Garage sales used to be a way of de-junking your house and picking up a few bucks in the process. But just like flea markets and swap meets, today many garage sales have become big annual events for whole blocks and entire neighborhoods, involving hundreds of homes and thousands of people. If you are planning a garage sale, don't make it a little deal with stuff scattered in your driveway. Instead, plan ahead as garage-sale pros do. You will sell more stuff, clean out your attic, closets, drawers and garage and make more money, too. Start early. Amateurs wait until the day before their sale. Pros start months in advance. Serious "garage-sellers" create an area in the attic, basement or garage and set stuff aside all year long, always looking for things that can be cleaned, repaired or repainted, rather than thrown away. They sell as stores do, with tables for viewing, background music and free lemonade for shoppers. That's how pros do it and you should, too. And that's the On The House tip for today.