Tips to Hold Your Own Yard Sale

The pickins’ are slim, on Craigslist at least. So there couldn’t be a more perfect time to talk tips for holding a yard sale of your own.

You’ve tripped over the last unused toy and filled the attic to the very top. There’s just too much stuff in the house. It’s time for a yard sale.

Tell the neighbors: The best way to get a good turnout is to coordinate with other houses on the block and have a multi-family yard sale. Treasure hunters will appreciate the fact they can park their car and spend a good amount of time browsing, instead of parking in front of one house, taking a quick once over, then driving off to look for a new sale. The added foot traffic also makes excellent customers for any industrious kids looking to sell some lemonade.

Check the weather: Nothing can spoil a good yard sale like some lousy rain. Keep an eye on the weather as best you can. If it’s looking even a little iffy, hold off until the next week. It’s a hassle, but you will be much better off than sitting under some umbrellas for the handful of die-hards that may show up.

Advertise!: What’s the point of having a yard sale if you don’t tell anybody? You can post it on Craigslist completely free. And, of course, there’s good old Patch.com to help you out. Send the dates, time and a brief description of items on sale to james.boyle@patch.com and it’ll be in the weekly roundup. If you think you have some particularly unique or unusual items, send a picture and we may feature it.

Signs, signs, everywhere put signs: This is probably the most important part. Get those signs up on Friday, starting on the high-traffic intersections, with arrows clearly pointing the way to the next cross street. If it gets too confusing, people will give up and drive away. The signs themselves should be clearly visible from the car. Use light posterboard and dark markers, and write in block lettering. Don’t forget to go back and remove them from the telephone poles or street signs when you’re finished the sale.

Stay organized: Pretty simple concept. Keep clothes with clothes, books with books and toys with toys. Make sure to spread things out as much as you can, to avoid any crowding. You want everybody to move easily and keep a good traffic flow.

In the future, we’ll talk about what to do when you have stuff left over from the sale. Until next week, here’s the short list of what’s advertised on Craigslist. If you know of any more, post them in the comments.

Hatboro

16 Belmar Road, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Patio set, bookshelf, desk, bridesmaid/prom dress, childrens toys, small refrigerator, books, children/adult clothing. Multiple items donated. Some stuff new and never used. Sales benefit the ALS Association on behalf of the Team "The Walking Ladybugs."

Warminster

316 Hickory Road. Starts at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. No info on items offered.

Upper Southampton

Cherry Lane, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturday. Multi-family yard sale. Furniture, toys, jewelry, children's clothing, antiques, vintage toys, tools, car parts.

Warrington

Sunday moving sale, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

900 S. 49th St. Furniture, shelving, ottoman, box fan, 27-inch Phillips television, 5300 BTU Kenmore Energy Star air conditioner, large mirrors, antique pics in vintage frames, housewares, clothes, bags, kitchen appliances, unique stuff, baby boy newborn clothes and some gear.