Are you in the process of selling your home? Have you just purchased a new home? Here are some excellent tips to free up the clutter and cut your moving expenses.

If you've just bought a new home, having a garage sale is an excellent way to make a little extra cash while saying goodbye to items you don't use anymore. The less stuff you have to move, the cheaper it will be, right?

Are you thinking of selling your home? Home stagers will tell you that a clutter-free home looks better in the eyes of a potential buyer. It makes your home look cleaner, and appear larger. This makes it easier for home buyers to envision their furniture in your home. Plus, it can result in a higher offer.

So, you need to have a garage sale, right? Well here are a few tips to get you started.

Allow adequate time to plan and prepare...several weeks. This will give you time to gather those things you no longer need or want, maybe place a print advertisement and make up some signs.

Select the right date so it won't conflict with holidays or special events. Working in real estate I can tell you, nothing is worse than scheduling an open house, or for this matter a garage sale, on the day of the big football game or other event. Your turn out will suffer greatly!

Bigger is better! The more things you can find for your sale, the greater the turnout will be. People driving by will want to stop to see what all you have to offer.

Practical household goods such as appliances, dishes, furniture and tools are great sellers. Clothing typically doesn't have a high resale value with the possible exception of children's clothing that is in good condition.

Items should be clean and if not in working order, they should be labeled accordingly. Think of yourself as the buyer. You would be far more likely to buy something that appeared to be in good condition.

A classified ad in the newspaper listing some of the more desirable items can also greatly increase your traffic.

Use well-created, attractive signs to direct people to your home. The nicer the sign, the more attention it will attract.

You'll need to have some cash on hand to make change for your customers. This seems obvious but you would be surprised how many times people forget this will all the other planning that goes on.

Visit other garage sales in your area to see what attracted you there, and what works well for them.

Remember, there are a lot of advantages to having a garage sale if you're in the process of buying or selling a home, but any time is a good time for a garage sale!