Vilma Rodriguez Composition 2 May 2002 Earn Money Quickly and Easily           It was the time of the year when school lets out, and my friends and I were preparing for our annual road trip.  This time we planned on visiting Austin.  The only problem was one of my friends couldn't go because she didn't have any money.  We didn't want to leave her behind, so we suggested helping her raise money.  We needed to make profit as easy and fast as possible. I've found a method that works for anyone who needs quick cash.           I told her people are always looking for quick and easy ways to make money and explained the most effective and honest way of making a profit is doing simple odds and ends jobs.  For example, car washing, collecting and selling aluminum cans, mowing lawns and bake sales.  However, one of the most profitable ways of making money is having a garage sale of unwanted items from your household.  This has a dual purpose in that it will be a profitable venture, and at the same time clean out your home.           First, we looked for old objects she wanted to get rid of.  "Some people put out almost anything, and believe it or not, some will buy almost anything," I said.  "Look through your closets, drawers, cabinets and storage rooms.  Try to gather things you know for sure you don't want anymore."  When everything was gathered we decided on how we wanted to price each item.  "You might want to buy small labels to write the prices on. If you'd like to save money, you can use masking tape and a bold marker," I suggested.  "Make sure handwriting is understandable, and try not to overprice any items.  Also, make sure you know what you price and how much you priced it.  Some customers like to 're-price' items when you're not watching."           Next, we wanted the garage sale to look nice and neat.  We all brought something on which to display her merchandise: tables, baskets, clothes racks, and boxes.  We grouped and categorized the objects.  For example, in one of the boxes we placed clothes for infants, so we labeled it "Baby Clothes."  Another friend suggested, "Hang up nice outfits, suits, dressy pants and dresses.  Little knick-knacks or miscellaneous stuff can be placed in a box or a basket."  We kept big, breakable objects on the ground and had someone supervise them.  "Let's put small things like picture frames, dishes, ceramics and other similar things on display on the table," my friend said.  While she set everything up, I went to promote her garage sale by placing posters at the end of the street.  It's hard to find her house, so I posted many signs with directions and arrows.           We all decided to pitch in to buy inexpensive refreshments to sell for extra profit.  We kept them in an icebox.  I brought lawn chairs from my house, so we could be comfortable too. Once there are a lot of customers, keep an eye on them, just to make sure no one steals anything.           The hardest part is cleaning up, but it pays off.  Some people earn $200 to $300 in one day, depending on what they sell. This was an easy, quick and effective way to profit.  My friend earned $278 for the trip.  It also served a dual purpose: she made a lot of profit, and she cleaned out her home at the same time.