Sign of the season

By Mim King

Got junk? Want cash? After a winter of mild discontent, renew your resolution to get organized -- and make money doing it -- by turning your trash into another's treasure.

Put cash, or at least a tax-deductible receipt, into your wallet by using this process.

First, determine what you really don't need, like, wear or use. Consider this: Is it in good shape? Does it work? Does it fit? Is it "you"? If the answer is no, it goes in the get-rid pile. Don't worry yet about whether you can sell it; first decide that you don't want it, then we'll determine its fate.

Did you know that clothing, CDs and books are the most common money-making collections lingering around most homes?

Furniture and larger household items need a thoughtful plan of good-riddance, but they'll also bring a respectable return. Advertise a small number of big-ticket items in your local newspaper or neighborhood newsletter.

Furniture, specialty items and collections do well here. Besides a nominal cost to place an ad, you'll need to arrange your schedule for each call and purveyor visit. But you'll likely get 100 percent of the selling price, and the buyer will likely haul it away.

To sell lots of stuff well takes effort, but yard sales are a great way to sell a number and variety of items, with the tempting reward of reaping 100 percent of everything sold.

As there is power in numbers, join forces with neighbors and make it a block sale. A larger haul is more attractive to buyers, and a side benefit for you is that the pre-sale duties and advertising costs are shared among several sellers.

The downside is that the standard yard sale etiquette of negotiating prices, as well as the time and tasks involved in the setup, selling and takedown are time-consuming and not everyone's weekend cup of tea.

But if you do it right, buyers will come, if only you'll remember that advertising and presentation are key:

• Advertise in the paper (particularly effective for block sales). And don't forget to post lots of brightly colored signs, with words large enough to read when the driver is going 20 mph, on nearby main roads the morning of your sale. Balloons are eye-catching, too.

• Set up your "store." Instead of dumping everything in heaps on the ground for people to weed through, use hangers for clothing and display things on makeshift shelves and tables. If you use your lawn as your table, sheets and tablecloths draw attention, particularly to groups of small or like items.

• Display like with like: kitchen, kid stuff, garden, pet, automotive, sports, collectibles.

• Despite what you see on TV, don't set prices on individual items. Why not? What if you priced something at $10 but a buyer would gladly have given you $15? Exceptions are if you have a decent number of like items ("all toys $1," "all clothing $3"). People expect firm prices on big-ticket items, such as furniture and appliances, but be flexible, unless you want to wheel that fridge back inside at the end of the day. You're goal is to get rid of your stuff; the buyer's goal is to pay as little as possible. Don't be too greedy when it comes to prices.

• It's handy if you have someone on call to offer large-item delivery for a small price. Convenience is a motivator to buy.

• Have $50 in change and small bills at the ready.

• Be prepared for early birds.

• For pure junk, have a "free" box for people to pick through.

• Offer or sell coffee or lemonade. Besides being neighborly, people will linger, which is good for selling potential.

If organizing a yard sale is just too much work, think consignment.

Consignment stores attempt to sell items whose values fall somewhere between thrift and retail prices. For furniture, household goods and clothing, items are priced according to their original retail and current estimated value.

The chances of selling your items increase as items are perused by many people over several weeks. You leave the selling to the store, which also eliminates strangers coming into your home to look at your bedroom set.

The quality of your items will dictate your earning potential, and you'll take home 40 percent to 60 percent of what the item sells for, if it sells.

With books, CDs and other collectibles, you'll typically receive cash or store credit right then and there.

If even that's too daunting, think donation. While there's no earning potential, it feels good to make a contribution to your church bazaar or favorite charity, and the tax write-off comes in handy. And it's easy: You simply drop off your goods and pick up your receipt.

Some charities offer free pickup service for large items. But it pays to do your research: More than 20 million of us donate bags of used clothing and other household items each year, and the vast majority underestimate the value of their donation by as much as 80 percent.

Swapping items is not a moneymaker, but at least you'll be ahead in getting rid of your own clutter. Organize a stuff-swap with your friends, or experience another bonding activity with your neighbors with a block swap (perhaps to follow your block sale). Clothing, garden tools, kid stuff and general household items are great swappable collections.

But before you do anything with your items, consider the ease, effort and potential tax savings of donating your items to charity versus selling them. You might find it easier to have Salvation Army pick up your old couch and get the full tax write-off instead of orchestrating a yard sale or hauling it to consignment.

Still, many people prefer the feeling of cold, hard cash in their hands instead of a receipt that they invariably will lose, or they might not need the tax write-off.

Consignment stores provide guidelines for what they accept; thrift stores provide general charitable donation value guidelines, or search the Internet for the same. Your friendly Internal Revenue Service Publication 526 also can help you determine values.

Can't decide? For the very enthusiastic, try it all. See what sells at consignment and/or a yard sale; donate or give away what doesn't. Whatever the route you take, organizing, downsizing, simplifying your surroundings feels great, and it pays.

Mim I. King, M.A., NAPO, AADMM • San Francisco, CA 415.572.9597 • Lexington, KY 859.313.5050