Every year I have clients who ask me if I can help them set up a garage sale. They want to eliminate clutter and sell all of their junk items at a garage sale. So the problem is: will your articles bring in the money that is expected? Most of us believe that our items are worth much more than someone else is willing to pay for them. If you are not willing to accept this, then a garage sale is clearly not for you. Consider the amount of time you will spend preparing for the garage sale and the amount you will earn. If the time you spend preparing for the sale is longer than the time it will be open for sale, you may want to reconsider. If your yard sale has most of the items priced below $ 10, you will get a lot more in tax write-off than you would get from buyers at a yard sale.
When you donate to a charity, you can write off all the items you donated on your taxes. The only requirement is to write down each item that you are giving away. Now if you keep a bag in a closet for all your donations, you can write down the items that are donated each time the bag fills up. Then attach the receipt to the list and place it in your tax file. Stacks up fast if purged frequently. You must be aware of the weather that you will never be able to predict in time to announce the garage sale.
That leaves you vulnerable if it’s cold or raining. If you only have a few more valuable large items and mostly items under $ 5 or $ 10, consider listing the largest and most expensive items on Craigslist and donating the rest. You will be much happier with the results and have much more time to do the things that you really like or complete the most important things.