TorontoRentals
Moving and need to lighten your load? Time to purge your ex’s junk to make way for some new Ikea furniture? Simply looked around one day and thought that your life was too cluttered?
Time for a garage sale.
But wait! You live in a tiny apartment in Toronto? No worries – even for apartment dwellers, “garage sales” are a great way to downsize your life and make a few extra dollars in the process, and with the internet as a helper, they’re easier than ever to pull off.
Here are some ways to have a great little sale where you clean up your apartment and get some pocket change in the process.
Go to a park
Living in the city is difficult for your ordinary garage sale. There really aren’t driveways and sidewalks that you can use, so you can’t just set up at the side of the road – no matter though! Just go to a nearby green space and post your cardboard signs at the ends of the block. If there aren’t any green spaces around, you may still be able to get away with having a little sidewalk sale: The Star wrote an article about a woman trying this very idea out, and the verdict is that it’s basically not a problem!
Advertise online
Craigslist, Kijiji, Facebook and forums of all kinds all provide us with a great way to self-promote, and the more people that know about your sale the more that will come! One of the big problems with yard sales isn’t the fact that they’re usually full of bad items (which, to be fair, is definitely true), but the fact that just no one knows where they are until they’ve already stumbled upon it. Advertising is key – that’s why companies do it every day! Besides, why make cardboard signs when you can just use your phone?
Invite friends
One of the best ways to have a successful sale is to invite your crew to join you and sell their stuff too. It’s one thing having a small table with your stuff on it, but if you have, basically, an outdoor store full of all kinds of things, people will be more likely to notice and stop on over! Not only that, but you can all help each other with sales and cleanup at the end of the day and simply keeping each other company is a great way to have fun. Having drinks afterwards doesn’t hurt either!
Host an open house
Post online that you’re having a massive sale and everything must go from your apartment (as long as it’s true!). People love the idea that they can sort through your apartment and pick out the stuff they want. Make sure you have a friend with you so you’re safe, prop your door open and invite the world in. Mark prices on everything and mind the door for safety, but enjoy bringing in tons of cash while you see your old crap leave forever.
