Yard Sales

We always seem to gather extra stuff in our houses. Once in a while we need to get rid of things. We can give stuff to charity or to others with kids smaller than ours or we can roll a big dumpster next to the house and start pitching. But make sure the kids aren't watching or they will cry over every little piece that gets thrown out.

One way to get rid of extra clutter and get the kids excited about it is to have a yard sale. Let the kids have their own table and let them keep the money from the things they sell. Suddenly they're happy to get rid of things.

Frugal Dad has some tips on how to have a successful yard sale. Some of the tips bear repeating here:

• Plan the yard sale for the first of the month so you can coincide with pay periods.
• Plan on starting early, about 7 a.m. or so. The hard-core yard sale skimmers will be out by then or earlier.
• Set up a staging area in the garage or the front door. You can set up quickly that way.
• Sell kids' clothing or baby clothes in a large bin. You will likely have a lot of these clothes and bulk is an easy way to get rid of the clothes.
• Have change on hand. It's easy to forget this one in the madness leading up to the yard sale.

I would also add in that if your kids are old enough to know the denominations of money, you should consider letting them take turns giving change. Watch over them to correct mistakes.

After the yard sale is over the kids can split the money from their table and you can use the rest of the money to treat everyone to lunch at McDonald's or Burger King. Take them to one with a play ground and you can relax while they wear themselves out.