Clear the Clutter: Help Your Kids Plan a Garage Sale
I noticed during my school preparation madness that my boys had accumulated a ton of stuff that wasn’t doing much but taking up space.
Once the school year starts, the months will fly by and the holidays will be here again. With the joy and laughter the holidays bring, comes more and more and more stuff. If I let this unused stuff sit, it would soon be under a pile of more odds and ends and we’d be candidates for Hoarders. Not flattering. It was time for a garage sale.
A garage sale is always a huge undertaking, but since my boys were getting older, they could start to help with the preparation and execution. I didn’t let them handle the business end of it alone, but there were still many ways they helped.
Contributing to the Inventory
Since a lot of items that needed to be sold were toys and things that they’d outgrown, it was only appropriate that they had a hand in deciding what they didn’t need anymore. Stuffed animals are cute and all, but 587 are about 584 too many at my kids’ ages. At first, they couldn’t see how any of their things could possibly be parted with, but when I mentioned that they’d get to keep the money they made, make room for new, more exciting toys and would be helping kids that didn’t have as much as they did, they were eager to pitch in.
Making Signs
My oldest is really into reading and writing now, so I let him help me write the signs while the others were in charge of small decorations. I wrote out the important information, like where and when, and the boys did the rest. The signs turned out adorable and my kids were really proud of their artistic contribution.
Setting Up
After my husband and I set up the tables and heavy items, we gave the kids little jobs appropriate for their particular ages. My youngest separated out the little fast-food type toys into a box. My middle guy helped me stick price stickers on everything, and my oldest helped dad put things carefully on the tables and shelves.
Being Cute
Okay, this may seem like a cheap marketing technique, but let’s face it, when you got it, flaunt it. I’m talking cute kids, not short shorts here. Many people who came to the garage sale commented on the cute signs. My kids were elated and jabbered about helping mom and dad. I didn’t mean for this to work out so well, but seriously, they’re cuteness had a lot to do with sales. I, of course, am only human, and every mom knows her kids are the most adorable on the planet.
Helping with Transactions
When a sale was made, my kids helped me handle the money and count out the change. It took a little longer, but I really think that my oldest learned some valuable lessons about the different coins and bills. Plus, they had their own money box for earnings from their toys. This pleased them…a lot.
Cleaning Up
When the sale was over, the boys helped me box and bag up what was left to donate to the local Goodwill store. While we drove it over to the shop, my husband put the tables away.
By the end of the day, we were all exhausted, but had a little more cash in our wallets. Everyone was happy, and I have a lot less clutter around the house…for now.
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