Getting Rid Of Stuff!

One of the perks of knowing you are moving in a year - you have plenty of time to sort through your house and get ready! Closet by closet, shelf by shelf, I have been sorting things and playing the game of "keep it, pack it, get rid of it".

Things we still love and use are kept, and neatly put back, maybe slightly better organized. Things we don't use know, but I can see in the newer, larger house get packed into a box, labeled and again, put away.

It's the "get rid of it" stuff that keeps me really busy! Some things simply have no useful life left in them and end up in the garbage. Some things end up on Freecycle because they have SOME life in them yet, but aren't sell able - like Sarah's outgrown play clothes that might have a spot or two on them thanks to the sandbox, etc. Then there are the things that are still perfectly good, they just have no place in our home/family any more. Those get priced right away and put into the boxes for the spring garage sale. Keep in mind, EVERYTHING is $2 or less -- it needs to find a new home.

After 8 weeks of purging things (and out of only two of our rooms!) I had more than enough stuff for our sale this weekend! You can park 4 cars in our driveway - just to give you an idea on size - and, after lining both sides with tables, it was packed!

One side was all household, child, books, etc and one side was for my Tupperware clearance. I have a rotating inventory for fairs, mall events, vendor functions, etc. My consultants that work those, place orders under themselves to replace what they sell on their shifts. This way they make commission, get sales credit for contest gifts and bonus checks, they get to keep the host gifts for their own business. I get a constantly rotating inventory that is always "fresh". It's a win-win.

I have done my sale every year for 15 years now, and people know it's time to "hit the Tupperware lady's sale"....my regulars come back, year after year. With the added influx of technology - my sale grows. They use their cell phones to call family and friends, text each other and more...these items are all about 50% off of catalog retail -- I still come out OK on it all and they are getting a great price on new, never used Tupperware.

Timing is everything, I piggy back off the same days and hours of the local church on my street who has their own big sale...that way, I don't have to pay to advertise, they did it all for me (he he he)!

Sometimes, I have baked goods or hot dogs and soda too -- it's a bit harder when I am doing the sale by myself. A batch of Puppy Chow -- when you use free cereal and peanut butter, only cost you about $.50 to make and you get about 20 snack sized bags that you sell for $.50 each -- a grand $9.50 profit! Think of oatmeal raisin cookies with free oatmeal, eggs and raisins...at $.25 each and you have another money maker!

I am doing Thursday, Friday and Saturday this year -- I made about $500 on the first day and am off to a great start for today, day number two. All NON- Tupperware items will be 50% off on Saturday, then get boxed up and to to the sale at the end of June at my Mom's house. That sale is in 8 weeks which gives me just about enough time to get thru my attic, organize and purge it all and add to my garage sale pile.

Start looking around your house and see what you could turn into cash! That isn't the biggest perk of having a sale - it's the cleaner, less cluttered home you will have!
:)
Until next time -- I am back out talking to people in my yard!