Seeing your stuff find a good home, making money and decluttering are all good things.

Date published: 4/30/2006

By MELISSA RAYWORTH

ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

To my right, a man with a scruffy beard and glasses holds the backpack I once carried through the streets of Macau. To my left, three teens sort through a stack of videotapes arranged at the edge of the bedspread I bought for my first apartment. And dead ahead, my husband stands removing bubble wrap from stereo components that once played Jack Wagner's greatest hits.

Like so many families who find their homes overrun by clutter, we had fought back by staging a yard sale. Throughout that day, strangers and neighbors perused bits of our past--some trivial and some deeply nostalgic--offering a dollar, maybe five, to take possession.

It was cathartic. It was profitable. And it was much harder work than we'd expected.

Holding a lucrative and efficient sale takes planning, patience and a willingness to let go of the miscellany that clogs your basement or attic.

According to Joe Rosson, co-host of the syndicated series "Treasures in Your Attic," the hardest thing for most people is letting go.

"Clutter is the enemy of the modern household," he says. "If it's cluttering up your house and you ain't using it, it's time to get it gone. The problem is that so many people have separation anxiety."

Deciding to sell your unwanted stuff--anything from the snowboots you wore in college to the scratched frying pan your mom used for omelets--ought to be simple. But acknowledging that you'll never use these things again requires acknowledging the passage of time, a difficult thing in our youth-obsessed society.

John D. Schroeder, author of "Garage Sale Fever!," advises sorting your possessions gradually over several months, gathering unwanted items in one location. Late winter and early spring can be the perfect time to comb your closets and cupboards in preparation for a spring yard sale. "You can take a couple of weeks to price it, or price stuff as you find it," he says. "It doesn't have to be work if you string it out over a long time."

Pricing can be the trickiest step.

Yard-sale shoppers want bargains, so prices must be kept low. "People come wanting to spend a quarter or two dollars," Rosson says.

But with potential antiques, it's crucial to research the value before you price it.

Date published: 4/30/2006