But strange as it seems, there’s a bit to do when it comes to organising a garage sale.

If you don’t want to watch tumbleweeds or spend the rest of the afternoon putting back the entire contents of your home, it’s a good idea to put in some planning.

Here are some tips to help you organise an awesome garage sale.

1.     Get the right date

First things first, you have to choose a good date – good meaning one where people are around, not on holidays or long weekends. Dates in winter are a hard sell – no one wants to scrounge through your unneeded possessions in their winter coat. Think about when you’re most likely to go to a garage sale and use that as your guide – a nice casual spring morning.

2.     Create buzz

There’s only so much your neighbours can buy. If you want to sell more than your old shoes and a torn paperback, you need to get the word out. Put an ad in a garage sale site (there are heaps!) or your local paper. This’ll attract the hard core bargain hunters, people who will travel just to explore your horde. Posting a sign on your community notice board or creating a Facebook event is another good (and more economical) way to cause some buzz.

3.     Put yourself on the map

You want the entire neighbourhood to know you’re having a garage sale. Post up signs to rally foot traffic for the day. Be creative but clear. Star doodles are fine but you don’t want to forget to include the date. Or the address. Or the time. Effective signs let people know what you’re selling. You might even want to draw a map. Try to stick your signs at intersections and crossroads where people are likely to linger and take notice.

4.     Create a spread

When it comes to the actual day, make it easy for people to rummage through your stuff. Spread out more valuable items on tables and use milk crates and the footpath for other odds and sods. You want people to feel comfortable. Your sale can’t look so fancy that people won’t approach or so chaotic that they won’t bother trying.

5.     Price

Putting your things up for sale is tricky. Finding the right price is trickier. Aim for a midway point between what you think something is worth and how much you’re likely to get for it. The lower your prices the more you will sell. To save yourself the hassle of answering "how much is this" five thousand times, try to bulk price things. A five dollar rack over here. A two dollar bucket over there. And hopefully, more than loose change for you.

After selling all that unneeded stuff you’ll have a load of extra storage space – ready to fill with brand new household items