This is part two of a two-part series on organizing a yard sale. This post includes tips to help you stay organized the day of your sale. You can read part one here.

Organize yard sale supply box Tip 6: Pack a supply bin.

My sale buddy is very organized, so it was funny when I showed up at the sale with a box of items that we might need during the sale, and she had one, too. Here’s our combined list of items that you might find handy to have on hand during your sale. Keep the following items in a storage bin, close to where you intend to collect money from your shoppers.

  • Duct tape
  • Clear packing tape
  • Scissors
  • Box cutter
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Bug spray
  • Sun screen
  • Removable painters tape (for pricing labels)
  • Brightly colored copy paper (for signs)
  • Thick black Sharpie markers (for sign making)
  • Thin red Sharpie marker (for mark downs)
  • Price stickers (for last-minute pricing)
  • Paper towels or micro-fiber cloth
  • Multi-purpose cleaner
  • Scotch tape
  • Kleenex
  • Extra house key on a carabineer (so you can lock the house but have easy access when needed.)
  • Water bottle
  • Easy snacks like granola bars
  • Clipboard, paper and pen for recording sales
  • Bags
  • Paper for wrapping breakable items
  • Rubber bands

In the pockets of an apron or fanny pack:

  • Change – coins and bills. We started with $160 in change split between ones, fives, tens and quarters.
  • Cell phone
  • Lip balm
  • Sunglasses

Organize garage sale apron

Tip 7:  Be willing to negotiate.

I was very willing to negotiate on Day 2, because after all the work I had already put into the sale, the last thing I wanted to do was more work hauling items to Goodwill. My strategy when someone made me an offer lower than my asking price was “Will you meet me in the middle?” So if I had something priced for ten dollars and they offered five, I counter-offered with $7.50. It worked every single time. If you want to see some good negotiating in action, watch a few episodes of Pawn Stars before your sale. 🙂

Tip 8: Plan simple meals for the days of the sale.

One thing I wish I had done was plan for some easy meals for the days leading up to the sale and on the actual sale days. Consider crock pot meals, made-ahead freezer meals, or plan to make something super simple like sandwiches. You won’t feel like cooking after your sale—trust me. 🙂

Tip 9:  Prepare to be tired.

Oh my goodness, one thing I can say for sure is that yard sales are an emotional roller coaster ride. It starts with excitement about the prospect of clearing out and making money on things you no longer use. And then, for me, this turned into all sorts of crazy fears. What if no one comes? What if too many people come and we can’t keep up? Do we have enough stuff? Oh my gosh…we have so much stuff…how will we ever sell it all? And then, after all of that, you end up exhilarated every time something sells that you really (really) wanted to see go. The end result of this emotional roller coaster ride, for me, was exhaustion and a tremendous sense of accomplishment. It felt really good to see some of this stuff go and I really wanted to take a nap. 🙂

Tip 10:  Spend some of your money on something fun.

At the end of your sale, your home will look better, and your wallet will be a bit fatter. And while that’s really good stuff, consider sweetening the deal even more by planning to spend at least some of the proceeds from your sale on something fun. I’ll keep you posted on what I end up doing with my fun money.

Last but not least, sit back, relax and enjoy your clutter-free home. You worked hard for it.