Yard Sale Notice

I am having yet another yard sale! You think I would be a pro by now...right? :)

We had a huge yard sale before we moved. I knew that we were downsizing and that we had to get rid of a lot of things that wouldn't fit! Well, I underestimated what exactly would fit.

I am finally almost 100% unpacked (meaning that all cardboard boxes cease to exist in my home) and have things decorated accordingly. We have painted and the pictures are hung (Whew!).

Now I can get rid of everything else that doesn't fit and that I can do without! For the last month my garage has been stuffed full of boxes and furniture and it was driving me nuts... I finally get to clear it out!

Peace will come with no clutter...I truly believe this!

I will still be posting deals and steals for you but if you email or leave a comment there may be a delayed response!

Have a great weekend!

Yard Sale Notification: Moving and it all has to go!

This is the big weekend! I will be having a moving sale to get rid of a ton of stuff in the house that we don't want to take with us!

We will be downsizing our household in order to make sure that we can pay for a place to rent AND pay our mortgage on our home while it is up for sale or until it rents out!

I am getting rid of so much stuff...you wouldn't believe your eyes! Rooms of furniture...and literally something (lot of things) from every room in the house!

The sale will be Saturday from 8am until 2pm & Sunday from 8am until 2pm! If you live in my area (Cartersville, GA) and would like to attend the sale please email me using the contact form under the "contact" tab! I will send you directions!

The best stuff will go quickly (I am pricing to sell) and the best deals will be on Sunday! Wish me luck on getting rid of everything!

Once I get things set up I will take some photos to share with you!

Weekly Sales and Yard Sale Update

Whew...it's been a long weekend (or should I say month). Saturday was our big Dixie Highway Yard sale day!

It rained all day Thursday and sprinkled off and on throughout most of the day Friday. I was getting worried about pulling an all-nighter Friday night to set up our stuff for the big sale Saturday. At about 3pm on Friday I was able to take 2 truckloads over full of my fixtures for the sale. I had 10 5-tier bookshelves, 4 - 6 ft. plastic fold-out tables, 2 clothing racks, and 6 pieces of plywood (that we had split down the middle a couple of years ago for make-shift tables).

I unloaded both trucks and put everything together while the rain sprinkles were finishing up! People were out shopping and kept stopping by asking how much the tables and shelves were! I swear I told about 30 people that they were for the things that I would be selling in the morning!

At about 6:30pm I finally decided to go load up everything I was bringing over. 3 truckloads later I had it all there! I was trying to wait as long as I could before setting up so that I wouldn't be bombarded by shoppers while I was trying to pull things out of the boxes. I know this sounds nuts because I was refusing money by telling people that I wouldn't be ready until the morning but it is really hard to set up everything when people are piling in trying to see what you have. In the past I have even had people break things trying to swiftly pull things from boxes determined to be the first to get to it!

I had most of the boxes open and placed strategically by the shelves that they would be on. Once I started taking things out I had a few friends and family members under the tents helping me pull things out. I always give them first "dibbs" on my stuff because they have been so gracious to allow me to come set up for this sale each year! Of course, once people see other people going through your stuff...they stop to see what you have!

One man that stopped by couldn't believe the massiveness of what I had and was setting things aside left and right to buy them! There was a border line panic coming from him because he was seeing what my friends were pulling out. He started going through the boxes at lightning speed trying to be the first one to get to it! I even had to ask him to be careful because he was being rough with some of the boxes that had glass bottles in them and I thought he had broken something. This was the "nuts" thing that I was trying to explain earlier. I have witnessed people acting like it was the day after Christmas at Walmart...running over others in fear that they may get something first!

Anyways, I finally finished setting up right when it got dark. I didn't keep up with it minute by minute but I honestly think that it took me about 4-5 hours total to set up completely!

The plan was to get up and drive back over at 6:00am but the sand man got the best of me and we didn't get there until a little after 8:00am. Apparently I kept hitting the snooze button without realizing it!

My mom, husband, and daughter all helped through out the day! The weather was wonderful and it was no where near as hot as it was in the past years. By 1:00pm I had gone from 10 shelves, 10 tables, and 3 clothing racks worth of stuff down to about 3 tables and 3 bookshelves worth of stuff! It was awesome! Things were flying off of my shelves left and right! I decided to let things go at half off around 2:00pm and the frenzy started again. People were buying by the boxes. At 3:30pm I dropped everything down to .25 each! Again things were flying off of the tables and shelves.

By 4:00pm I had narrowed roughly a thousand or more items down to 3 tables worth. In the end I only had equivalent to 1 table worth of items. It was time to quit! I boxed up the remaining items and donated them (all 4 boxes...woohoo) to my friends who were selling items for their church to raise money! They were planning to set up today and I knew that they could make some more money with the items that I had left!

I only came home with the initial 2 truckloads of fixtures and I can't tell you how great it felt for this sale to be so successful! Although I won't disclose exactly how much I made it was definitely worth the hours that I put into organizing, setting up, and working the sale!

A percentage of my profit went to tithes and the remaining amount is going to pay for my husband to take the National Certification for a Certified Welding Inspector (CWI). He has to take a 2 week course in Ohio (more than a hop skip and a jump away from Georgia) and in addition to paying the fee for the certification (which includes all 3 meals and housing for the 2 weeks) we also have to buy his airplane tickets!

My goal was to make enough money to allow us to afford him to take the class. He has been working as a Welding Engineer for 10 years and he is an "in-house" certified welding inspector. This national certification means that he can pretty much go anywhere and do what he does...but for more money. This certification will increase his yearly salary tremendously so it is well worth the expense to send him to Ohio. Once we found out that he was being laid off the plan was to raise the money to do so. He hasn't been able to travel while working and with his last day being in the first week of August and the class is at the end of August the timing is perfect!

We are still recovering from sore backs and aching feet!

We took time out today to ride up the road and hit some of the remaining yard sale. I never get to shop because I always sell! We were able to pick up a few movies and my daughter loved the yard sale that allowed her to fill a bag with toys for $1. There's not really much left on Sunday's!

We also stopped by an Old Navy Outlet on the way up and scored some great buys! The men items (every single item for a man) were 50% 0ff. A friend of mine had given me a 20% off coupon (that they received on the bottom of their receipt from a previous shopping trip). I was able to buy my husband $192 worth of clothing for $77.60 after the 20% coupon. I also found out that the outlet store will also take any of the $/$$ coupons that you get (the ones that they put up on the website on Sunday Nights). It would have been nice to have one of those $75/$100 coupons today but I am still pleased with the savings that I did get!

Things should get back to normal here on my site within the next few days!

I want to thank many of you who stopped in to visit me during the sale! It was good to see (and meet) all of you! Next time we meet...let's make it a time where we can actually sit down and talk. I had to tend to customers and make a few meetings short. Thanks again for the support!

Here are the links for this weeks sales with coupon matchups to get you started!

CVS
Walgreens
Rite Aid

Food City: New (Tennessee Folks)
Kroger
Ingles

***I'll post pictures of the yard sale tomorrow. My husband placed my camera in one of the bins and I have to go hunt through them to see which one it's in!***

Today Is The Big Day

Right now I should be at my Dixie Highway Yard Sale! Wish me luck!

If I don't pass out as soon as I get home I will try to post up some pictures for you to see the sale!

This is going to be a hot humid day! FUN! :)

Lots of sunscreen and water today!

Dixie Highway 90-Mile Yard Sale Info and Preparation

The Dixie Highway 90 mile yard sale is held the first weekend of June every year. (Read the details of how the sale was started here)

It goes from Ringold, GA all the way down to Marietta, GA. In Bartow county alone there were over 400 documented yard sales last year (these were the people that actually paid for registration of their sale...many more were out!)

This year will make the 3rd year that I have sold at this sale! It runs from Friday - Sunday but the best day is Saturday! I kept track of my sales with receipts last year and I had over 400 transactions from 6am that morning until 5pm that evening! It was amazing!

While my internet was down I went through every room in my house and played the 6 month game. If I haven't used it in 6 months I am selling it! I have accumulated a substantial amount of items new and used for this sale! I will have 8 5-tier bookshelves full of items along with over 10 tables worth of stuff (not to mention the things that will be for sale in crates and boxes along with things I may have to lay out on tarps simply because I don't have the table space for them!). There will also be 6 other families setting up with me...this is huge!

I am currently going through the items (pricing them and sorting them into labeled boxes) and hope to be done by next weekend. Organization is definitely they key (for me) for something this massive!

This is what I do to make my yard sale the best yard sale ever!

1. I price everything. More people are willing to pick things up with prices them. Some yard salers will ask regardless but most won't even bother asking and you may loose sales if you don't price things! I know plenty of people who don't price but I do...because it is what I like to see when I go out to yard sales myself.

2. Let It Go: I always go half off around 12 or 1pm. I price my items low enough to be a great deal for someone in the morning but to be a steal for someone at half price! Going half price will ALWAYS insure that you make more money at your yard sales! If you keep everything at the same price throughout the day you may sell things here and there towards the end but most people are going to expect things to be marked down the later it is. If you start marking things down...people will buy them! Wouldn't you rather make a $1 off of something than not sell it at all?

3. Organization: I always place items strategically with the like! I separate my tables into categories (kitchen, toys, home decor). You wouldn't buy sour cream on the cereal aisle so why place toys, a towel, and a dvd all on the same table (at least until the end of the day once you start combining your tables). It has been proven over and over with marketing and advertising that if you place like items together more of them sale. Many buyers appreciate the ease of shopping when you use this method!
Tips:I try not to place small things on the ground! Most people will look but having the items on a table or on a shelf will raise the percentage of being sold! NEVER just throw a bunch of clothing or anything for that matter onto a tarp! This kills me when I see it! If you are looking for something in particular you may be willing to go through the pile...but most aren't. Again...loss of sales!

4. Pay Station: I ALWAYS have a table set up with plenty of "Pay Here" signs. I have multiple people that help with this sale and we always have one sitting at the table with the cash box. I always recommend that you have at least $50 in change (including coins) to start out with. You will be amazed at the amount of people that come through with $20 bills and only spending $2. My mom usually sits at the table while my husband and I are walking around helping people. We also take money for convenience! I have a plastic garbage can that we store plastic bags in (the ones I save up from shopping) for buyers items. I also have a rack that I hand my re-usable grocery bags on (with a sign that says "take one and fill it up"! I use these to allow shoppers a place to put items that they are buying! People really like this convenience

5. Taking Cover: This year I will have tents to help with the heat! Last year I ended up with heat exhaustion (not fun at all) even though I stayed well hydrated and kept a hat on. We were right out in the sun and it was brutal. I asked for tents for Christmas (I knew I wanted them for this). One tent will be for the pay station (and area for eating/daughter) and the other tents will be used to place the bookshelves under. I am selling a ton of my stockpile and items such as deodorant etc will go under here to cut down on the melting factor! Most of my brand new stockpile items will go under the tents while the used items will be put out on the tables!

If you are planning on shopping the Dixie Highway Sale be sure to stop by my location!

1939 Cassville Road
Cartersville, GA 30121

Hope to see you there!

Image: A fraction of items I will have in the sale...you would not believe the amount of items I am taking over there! This is just the kids stuff!

Help Support A Great Cause In Cartersville...Yard Sale

I had the honor of speaking to our local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group here in town last week! They were a wonderful group! I want to thank Katy for setting all of this up for us! She was so enthusiastic about the idea of her group talking about coupons and I loved it!

I found out that they were holding a yard sale this weekend in Cartersville to benefit their group and wanted to help promote a great cause!

Here are the details...



SATURDAY April 25th, 7 am - 2 pm HUGE Fundrasing Yard Sale at Rowland Springs Baptist Chruch. Something for all ages. Clothing for $1, Bargins galore! Located in the rear parking lot of the church, 79 Rowland Springs Road, Cartersville 30121. On Hwy 20 (exit 290 off I-75) go East about 1.5 miles turn right on Rowland Springs Rd. and the church will be on your left. Yard Sale supports MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) in Cartersville. There will also be bake sale items, new handmade bookmarks ($3 each) great for Mother's Day and for Teachers, as well as our groups cookbook for sale ($5 each).

I will be there bright and early...we may run into each other! See you there!

Yard Sale Update!

Last Saturday I was scheduled to have a yard sale. Due to an unexpected turn of events I had to postpone the sale until this Saturday!

Date: Saturday 12/20/08
Time: 10 AM until 2PM

Rain Date Sunday(30% chance on Saturday): 12/21/08
Time: 1Pm until 4PM

Wish us luck!

Yard Sale Notice Saturday from 9-1pm 12-13-08

It's that time again!

This Saturday from 9am until 1pm I will be hosting my once per month yard sale!

Each month I go through my entire house and constantly find things that I, or someone in my family, no longer use. Now that we are a family of 6 there are way more things to sell this time around!

We also open our yard up to other friends and families that would like to join us each time we have one!

I also wait until December to put things out such as Christmas decor and brand new items still in their original packaging! I have a good 6' table worth of Christmas items and double that of brand new toys and things that I have purchased to re-sell! I get things at such a great deal to begin with that I can still make them at least 50% or more off of their retail price!

I also include any items that I have purchased to stockpile that I feel I can live without! In addition to donating my items, I ad them to my yard sales to make a little extra money! This will come in handy for any last minute things I would like to buy this year!

I will also be adding a "Baked Goods" table for my daughter this month! Almost 2 years ago (5 years old at the time) she wanted a Nintendo DS. At $120...I refused. After months of begging for one (only because every other child her age seemed to have one...which wasn't good enough for me to buy it) my husband and I sat down with her and told her that if she wanted this game console that she had to save her own money and purchase it herself.

1 1/2 years later (patient isn't she) she finally saved up enough money to buy one! She put back her gift money from each holiday and birthday and asked to do things each week to earn a little extra money! This was a child who wanted to spend her little $1 and $2 per week chore money on candy. Much to our surprise she really wanted this game and only spent her money on a handful of occasions on other things that she wanted at the time (If she had $5 we taught her how to put part of it back and spend only a part of it!).

She has now been saving for an additional game for this Nintendo and this is where the bake sale comes in handy! She absolutely loves having my yard sales with me. We plan to bake many things with the gazillion bags of cookie mix and allow her to set up shop and make some extra money!

I will be sure to take pictures and let everyone know if she meets her goal! I think I am more excited about doing this than she is! She will keep 100% of the profit from her own sale! We will make the baked goods together Friday after she gets out of school!

I will be away from my computer over the weekend so I will not be able to respond to any emails or comments until later Sunday night!

Wish both of us the best!

It's That Time Again!

I will be hosting my "Once A Month" Yard Sale tomorrow starting at 9AM.

Each month, either the 1st or 2nd weekend, I host a yard sale for my friends and family! Many of them live in areas that are not good "yard sale" traffic areas and we always have a great turn-out where I live! We always have tons of things to get rid of!

Each time I have one I find more and more things to get rid of around the house! It's amazing that I can come up with another 3 or 4 tables worth of items each time! We usually have around 6 tables or more worth of items priced anywhere from .25 each to $3 each! We always sell cheap!

I usually put stockpile items in also! These things go fast!

It's a great way for me to make some extra income while staying at home with my daughter! Especially with Christmas right around the corner!

Posts will continue as scheduled but I may not be able to answer comments and questions during the day tomorrow! I will resume responding to emails tomorrow evening!

Wish me luck!

Yard Sale Time again!

I will be away from the computer for the next couple of days, after tonight!

I am having my monthly yard sale with lots of new items that I have added!

If you are local and need directions please email me @ savingyourcents @ comcast . net! I will be on the computer later tonight!

I have lots of new and used items! Furniture, kids and infant items, books, etc!

Wish me luck!

Yard Sale Saturday from 11-2pm and Local Coupon Classes Coming Soon!

This is what my typical shopping trip looks like! Nuts...I know!

I find such great deals on items that I love to pass the savings on to family and friends! Once per month I will be opening up my stockroom for people to purchase items from me at a fraction of the cost in addition to other yard sale items! This is not a get rich quick scheme but adds some additional income each month to my household! I am also still in the process of remodeling my finished daylight basement room! Once this is complete I will hold coupon training classes once per month for FREE! I love to share my enthusiasm with those who feel the same! These classes will be structured as if you were taking a college course but all crammed into 2 hours! Each month will offer something different...budgeting, meal planning, coupon resources, store coupon policies etc. Our local coupon club has ended...the founder has decided to go back on the road doing seminars and needs to spend her time preparing for that! I am in a sense taking over and offering my knowledge to those who wish to learn! I will keep everyone posted on those events as they come about!

I am having another sale on Saturday with my stockpile! I have tons of new things! I will occasionally pull things out of the house that I no longer need to add to the sale! This is a really good idea, in addition to donations, for those of you who have a gigantic surplus of items...as I do! If you live in a pretty good location people will buy these items without a doubt!

Last month's turn-out was wonderful and I sold a lot! As a rule of thumb, I price the items at half-off of the regular price it would cost in the store! There are a lot of people out there that don't have time for coupons and this is a great way for them to save money also without the hassle of coupons!

I will take pictures as I go and come back and post them!

I will also have a box set up for those who come to fill out a form with contact information for a free drawing! Come and see what you could get for free!

Here are some of the items I will have in the sale...
laundry detergent
stain remover
dish washing liquid
dish washing gel packs
all-purpose cleaner
glass cleaner
air fresheners
scented oil refills
cat food
sponges
spray starch
diapers
wipes
formula
baby cereal
goodnites
deodorant
hand soap
body wash
make-up
q-tips
razors
nail accessories
nail polish
advil
excedrin
cough drops
shampoo
conditioner
hair styling products
lotion
shaving gel
kotex feminine products
playtex feminine products
batteries
nail brushes
body scrubbers/sponges etc
hand sanitizer
kingsford charcoal and lighterfluid
school supplies
sara lee bread (all bought today and tomorrow)
hot dog buns
spiral pasta
kellogg's, post and General Mills cereals...all types
ketchup, mustard, mayo
variation of jar pickles
bbq sauce
marinades
salad dressings
hot sauce
Worcestershire sauce
canned mixed veggies
v8 splash
lusianne tea bags
dole fruit cups
brownie mixes
popcorn
crackers
pancake mix, syrup
slivered almonds
croutons
chex mix, cheerios mix
cookies
peanuts
jello
granola bars
boxes of Popsicles
brown sugar
pop-tarts
spaghetti sauce
ice cream toppings
paper towels
napkins
rubbermaid to-go containers
and much much more!

Print this article out on your computer and bring it with you for 10% off of your entire purchase!

Garage Sale Updates!

Whew! I have been slaving away all day long clearing out my cluttered garage! I have finally gotten some of the tables up and table clothes on them! Some stuff is laid out already but I have much more to go! It's amazing how much we accumulate in so little time!

I am on a "no clutter" mission! This is the first yard sale I have had at the house this summer. Usually I do 3 or 4 due to buying storage units! This year I've only bought 1 unit but I have tons of stuff to sell! I am getting rid of it all! I just wanted to share with you guys the way I do a sale!

First of all I love to GO to yard sales. The perfect yard sale for me to shop at is one that is very orderly with prices and a motivated seller. This is where I get my inspiration!

1. I have 11 tables. (Four 6', one round, one 5' and the rest are pieces of plywood that I had split in half!) For the plywood I use a total of 4 plastic bins to set the wood up to table height (two on each side). I then place plastic table clothes over all of my tables for better presentation and to hide items under the tables that I don't want to sell!

2. I PRICE EVERYTHING! This way the buyer knows what I want for an item and can purchase it for that price or negotiate with me! I am always open to all offers. After all, we are selling the stuff for a reason right?

3. I organize the items on the table. I put toys together, kitchen items together, and so on!

4. I have 4 clothing racks! There's nothing like a yard sale where someone has just thrown all of their clothes on a tarp for you to get on your knees to dig in! I hand up and either price each individual item or make a sign to go on the racks that shows the price I would like for each item on that rack!

5. I advertise. I place an ad in the local paper (where your most serious yard salers look!), online in different yahoo groups that I belong to for my town, at my coupon club, etc. I even make up fliers to hang around in stores (with their permission, of course) and to give out to the neighbors. My husband will even take one to his job and post it up there for me! The more people that come the merrier!

6. Always have plenty of change. I keep an over-the-shoulder bag on me with my money in it! It never fails that the first couple of people give you a $20 bill for $2 worth of items. So...I make sure I am prepared with 10's, 5's, 1's, quarters nickels and dimes!

7. I always have plenty of walmart bags for their purchases! That way you are not sending them off with an armful of stuff that could drop and break! I also keep plenty of newspaper for the breakables! (Since I have so many from getting coupons!)

8. Street Signs. There nothing like mapquest giving you the wrong directions. I strategically place 6 signs at various roads for my sales. This way, not only will the ones looking for you, find you...but those that are passing by can easily follow them to your sale! I make two sided signs and use 1 sheet of poster board for each sign. I write in BIG BOLD BLACK LETTERS...easily legible!

9. I am prepared for the whole sale by the end of the night before! Yes, in the past I have stayed up until 2am, but over the years I have figured out that doing it a little at a time until you are done is way easier and a lot less stressful!

10. DAY OF THE SALE. I like to play music! I bring my radio down and turn it up loud enough so that people can hear it but not blaring! It's kinda like being in a retail store. Music makes people feel better...there's no question of that! It's uplifting and help avoid silent moments while you are walking around and people are shopping!

11. I always set up a "PAY ME" table. This way everyone knows where to go when they are ready to pay! Sometimes I even have spare bins for individuals to use, if there hands get full, until they are ready to pay!

12. Always be cheery and bright! SMILE SMILE SMILE! Even if someone doesn't buy anything tell them thanks for stopping by! I always say thank you when I go to someones yard sale if I walk off with or without buying anything! It's just pure manner's! They put a lot of effort into making that sale (I know first hand) so "thank you's" are always welcome!

13. Sit back and make your spare change! Gotta love the rushes...yes it can get hectic but most people are patient and will wait their turn to pay. Some try to interrupt you while you are counting up items for someone but if you just politely ask if they can hold on just a minute, they usually don't mind! I have mastered this balancing act and am able to answer them and not loose count! It took a long time for me to get that way though!

I hope sharing my yard sale with you will give you an inspiration to have one yourself. They really are fun!

Be sure to check back over the next few days for Before-During-and After Pictures!

Have a wonderful day! If you have any tips that work for you...be sure to comment and share them with us!