Yard Sales are Kissing Cousins to Charities

What if you include a charity to your own Yard Sale?

Having a Yard Sale or Garage Sale for Charities is not new; many organizations do this every year.

You would be disposing of items from your home no longer needed and also help others that really, really need all the help they can get in these depressed times. It would also add another dimension to your Yard Sale making it slightly “different” and enabling your customers to feel a little nobler when they leave. After all they bought to help support your charity – right?

If you need ideas about who you could help, consider your local school, church, shelters, or food bank, they are always looking for financial assistance. Or expand to the National level and consider Habitat for Humanity, Doctors without Borders or Save a Child Programs. Really, the list is endless. To legitimize your assistance of helping others you would make a donation of at Least $50.00 or 10% of sales. Giving more builds Karma.

You could also turn your Yard Sale into an even bigger event by inviting your friends, family, and neighbors to also take part.

They don’t necessarily have to be part of the charity aspect – this is unique to you, but don’t refuse if they would like to do it too.

If you don’t have a yard or garage to work with, arrange to use someone else’s.

If you make your Yard Sale big enough your local community center or church might loan you space on their parking lots to help you make it happen. You never know until you ask.

Many people use Yard or Garage Sales as their weekend entertainment. They never know what they are going to find and they end up with something for their money.

The following is what you need for your Yard Sale:

Tables and open Boxes or cubes
A couple of chairs put to the side for casual rest periods by visitors
Cash Box
$50 in change. Have lots of silver
Calculator
Pricing stickers
Lots of plastic bags for products sold
Family member or friend that can handle the cash
You will be needed to circulate among the customers to answer questions or show them where to find what they are interested in
Newspaper advertising
Neighborhood Posters
Balloons and Yard Sale Sign

Things You Need To Do:

Pick a Charity
Phone your local newspaper, library or city hall to find out when the major local events are happening. It doesn't make sense to have a Yard Sale the same day there is a huge event already planned.
Pick a Date.
Place an ad in the local newspaper the Friday before your Yard Sale.
Go Online and place an ad in Craig’s List for your area and any other local, free Classified Ad website you can find too. You can be surprised at how many additional people this can attract.
Monday before your sale make up your posters. Get supplies from the $1 Store if you don't have any. Remember Bright Colors attract attention.
At least 2 days before the Yard Sale price all your items. Everything should have a sticker on it.
Put out your local Posters the night before. You should have at least 10 posters guiding people to your Yard Sale.
Put out your local Posters the night before. You should have at least 10 posters guiding people to your Yard Sale.
7:30 a.m. on the day of your Sale start getting your items on display - you will only have one and one-half hours to do this so guide yourself accordingly.
Set out your Yard Sale Sign and the Balloons.
A very nice gesture is to give balloons away to any child that is brought to your sale.
Set out a separate container requesting donations to the charity you are supporting. 100% of the funds raised through this container go to your chosen charity. This should be stated on your container label. (You did make a label – hmm?)
Put a smile on your face and keep your very best friendly manner in play all the time the sale is on. You would do that anyways but sometimes just getting everything else done might make you a little serious.

At the end of the day, you will have finally gotten rid of the items you no longer use, helped someone else by including a charity cause in your yard sale and reinforced your feeling of self-worth.

Good Job.

Foot Note:

If you phone the newspaper you advertised with and let them know the amount raised for the charity, quite often they will post that in their newspaper. Your neighbors will appreciate learning of this info. Also include your thanks to all those that participated.