How To Host A Successful Moving Sale : The Saturday Weekend Review #282
DON’T HAUL AWAY WHAT YOU NO LONGER USE- GET RID OF IT!
Hosting a moving sale is a great idea for many reasons which I will discuss but number one is extra cash.
Friends of ours just sold their house in one week which was far quicker than they had anticipated.
Now the task of getting their stuff out of storage has begun and they asked us to help them host a moving sale.
It’s amazing how much stuff you can accumulate over the years and it’s not until you are ready to move that it can become overwhelming.
Ideally, every homeowner should de-clutter their home every month by removing items from the home that holds no meaning or purpose.
You don’t have to wait until you move to keep your home organized and tidy do it as you go.
When the time comes you want to sell your house which is a big task even with a real estate agent, you’ll have less work to do.
Moving Sale vs. Garage Sale
Hosting a garage sale is fairly straightforward when you round up stuff collecting dust around your house you no longer want.
Most buyers recognize that a moving sale is more immediate comparable to moving out sale rather than a garage sale.
Almost every week there is a moving sale near me that offers an array of large ticket items many of which stay inside.
Keep in mind that what you buy at a garage sale may be far less in cost than what you buy at an indoor moving sale.
Another difference may be that a moving sale is hosted indoors where a garage sale is often outdoors.
Some people like to host a moving garage sale to alert buyers that they are moving.
You don’t always know if someone is moving when they host a garage sale but when they title it a moving sale you can be ready for more negotiations to be fired your way.
No matter what you call it a moving sale means you need to get rid of stuff and you’re open to the best offers.
You may also find larger items at a moving sale such as tables, end-tables, entertainment systems, bedroom sets, lamps, living-room ensemble etc.
Indoor Moving Sale
Not all moving sale hosts will bring all of their items outside like a garage sale either or host it during the summer months.
When you move it can happen any day of the year which means seasonal weather conditions come into play.
You may have to book a viewing appointment which allows you to walk around a home indoors to see what is being sold.
This is how we bought almost all of our furniture when we bought our home back in 2009.
It just so happened that Mrs. CBB spotted a moving sale Kijiji ad online since it was the hub for all things for sale.
The homeowners didn’t live too far away from us so we set up a time and date to go visit.
The home was immaculate on the outside and massive on the inside which for us was like a real estate dream tour.
Moving Sale Pricing
When we entered the home after greeting the hosts they took us around from room to room.
What we would see was each item up for sale had a price tag and number attached with a small description if needed.
Some of the times were straight-forward but they also had lots of home decor and art on the walls for sale.
As Mrs. CBB and I discussed what we wanted to purchase the homeowner marked down the item number.
At the end of the moving sale tour, both the homeowners and we sat at a table to review what we wanted.
They gave us a final rundown and the price of all the items around their house which we chose.
From there we did some negotiating and setting up a time and date to pick up what we had purchased.
Picking Up Items From A Moving Sale
On the day of pick-up, we brought them the cash and backed our trailer which was attached to a truck to their garage and filled it up.
Always bring straps with you if you are picking up large items like furniture or appliances for safety reasons.
That’s how simple it was for us to furnish our home from someone else’s moving sale.
We ended up spending around $1500 for lots of quality home decor, bedroom sets, art and they gave us some kitchen freebies they no longer needed.
Oh, and we weren’t the only couple going around the moving sale either so you have to really make sure you know what you are looking for or you could miss out.
They had a mint condition livingroom set for only $500 which cost thousands and minutes before another couple got that bargain.
Setting up a Moving Sale
How do you get rid of stuff when you move?
You purge your entire house from top to bottom and if you don’t use something or if you don’t think you will, get rid of it.
Well, you have a few options available to you if you find items you aren’t interested in keeping
- Donate it
- Sell it moving sale or garage sale
- Give it away to friends or family
- Garbage or Recycle
Obviously if making money is your goal because moving can be very expensive then every dollar counts.
We really liked the way the homeowners we visited to set up their moving sale by ticketing each item with a number which made the process less stressful for both the seller and ourselves.
If you don’t plan to sell something yet you are asked about it really consider whether you need it or should get rid of it.
Another moving sale we attended the lady had a gorgeous rug in her dining room that she was not selling and we asked her how much she was willing to sell it for.
She was hesitant at first but decided to sell it since it was so large and she had no motivation to move it but forgot to price the item.
Moving Sale Tips
I’d say about 6 to 8 weeks before you are scheduled to move that you should really start to get rid of stuff around your house.
If your plan is to move out of the country you will want to start sooner because you’ll likely have more stuff you’ll want to leave behind.
When I moved to Canada I hosted a moving sale but through friends and family only.
I made a list of everything in my home that I wasn’t taking to Canada and then emailed it with photos to friends and family.
If anyone wanted an item they would let me know and I’ll tell them the price.
Of course, negotiating the price is always a smart way to sell your stuff fast for a moving sale so don’t sweat it if you don’t get what you want for your stuff.
Just get rid of it.
I was able to do this quickly as my house closed fast and I had a month to get out and move to my sister’s place.
They had no room for me apart from some boxes and I wasn’t planning on renting a storage area for anything.
Almost everything that was being shipped to Canada was packed in boxes and sent to the overseas moving company who shipped it before I even arrived in Canada.
What I learned from my moving sale was that we often tend to keep too much stuff around the house than we need.
I was amazed at what I thought I was going to use and never did.
Host a Moving Sale
How do you have a moving sale?
Before moving day you will want to de-clutter your home so you’re not packing stuff unnecessarily to bring to your new residence.
- Get rid of all the small items first by deciding whether to donate or sell it at a garage sale including clothes.
- Mark the big stuff you no longer need or want to bring with you (couch, bedroom set, tables and so on.)
- Take photos of what you are selling if you don’t plan to host a moving sale but rather sell to friends and family
- Attach number tags to each item you plan to sell
- Create a master price list based on your number list
- Advertise your moving sale online and let friends and family know
- Set up moving sale appointments
- Walk around with your indoor buyers at all times and mark down what they are interested in.
- Negotiate a price
- Set up a pick-up date and time
- Collect the cash
- Say thank-you and wave good-bye to your stuff.
Your moving sale is complete and anything you have leftover you take with you if you want to sell it at a later date or get rid of it.
Discussion: What other moving sale tips do you have for those reading this post looking for advice?
Leave your comments below in the comment section.
CBB Posts You May Have Missed
These are the blog posts I’ve written the past two weeks that you can catch up on if you’ve missed them.
If you don’t already please subscribe to the blog and you will get my posts to come straight to your email.
- Lemon Dill Cucumber Salad with Feta (Keto)
- 5 Budget Spreadsheet Expenses Not To Forget (May Budget Update)
- What Is Considered Bad Debt?
- How To Start Building Wealth In Your 20’s and 30’s
- 10 Budget Curb Appeal Updates To Consider Before Selling Your House
- 8 Steps For Managing Your Debt Problems Successfully
Mr. CBB’s Motivational Corner
It’s easy to forget where we came from when we’ve overcome even the smallest goals or obstacles in our lives.
Never forget to look back and see the person you were compared to the person you are today and celebrate yourself.
Don’t let fame and fortune fog your mind and respect those on the same journey since you’ve been there and perhaps are still there.
Frugal Recipe Find
I honestly can’t tell you how many minutes I’ve been staring at this seafood salad photo but I’ll be making this recipe.
What I love about this seafood salad recipe from Dinner at The Zoo is that it is colorful, flavourful and just looks beautiful.
I would love to serve this at my next backyard BBQ party along with grilled steak, burgers and other vegetables and salads.
You’ll also find lots of tips on how to prepare seafood salad and serving suggestions which are great for keto diet lovers.
Perfect!
Garage Sale Finds
If you have some awesome deals you’d like to share from your garage sale outings this Spring and Summer email me your photo and tell us what you found and how much it cost you to be featured.
Hey Mr. CBB,
Here are my awesome garage sale deals from last week;
- Pillow (for my dog), frying pan and pot (for hubby at work) – free
- Backpack $1 (asking was $2)
- Croc boots $1
- Brand new Croc sandals $2
- Learning cash register $2 (asking was $5)
- Two pair of boys pants and T-shirt $2.50
- Pencils, pencil crayons, lined paper and stapler $3 (asking was $4)
- Valentines, folding scissors, post-it notes, foot cushion strips $2 (asking was $2.50)
Total spent: $13.50 (which is maybe a quarter of the cost of the croc sandals)
Jen Peacock
Home and Blog Update
Home Update
You guessed it, we’re all sick AGAIN. I swear we can’t get away from illness even if we tried.
If you open our refrigerator you will find the top shelf full of cough syrups for all uses of the day and night.
Besides having our noses buried in tissue we’ve been winding down the school year with our little guy.
His teachers have been organizing class trips and outdoor events for the kids which we’ve been volunteering at.
It’s always fun to see how kids are at school in comparison to at home.
We often notice how amazing our son can be at putting his outerwear on at school but at home, it’s a chore. Ha!
Next week is the last week of school for kids in Ontario which means summer camp starts up and so does booking mini road-trips for our family.
This year we plan to tour Ontario a bit since we aren’t jetting off anywhere and I plan to finish renovating the bathroom and continuing the basement.
I’ll update you all along the way with some photos but for now, I need to get more tissue.
Wish me luck.
Mr.CBB
Blog Update
We’ve made a few changes on the blog since we last chatted starting with moving to Mediavine from Google Adsense which has proven very successful.
The process was fairly easy and we’ve seen a marked increase in traffic and revenue for the blog which is necessary to keep it running.
As I’ve mentioned a few times before a blog may be free to start but when you are committed to making it a business as I have it can get costly.
I’ll chat more about this as I begin my blogging series for those of you interested in learning about how to start a blog for extra income soon.
In the past week, Sara my mechanical blog queen who I can’t live without has changed the home page of CBB to reflect myself and the finance aspect of the blog.
I was really looking to personalize the blog without offering up a photo of my face so you have a better understanding of who I am and where I’m coming from.
I think she did a fabulous job and look forward to the rest of the new updates on the way for CBB.
That’s all for now on the blog.
Saturday Search Term Giggles
Every week I get tens of thousands of people who visit Canadian Budget Binder because they did a search online and found my blog.
Yes, I can see your search terms and sometimes they are funny.
- Raw Rapini Salad– That will be VERY bitter. No thanks.
- Radish Potato Soup– Hmm, I might try that idea.
- Keto-Friendly Mug Biscuits– I read that as Keto, Friendly Mug Biscuits. Haha! I like my biscuits to be friendly.
- Partner Spends Too Much Money On Dog– Well, that’s a new one for me but I guess it can happen.
If you see the acronym (SIC) next to a word that means I’ve copied the text exactly as it was typed in Google and it has spelling errors.
