Hosting a Stoop Sale

Maeve's Method Coach Megan lets us in on her secret to great stoop sale.

Post originally written by Megan Wright, Maeve's Method Coach

June is a time for celebrating. For teachers and students it marks the end of of the school year, and for Chicagoans (and many others) it’s the start of warmer weather. My husband and I like to take advantage of the change of season by having an annual stoop sale.

This is a great time to purge, invite some friends over for refreshments, and meet some new people in your neighborhood. Sure it’s a bit of work, but no more than schlepping everything down to the alley. Plus, it lightens our load before we bring the items to a local donation facility.

Hosting a stoop sale is a great opportunity to get a better sense of the inventory within your home, a better understanding of your shopping habits, and a greater awareness of the things that you value. To prepare for our sale, we gather items throughout the year that are no longer useful to us. The week prior to our sale we reevaluate the items in our home one room at a time, gathering things into a giant pile. Then, we add prices to each item, make signs to post in the area the morning of, and create a craigslist ad.

This year we were able to free up a ton of space in our home office, and I finally found space for my giant red exercise ball. Then we spend an enjoyable day of socializing and selling. In the past we have met some very enthusiastic children shoppers, an elderly gentleman who shared interesting stories about our neighborhood, and a man who was tempted to buy our extensive DVD collection but decided he better first check with his wife (smart move). All in all it has always been worth our time plus, our dog Rizby loves hanging out #outdoors with us.