just a few of the projects we've done together in the year we've been meeting. * This month's craft will be the adorable cross stit...
Read more