Start listing bigger ticket items on craigslist and you can bundle a bunch of smaller items. Take CLEAR photos and list a general section of town you live in. I live in Houston, TX and I loathe when people just list "Houston" as their location. Houston is nearly 40 miles across! If I am shopping on CL then I am going to have to go phsyically pick up the item and want to know whether you are 5 miles or 50.
I usually list a few landmarks etc: In the ad I might state: NW Houston, near Willowbrook, near intersection of Hwy 249 & Louetta, Champion Forest Subdivision and Spring/Tomball.
By listing key areas near me people know if it is an area they want to travel.
Also if you have many things for sale, list each item with a clear distinct title. Very annoying when someone just list "Apartment contents for sale" and then it is a general picture of their living room with the hubby sprawled on the couch.
If selling several living room items, list each separately, but also at the end of your ad say something like "Also selling 2 lamps, 1 coffee table and 8x10 oriental area rug."
Be realistic with your prices. You say you have 6 weeks to get rid of stuff. We don't care that the oak dining set cost you $800 in 1989. It is now used, scuffed and probably not in style, so price accordingly.
Purge, purge, purge! Moving across the country is expensive, especially if you will be hiring movers to transport the boxes. I packed all my own boxes and hired movers and a good estimate that the estimator gave me was it is about $30 per box to move, so everytime I packed a box I thought about whether contents were worth that and whether I wanted/needed it at my old place.
If you are looking to make the most money then having a garage sale isn't probably the best option since garage sale shoppers are looking for dirt cheap bargains.
