Suddenly feeling like your house is overflowing with stuff? You’re not the only one. Each spring, it seems humans are hard-wired to pare down, clean up, and organize. (It’s called spring cleaning, after all!)
One of the best ways to handle that surplus of stuff is a good ol’ fashioned yard sale. And while the first order of business is to attract shoppers to your sale, the next important strategy is to keep them there—and encourage them to open their wallets. Curious about what constitutes a great yard sale in 2025, we asked yard sale veterans Melany Robinson and Christina Lane to share some of their hard-earned wisdom. Here are 5 strategies they use to make more money from their clear-out—and how they ensure everything is gone at the end of the day.
Avoid Pricing Everything
It’s just too hard. By sorting less valuable goods (books, old t-shirts) in bins, you can simply tag the lot with a price “for each.” Another option: Color-coding with dot stickers (often found at office supply stores), and then tacking up a prominent key that notes each hue’s corresponding cost.
Encourage Lingering
It requires minimal effort to set out a jug of lemonade, some paper cups, and a “Help yourself” sign. Or to park a chair near a pile of books. “The longer folks stay,” Christina explains, “the more they tend to find.” “We did not skimp on hospitality,” adds Melany. “Kids were handing out cookies, we had a neighbor delivering cocktails…”
Download Venmo or Square
You’ll of course want to have some cash on hand—we recommend $50 in ones, plus $50 in fives—all stashed in a pocketed waist apron, along with a calculator. Still, these days most people rarely carry around cash, so a mobile payment option is essential. Venmo is a popular option, but a Square reader will also allow you to accept debit or credit card payment.
Hire a Sitter
If you have young children and would rather not put them on lemonade duty, it may be best to send them off with a relative or sitter. Some children can get suddenly sentimental at the sight of a stuffed animal or board game they haven’t touched or played with in years.
Have a Post-Sale Plan
If you have leftover bigger ticket items, it may be worth your while to list a few of those items individually on Facebook Marketplace. Alternatively, donating is a good option. “We pre-arranged a charity pickup scheduled for the afternoon of the sale,” says Melany. “It made everything so easy—we just left items on the curb and by the end of the day, it was all picked up.”
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Rachel Hardage Barrett has written for and edited lifestyle publications for more than 20 years. As the editor-in-chief of Country Living, she has covered all things related to country life—including design, gardening, food, travel, antiques, crafts, and country pop culture—for more than a decade. Before Country Living, Rachel spent several years at Southern Living, where she served as Executive Editor covering travel, food, style, and features. Before Southern Living, Rachel was the Special Projects Director of Real Simple, where she wrote and oversaw books and special issues about food, travel, weddings, organizing, and parenting in addition to working on international editions and licensed products. Before working at lifestyle brands, Rachel started her magazine career at Glamour, where she wrote and edited relationship articles, celebrity interviews, as well as fashion and features content. When she’s not working on the magazine, she can likely be found poking around an antiques shop, perusing country real estate listings, or dreaming of opening a general store.
