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What is the best way to tackle spring cleaning? Probably to start with a garage sale! Just knowing you might have a chance to make some money from your unneeded items can help you figure out what to keep and what to part with. Some people love to have garage sales, and view it as an opportunity for fun and profit. Other people can shy away from the idea because of the amount of work involved. You may be surprised at your success, though, so consider giving it a chance. How can you get ready? Here are some tips to prepare for a garage sale.

• Get everyone in the household involved, which will lessen the workload for you. Offer incentives, like a percentage of profits to your children.

• There are a lot of different methods you can use to figure out what to part with. One of the most common is to ask yourself whether you have used an item in the past year or not. Some people also simply decide to get rid of a certain percentage of a certain type of item. Remember not to pressure other family members too much; you never know what items have sentimental value, and no one should ever let go of something they are likely to regret.

• Choose a time and day of the week that allows you to take advantage of traffic going through your area—but not a day when everyone is rushing to work. Early in the month is good, since many people have just been paid and are going to be more casual with cash. Steer clear of holidays, because a lot of people head out of town. Research by dropping by other local yard sales to figure out what prices to set. Be sure to do some serious advertising. You will not sell anything if no one knows you have a sale on. You cannot expect it to pass through word of mouth on the day you are planning on hosting it.

• Make your “shop” look nice and make it easy to search through. Take the time to organize your items logically. Make your displays look friendly from the road. Poorly organized yard sales can drive people away, because no one wants to purchase what looks like a pile of junk. You want people to see that your loss can be their gain!

• Have a backup plan. Get a few large plastic bins for the thrift store and fill them up with any items you fail to sell at the end of the day. Either take them to the thrift store yourself or schedule a pickup for the end of your sale day.

Getting ready for a yard sale is a lot of work, but once you get good at it, you will have an easier time in the future. The more work you put into doing it right, the more customers you will attract, and the more money you will ultimately make. And money is a great reward for all of that effort!