Garage Sale or Estate Sale? Both Can Help You Clean House And Get Organized, Says Lorraine Brock

I looked at the pile of forsaken projects under my desk last week when I posted this on Facebook:

Facebook Clutter

When it comes to finding a place for everything, well, let’s just say that there isn’t always a place for everything. And when you don’t have a place for everything, you’ve got clutter. Where there’s clutter, there’s a mess waiting to happen. That’s when it’s time to hire an organizer who can help sort your possessions and help you sell off the rest.

But how do you go about it? And what’s the difference between an “Estate Sale” and a “Garage Sale?” Want to find out more? Read on for for an article from Lorraine Brock, founder of Get Organized!

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Do you know the difference between a Garage Sale and an Estate Sale? At different times in our lives you may need to do one or both of these, so it’s a good idea to know the difference.

Garage sales are usually to reduce excess clutter in your home that you have obtained over time. Unwanted items such as outdated electronics and clothing to low cost smaller knickknacks and furniture. These sales can range in content based on nothing more than the person having the sale’s preference.

Estate Sale

These sales are usually not a necessity but a convenient way to get a little money from your clutter. Location usually takes place in a garage/front yard or a backyard over the course of one or two days. Items need to be moved inside a shed or garage at the end of each day and placed out again the next morning for the sale.

Estate sales are the dispersal of the complete contents of the home including personal belongs, antiques, heirlooms, artwork, valuables and even down to the can goods and cleaning products; not just the old stuff that’s been replaced with new stuff.

Estate sales are a necessity to clear the estate effects, prepare the property for new owners or occupants and allow the new owners to move on. The two most common reasons for an Estate Sale are a death of a loved one or downsizing of seniors. However many times a flood, new construction projects or a move can spawn such a sale.

These types of sale generate significant revenue as items are more recognized for their value; offers are accepted but rarely leads to a sale unless it’s still available at the end of the sale.

plenty of knick-knacksSet up of this type of sale is much better organized than a garage sale and requires the inside of the home to be used for displaying the contents. Shoppers roam freely inside the home looking into drawers, cabinets, closets and more for items to purchase. This type of sale takes place over several days and may include invitation only for early shopping.

With any sale there is much to be considered. The time and cost into doing the sale yourself or paying someone to do it for you. The logistics in itself could even be the bigger issue as any sale takes excellent project management skills and heading off of potential problems before they happen.

If you choose not to have any sales at all there are plenty of consignment stores for the larger items such as furniture and home décor, local ebay stores that will sale some items with a minimum value and donation for the rest. Again keep in mind there are pros and cons with all these options and you still might be out pickup fees or you may not get what you expected to get when something is in consignment.

However the alternative it to do nothing and wait but wait for what? You could rent a storage unit to hold items you wish to sell later but again we are talking more money and at some point you still have to deal with the logistics of moving or selling the items.

IMG_3957_retouchedLorraine Brock is a professional organizer, family coach, speaker, and Founder and President of Get Organized!. Get Organized! is a Dallas based professional organizing service with expertise in both residential and business organizing.

Lorraine has been featured on Good Morning Texas, Good Day Fox, CBS 11 and has spoken at one of the largest home shows in the DFW area held annually at Cowboys Stadium, where she has shared the stage with stars such as Ty Pennington of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Jason Cameron of DIY’s Man Caves and Desperate Landscapes, Tera Hampton of HGTV’s Design Star, Chip Wade of HGTV’s Curb Appeal: The Block and Designed To Sell, William Moss of HGTV’s DIG IN, and Bryan Baeumler on HGTV’s Disaster DIY. For more information about Lorraine Brock or Get Organized! go to www.GetOrganized.ws

Joanna England

Joanna England is the Executive Editor at CandysDirt.com and covers the North Texas housing market.

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