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.

Read More.