When Aaron and I did The Minimalist Challenge we got rid of a total of 748 items (!). Following the challenge we did a big ol’ garage sale, and made some money on all the things we were getting rid of. It felt so amazing to clear out all that stuff, and to this day I haven’t missed a single thing that we got rid of!

A whole bunch of people told me about how the garage sale idea was great, and all, but they just didn’t have the right set-up with their home (apartment or condo) or time to do one. Also, with cold weather your options are limited to only holding garage sales at a certain time of the year. I completely understand all these issues because I’ve encountered them, too.

When I found out about this site that basically allows you to hold virtual garage sales, I instantly thought, “Yep. There it is. Perfect.” It’s called, appropriately enough, VarageSale. Get it? Get it? Virtual garage sale! ;) In 2012, it was founded by a woman named Tami when she was on maternity leave. She then worked with her husband to develop the site.

Here’s How You Can Hold Your Very Own Online Garage Sale…

– Join the local VarageSale buy and sell communities.

– Go through your house, and gather up all the stuff that is no longer serving you. If you haven’t used an item in a year and/or if it doesn’t bring joy to your life it may be time to let it go.

– Post all the items that you want to get rid of to make extra cash. (You can sell anything from clothing, accessories, to home decor, and lots of other stuff. I would recommend trying to sell items as a “lot” as much as possible so you can save time.)

– Browse the feed to buy low-priced items from people who are nearby.

– When a buyer finds something they’d like to buy they will send you/the seller a private message. Then, you confirm the transaction details such as the final price, pick up time, and location.

– Next, you meet offline to complete the transaction at your/the seller’s house or in a public parking lot.

When I signed up, I saw all the buying and selling communities that are local and right around where I live. The “communities” are basically the different subgroups that you can buy and sell within. I was really curious about what kinds of baby and kid stuff was available. Back in September, I was super proud of myself for finding Henry a warm, winter coat that was on sale at a thrift store for $1. Unfortunately, the zipper ended up busting, so we’re back to square one. I went on the site, typed in what I was looking for, and a ton of reasonably priced baby coats appeared. (They are adorable, by the way. Think mini and puffy.) After the coat success, I just kept thinking that I really wish I had known about this site when I was looking to buy all those cloth diapers because I could have saved a ton on them, and then re-sold them!

Right away, I noticed that this site was different from other online, used, selling sites because it’s set-up to be a longer-term solution where you can get to know each other, and build some trust. It doesn’t feel like a quick and dirty fleeting encounter with a stranger to unload some items.

VarageSale.com is free to use and it’s accessible online. It’s also available on iOS, Android and Kindle devices. They are in hundreds of communities in Canada, the U.S and around the world.

Would you be up for holding an online garage sale? Also, do you say yard sale or garage sale? I’m thinking it must be one of those regional things. 

This is a sponsored post, but, as always, my opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the partners that help to make this site possible! xo, Anna

P.S. How to Make Money Selling Your Old Stuff