Garage Sale vs. Donating

[SpaceGal]

So I am in the midst of going through all the clothes the kids have outgrow. So far there are 6 diaper boxes of stuff.

Is it better to garage sale or donate for a tax deduction? I don't have much other stuff for a garage sale other than baby toys, and some loose household things...nothing big. Financially what's better? I usually craigslist the bigger more valuable things.

My neighborhood usually has a big sale once a year...but seeing that there is SO much clothes, and I can't possibly hang them all up...just the nice stuff...it's a lot to have to sort into boxes and hope that people will rifle through them.

Any advice?

[KrisM]

Can you do a quick add of what you might get for all of them at a garage sale? Assume 100% sells. Let's say that's $100. The donation amount should be what a thrift store would sell them at, so higher than a garage sale, say $200. A 15% tax bracket makes that worth $30 to you and a 28% bracket is $56. Is the additional $44-$70 worth the sale hassle?

I don't garage sale clothes. They go for $.50-$1 each and it's not worth it for me. I also don't itemize, so I don't get the deduction either.

[AnnieW625]

I donate because I hate garage sales. For me it's worth it. I would sell the really nice stuff on consignment or on ebay.

[kijip]

I tend to donate because I am lazy (I save the nicest things to just pass down to friends).

[bunnisa]

Donate. That is, unless you enjoy several hours of work organizing and tagging, followed by more hours bargaining with cranky people who complain about your stuff and then offer you 1/20th of the asking price.

[Kaylee31]

I was just wondering about a similar situation myself. I was cleaning out DS' closet this weekend and going through his clothes, of which he has way too many. I'm saving the nicest stuff for a possible 2nd DS, and was debating whether to save the rest for a yard sale or just Freecycle them. I decided to freecycle b/c it's less hassle, and I see a lot of posts asking for baby & kids clothes so it will go to someone who really needs it.

[hellokitty]

I always donate to non-profit organizations that I belong to doing tag sales or just flat out give clothes away to ppl I know. I only donate to goodwill, etc. if it is something that I feel that ppl would not pay $ for. For me, the whole idea of having to set up a garage sale is just not worth it. Ppl in our area are CHEAP. If I did a garage sale, I probably wouldn't make more than a couple hundred dollars, which just isn't worth my time and effort.

[Dr C]

I'd rather donate.
What I really prefer to do, though, is hand down clothes to a friend or neighbor with a younger kid. It makes me feel so good to see our old stuff being used, KWIM? Better value for me than the deduction (which I never bother with anyway) and certainly beats the hassle of tagging and selling.

[Uno-Mom]

Depending on your brands and such, I'd vote G-sale.

If they're just basics (not designer brands that should be individually priced) you can just sort by size and put the boxes out neatly. Put up a sign that says - 2T sizes: 1.00 each, or whatever. I really couldn't be bothered to hang and price kids' clothes. If they're that nice, I would consign.

If you jump in on the neighborhood sale, most of the work is done by others. Signs and stuff.

Mind you - this is from me. I enjoy kicking back in the shade, beer in hand, while neighbors visit our sales. And we're the parents who comb local g-sale bins for our daughter's size up clothing basics. But if you don't enjoy that kind of thing - totally donate!

[catsnkid]

I think I will try to brng some of my stuff to once upon a child (cash in hand consignment), tagsale/ hand down, then donate the rest.

[brittone2]

I list our best stuff on CL usually (Hanna playdresses, Hanna fleece baby jackets, Gymboree, some Gap) and then tend to donate the rest. My DD's nice outgrown clothes have been going to a good friend who just had a baby girl, minus some of the top notch stuff I've bothered to sell off.

I find if I can sell stuff for 5-10 bucks per item on CL (and often people are buying in lots from us), it is worth my time overall. The middle of the road stuff IME isn't worth my time reselling.

[Corie]

I donate everything!

I have had one garage sale in my life and it was totally not
worth it.

[HIU8]

I consign pretty much everything unless it is very worn or has stains or holes. I won't even donate those b/c no one will take them (who would want clothes with stains and holes anyway). But, I am the type of person who enjoys washing, hanging, sorting and tagging (and taking him a nice size check for my efforts, or purchasing stuff for DD and DS).

[baymom]

For clothes, I generally hand down most of it to my friends with kids that are slightly younger and donate the rest. I suppose you could sell them easier (but not necessarily) on CL then a garage sale. For me, once I get in the 'purge' mode, I just want to get it out of my house ASAP, so I don't have the patience to sell things....unless they are really big ticket things.

[alexmommy]

I like freecycle, if you have an active group. You don't have to take it anywhere or worry about a garage sale, just put in on your porch when the person comes by. I like knowing that my still-useful stuff will be used and gratefully appreciated by someone else. Either that or Once Upon A Child--cash or store credit immediately, or donate. Garage sales are a pain, and then I worry about tax stuff, like if I need to report it or charge sales tax or whatever. But I tend to be a goody-goody and realize most people don't worry about garage sale tax and don't get caught.

[american_mama]

I have done it all... consign, garage sale, donate, and hand down. I like consign the best, even though getting it prepped for a sale is very time-consuming. I have enjoyed the prep process in the past, watching TV and walking down memory lane as I prep the clothing, but it is getting less enjoyable. I usually make $80-100 consigning just clothing and simple toys.

The only garage sale that was worth it was when I had 12 boxes of girl clothing and even that only garnered $100ish and I had to do all the advertising/signs myself, which was difficult. Then I did another garage sale of just kid clothes at the same time as my neighborhood sale, combined with 2 other families, on a high traffic street and only sold like $20 worth of stuff. My neighbors were smart and loaded their leftovers right into the car and drove it immediately to Goodwill, but I hauled mine back to my house which was very irritating.

The other neighbor told me about Its Deductible online, made by TurboTax, see http://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/itsdeductible/index.jsp. It value clothing extremely high, so saving 15-28% (whatever your tax bracket is) on those high values is totally worth it over the garage sale route. I think the values are absurdly high, but I feel that if the market leader in tax software offers those values, I have a justification for accepting them.

So, my new strategy is: donate any item that I don't care about and use the Its Deductible valuation. Consign anything that has monetary or emotional value and be happy with whatever I get. I do like knowing sure that someone liked my item enough to pay for it, no matter how much.

[SpaceGal]

The other neighbor told me about Its Deductible online, made by TurboTax, see http://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/itsdeductible/index.jsp. It value clothing extremely high, so saving 15-28% (whatever your tax bracket is) on those high values is totally worth it over the garage sale route. I think the values are absurdly high, but I feel that if the market leader in tax software offers those values, I have a justification for accepting them.

So, my new strategy is: donate any item that I don't care about and use the Its Deductible valuation. Consign anything that has monetary or emotional value and be happy with whatever I get. I do like knowing sure that someone liked my item enough to pay for it, no matter how much.

I do use Its Deductible, I don't mind it but of course I have to sort and organize all that gets donated too. And since we use Turbo Tax it's easy.

Our first and only garage sale, I sold "a lot" of clothes...but I feel all due to luck. One woman came in looking for gender neutral and I ran into the house and hauled out my box and she bought the bin for $40. I also threw simple basics in boxes and sold I'd say half of it. All in all I made $400...not just clothes though, tires, random household things...and it was exhausting!!! Fun but tiring.

I guess I am trying to figure my options out. I have the youngest kids in our circle of friends. Most of my friends having kids are out on the West Coast and the last time I shipped a box out, it was $20. Not terrible but a hassle to box and get it to the post office. DH came home the other day and told me about one of his clients that could use some new baby girl things so I may sort some things for that family but still I have TONS to go through. :)

I guess I was just curious what other moms are doing. Generally, people in our area want stuff super cheap...drives me nuts. Consignment shops here aren't the greatest...so I have never thought about that route. But maybe I will considering all that everyone has said.

Thank you all for chiming in. :)