It takes some kind of person to be a garage saler. I learned this morning that the act of going to garage sales has actually been given the name “garage saling.” I’m not sure who officially gave it that name, maybe it just became common, and easier to communicate, among those who make this “saling” a regular activity. I can remember having many tag sales while growing up in Connecticut. And equally remember being handed several scattered, sideways glances upon setting up our very first one after our move to Colorado, where the more common vernacular is garage sale.

Normally, I don’t spend an abundance of time contemplating what to call it, or how to do it, but since we participated in our neighbor/friend’s sale this morning, I found it acceptable to give it just a little extra brain time. And, in doing so, came up with a few very necessary things to ensure success.

1. Always have donuts! Our friends weren’t aware of this rule! But Chris and I explained that any successful garage sale that we’ve been a part of always started out with someone running to the store, first thing, to get donuts.

2. Have good signage! We were counting on foot traffic from residents of the neighborhood to get the bulk of our “salers,” and after hanging a couple hand-written signs on our cars and leaving them at strategic places near our cul-de-sac, we realized that perhaps we needed a little more publicity. That’s when Chris ran inside and used the power of the internet and/or Craig’s list to make our presence more widely known. That seemed to provide a needed boost! The boys also tried to help with the effort, attaching their own signs to their scooters and riding around.

3. The more variety for sale, the better! The kids set up a lemonade/ kool-aid stand mid-morning. While the peak heat of the day hadn’t yet set in by that hour, some special “salers” came back just to buy their wares, finding in their hearts a soft spot from memories of their own childhood entrepreneurships in lemonade sales.