More on Consignment Sales

Our living room is always a mess around consignment times. I'm always a consignor for at least one sale every Spring and Fall. The process is a bit time consuming but it's a great way to fund my addiction and to make room for more stuff! When you're a consignor you get to shop the day before the public does.
Here's what I've learned about consigning:

• Shop at least one of the sales to get an idea of what to expect and what to charge for your things.
• Decide which sale you want to participate in. Compare what they charge and what percentage they are going to pay you. I also recommend the sales that are completely on-line. You're able to make all of your tags with their program instead of hand-writing them. These photos are from one of my fav's, Mom's Marketplace.
• Go through whatever is taking up precious space in your home first, just in case you run out of steam. For me it's usually my daughter's clothes but sometimes toys have taken over. Don't forget holiday or seasonal items; Halloween costumes, swimsuits, Easter baskets etc.
• Follow the sale's rules of what they accept and how to tag and price your items.
• When pricing your items keep in mind you do not want to see these things again. I put $3-5 dollars on most items and donate what doesn't sell. I find that most of my things sell the first few days rather than 1/2 off day. Remember these people are looking for a deal, we do not want to pay full retail or even half retail price on anything, even if it is Gymboree. Every sale contains a consignor who thinks someone is going to pay her $8.00 for a Target t-shirt. You will spot her items at the end of the sale because they're still on the racks and not marked 1/2 price. Sadly, she has wasted her time.
  
• Be prepared for a volunteer to look through your items closely at drop-off. I'm sorry to tell you that she's usually the snotty and most fake mother out of the lot. These moms seem to enjoy telling you of a spot on anything that's white or she's "just not sure if it will sell". Try not to smack her. Personally, I consider anything sell-able if it's priced right!
• Consider volunteering. There are different incentives for volunteers. You may earn more of a percentage on your items or get to shop before the consignors. I always find some treasure that I missed while volunteering, it's rather hard not to shop while "working".
  

Consignment Sales

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Time for the fall consignment sales! These sales happen in Spring and Fall and sell anything and everything for children at very affordable prices. Our area has 5 different sales and I go to everyone of them. I am also a consignor and volunteer to one of the sales. Below are some of my tips for these awesome sales.
When shopping a sale:
1. Go to the first Public Sale day when it starts. Be sure to use a bathroom before you go, these sales are usually held in rented areas without public restrooms.
2. Bring something to carry your items in. I bought a metal cart with 4 wheels for $20 at Big Lots. It is the best thing to use because it leaves both arms free to shop and can carry a heavy load.
3. If you are looking for specific items like a wagon or train set go to those sections first.
4. Be aware of the rules of the sale. Most sales have a 1/2 off day but not everything will be on sale. There will be a different color or something written on the tag to let you know if it's 1/2 off.
5. There is no such thing as "personal space" particularly in the racks of girls clothing. I grab what interests me and then find a spot to go through everything. A volunteer will happily place back what you don't want.
6. I enjoy these sales without the stress of my children tagging along and although my husband is very tolerant it's best that they don't come.

Let's Be Honest

This posting has nothing to do with Edward Cullen, and I will NOT be doing another session of the 30 Day Shred. Was it that bad? No. But it's been 2 weeks since I've done it and I don't see myself turning it on again. If any of you would like to pick up the challenge I want to hear all about it! I made it to day 12 or was it 11? Surely I made it to day 11!?
Our evening got off to a bad start. Everyone got home at the same time only to discover our A/C was not working. While the hubby was twiddling with it I proceeded to make dinner. Usually I do not use the oven but I genuinely thought the air would come back on. It's been several stuffy hours and we are waiting on a call from the Home Warranty people. I think it's going to be a long night. We should really go to the Dairy Queen.

Choices, Choices, Choices

Here are some pictures of our kitchen before we bought it. Yes, this hunter green counter top now belongs to me. Guess what, there is a tile "rug" that matches it on the other side of the kitchen. Recognize those ugly cabinets from the bathroom?! We're getting ready to renovate and I'm really excited to change this kitchen into a room we love.


Yesterday we I spent hours in Home Depot and Lowe's pricing items and talking to sales people. I did not wear the appropriate shoes and paid for it later. But the choices we made were good and I am pleased with the progress we had made.

Chuck spent several hours this weekend putting in some much needed under counter lighting. It's looking better already!

I would love to wait and do the painting, lighting, hardware, back splash, and counter tops all in one weekend just like HGTV but it's just not feasible. This project will take us a while.

Our 4th of July and a Product Review

This year was Charlie's first 4th of July and he did great! I was a bit worried about his reaction to the loud fireworks but he didn't mind at all. He watched for a minute then went to sleep and stayed asleep until the very end!

Onto the product review. A couple of weeks ago I purchased a wall gallery template from Michael's. The template is supposed to be leveled on the wall to help you hang multiple picture frames. I lucked up and was able to buy all the picture frames for 40% off. They still cost me $170.


My husband hung the template and the frames for me tonight. Despite his handyman skills and cleverness, things did not go as smoothly as we had planned.

Problem 1- the wall anchors that came with the frames were cheap and broke off.
Problem 2- the template could have been reused if we had not screwed holes through it.
Problem 3- this was not a project I could have done alone.

By the end of the project we did have a nice wall gallery in a reasonable amount of time. Overall I give this product a B+.
I haven't filled in all of the frames which explains why there is a sailboat hung sideways.

Patriotic Hair

I've found a few more hair blogs that I love, I've added them to the side. We tried a do from The Story of a Princess and Her Hair. Mine isn't near as lovely as hers but I was happy with the end result. It wasn't as difficult as it looks, but it did take about 30 minutes for me to do.


Yesterday our sunny morning was clouded over when I discovered my front tire was just about flat. Of course I didn't notice this until the children and I were in the car ready to go to a lunch date. Luckily there was a nice gas station on the way to the restaurant that had a user-friendly air pump. I was able to make it to Wal-mart after lunch and decided to have my headlights restored as well. Have you seen this? Unfortunately, I couldn't take a before and after of my own vehicle since this was a spur of the moment decision. But I did find some photos on line. I am so happy with the results. Our car is 6 years old but the headlight restoration made it look quite new. Wal-mart charges about $40.00 for this service it's worth it!

Chocolate Cake

It turns out that one of my husband's favorite books to read aloud is "The Cat in the Hat". One of my favorites to read is a Little Golden Book called "A Day on the Farm". It follows the day of a family living on a farm and ends with company coming over for dinner and the mom has cooked a homemade chocolate cake. Chuck pointed out that all my fav's involve a chocolate cake somehow. This has escaped me before but he's right! Here are a few of my fav's.

I love the scene in the book "Matilda" where a boy steals a piece of the headmistress's cake and is then forced to eat the entire thing as punishment. And who didn't love the movie "Chocolat" with Johnny Depp?! My favorite scene is the priest climbing into the store front to shove chocolate into his mouth with both hands.

And the idea of finding a golden ticket in the wrapper of a chocolate bar is magical, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". But falling into a flowing river of chocolate and clogging a tube is hilarious!

My brother won a book from a summer reading program many years ago called "Grandfather's Cake". It's a sweet story about two small boys that deliver a piece of grandma's chocolate cake to their grandfather who is up in the hills watching his sheep. They encounter some shady characters on their journey but with the help of Peaches the contrary pony they make it to Grandfather and they all eat the cake together while Peaches munches an apple.

Chocolate cake just adds something special to any story. We love you chocolate cake.