Out With It!

Our garage sale was a smashing success last week. I really think that by having it as early as possible in the spring everyone is ready to shop; whereas if we wait until after the city wide sales people have much of what they need and don't grab like they do. 

Because our garage is tiny and not so nice we have to set up in the yard. The weather prior to our sale was chilly, rainy, and windy so I was worried until about three days beforehand when the forecast continued to show gorgeous weather for Thursday and Friday. We were not disappointed - both days dawned clear and warm and the crowds came out. As a matter of fact, within 10 minutes of the signs going up we had a steady stream of shoppers and I think that there was only about a three minute period on Thursday when there wasn't someone browsing. Friday was a bit slower but still steady. 

Siblings helped both days ( this was a total of five families contributing) and the kids were great and big helpers. Our sale made over $900 total and I personally made the most I have made at a sale yet: $325. 

I got rid of A LOT and at the end donated a car full to the charity shop, sent a large box to Swap.com, and gave some away to friends. I had a teeny tiny pile left to take back inside (about 6 things I decided to keep) so I really did stick to getting rid of it all.

It was great spending time with the family, seeing the kids work ethic (Becca and Joe each made over $25 each and had no qualms putting half their profit in the bank), and talking with "my kind of people" (garage sale shoppers!). But it was also a lot of work...weeks of organizing and pricing beforehand, setting up and taking down each day, getting sun burnt, etc.  And yet I'm sure this time next year I'll have forgotten all about that and be setting up another one! 

It's The Time of Year

Garage Sale season will soon be upon us! As a matter of fact, I've been to two already this year - both charity sales held indoors. With really decluttering our house I've already noticed a difference in what I pick up - not much! I see nice things that before I would have bought but now think, "I don't need that, I don't have a place for that". I did find Becca some needed Justice clothing for a great price and Amy a nice pile of GAP clothing though. 

With my KonMari and 40 Bags in 40 Days challenge I have a HUGE pile of stuff priced and ready to go in my own garage sale. I am hoping to set up next week, though if the current weather conditions continue into next week that will not be possible. I'm just watching the weather conditions and waiting - as are my siblings and cousins who will be including their own items. It may happen on the spur of the moment. 

Whenever the sale happens, my goal is to set aside all my proceeds to use for my own garage sale and thrift shopping this coming summer. Money is tighter now and by doing that I won't be drawing from the family budget. I also plan to continue being much more selective in what I do buy, only purchasing items I truly need and love. It's amazing what deals can be found while garage sailing and I hope to highlight the fun finds here on the blog. I'll update on my own garage sale once it's happening. :)
 

My Own Boutique

For years I've dreamed of opening a children's boutique. With children and homeschooling that just wouldn't be feasible at this time. Not to mention that the high overhead of a brick and mortar store can mean little to no profit for years.

Enter the Kidizen app. 

It is a site to sell your children's outgrown clothes on. Sort of like an Etsy for children's items. 

There is a 7% fee, plus Paypal and shipping costs. Luckily, when you list an item in your shop the calculator will tell you the amount you will receive after fees. So you only have to figure in shipping costs to see what your net profit will be.

You get your own little shop (again, similar to Etsy!) and the selling process is easy. No fees to list, only if you sell an item.

The better brands mean more sales. But I have seen bundles of Carter items sell as well. It all depends on what someone is looking for.

Basically, I have my own little shop on Kidizen and only spend a couple hours a week posting items, packaging, and mailing them off. And since I started my shop in June I have made a profit of over $1,000. I sell about 6-15 items on average a week. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Most are my own children's outgrown items, but every once in awhile I find a great brand at a thrift store that isn't in my child's size and pick it up and list it. For example, some $4 sandals that I sold for $40. 

It's a fun way to make a little extra money, without needing to spend 40 hours a week at an actual storefront.

Now if only I could stop spending a portion of my proceeds at other stores on Kidizen! All my purchases through there have been amazing experiences and I find great brands and fun items that I have never heard of before.

This is not a sponsored post...I just love being able to make a little money as a stay-at-home mom and delve into my passion for children's clothing! It also makes my hubby happy, because he no longer rolls his eyes at a dress purchase of $20 when he knows I can make MORE than that reselling after our child wears it. There are some brands that just retain their value more than others, if not become worth more once it's a past season purchase that is harder to find.  
 

Create!

The cooler, rainy days have lead to some creative inspiration recently. Probably as a way to "fluff the nest" for the upcoming months stuck indoors due to cold and snow. Make pretty things and it won't be so difficult to be stuck indoors? One can hope.

I bought this large frame at a garage sale for $1 and intended to use it in Amy's room with her initials inside of it. But then, as I contemplated a way to keep my jewelry organized I decided instead to use it for our bedroom. 

A sheet of wire from the garage. Some S hooks and clips for hanging the jewelry. Perfection.  

It looks pretty on the bedroom wall and is quite functional. I just need to buy a few more hooks for the rest of my necklaces to be hung up. 

I'm beginning to get my Etsy shop stocked back up with goodies for the Christmas rush coming in late fall. You can follow my Facebook page to get updates of new items.

I had to start on a cuff for myself first, as the words have been tumbling around in my brain.   

A reminder at hand (literally) to truly LIVE LIFE...every single day.
 

No Quilt Left Behind

Several years ago, after falling in love with quilts, I sort of made a silent commitment of "leaving no quilt behind" when I saw one for a good price at garage sales or thrift stores.

Not just any quilt, mind you, but handmade ones. The time, talent, and love that someone bestowed upon the quilt, as well as the recipient, does not go unnoticed by me. It often befuddles me that these sweet little cotton comforts even end up in the thrift store. Who donates their Grandma's quilt, their mother's handiwork? (I guess I should thank them or else I wouldn't have such a stash myself!) 

Last week these two beauties came home with me.  

There have been times, unfortunately, where I have had to leave one behind. They were just too far gone for me to save, were much more like cutter quilts (only useful for cutting up to make smaller projects from) and I'm not at that level of expertise to bring them back to life yet. I know that someone is though, as they are always gone the next time I visit that store. The vintage fabrics call to me but the stains, holes, missing edging, etc. make me set the pathetic things back in place. I'll get there someday - where I can rescue them all and give them a loving home. ;)

For now they are on shelves waiting for a cold winter's day, plopped on the couch giving cuddles during movie time, in the car ready for a picnic. Well loved and used often.  

A Snappy Side Table

This past spring I picked up this beverage cart at a thrift store for $10.

I had plans on painting it white and using it on the porch for potted plants. It sat in the garage waiting for some inspiration to hit.

This past weekend I moved some furniture in the living room around and realized that I was now in need of an end table. 

Inspiration finally hit.

I put hubby to work on "my project" (yeah, it pretty much was his project as he did all the work for me!). 

I wanted a shabby chic feel to it and love the color of the paint he chose and the distressing that he did.

It fits in with our shabby chic little corner (I'm not sure what's up with the lighting in this photo...I couldn't turn the lamp on or there was too much of a glare...so just roll with it. :)

I'm going to find the perfect little basket for underneath and this is where we can store books and magazines. 

The nice thing is that this little side table can easily be rolled out to the middle of the room and it's sides can be expanded to make a large table for movie night. Add a tray of drinks and a big bowl of popcorn and it will come in extra handy. 

$10 table, a $3 can of spray paint, and a little imagination goes a long way.
 

Life, Lately

It's a quiet Saturday morning. Scooby-Doo is playing in the background and my coffee and a blueberry scone are at my side. I'm delaying the real start of the day. Because it involves lots of cleaning and chores. Fun times.

School is starting in a little more than two weeks. So we are trying to soak up the rest of the summer. 

On my birthday I chose to go to a local state park. Nature calls me whenever I feel stressed and is my form of meditation. While the kids and hubby played in the water I basked in the quiet on a blanket on the sand. This photo is a new favorite of mine. 

Sometimes, just sometimes, housework can be beautiful. After spraying the outside of the kitchen window with a hose to get rid of the cobwebs and dirt, I came inside to rainbows, sparkles, and awesomeness. I couldn't resist snapping a photo.

Yesterday several garage sale signs popped up around town so we made several unexpected stops. For under $20 I got all three kids Halloween costumes AND Becca's "big" Christmas present (Each child gets to choose a "want" for Christmas and I know that Littlest Pet Shop is always on Becca's list...a whole box of them for $15? Can't beat that!). There's nothing like being ahead of the game...thanks to another garage sale a few weeks ago I also have Amy's "big" Christmas gift hidden away - two American Girl Itty Bitty twin dolls, with several outfits, for $10! 

The littles had fun trying their costumes on - though Amy screamed any time Joe got near her. Guess his alien costume looks a little too real!
 

Create Porch Decor

When I bought a mirror with a pretty blue frame at a garage sale for 50 cents I had plans to put it up in the girl's room. It would match the yellow one already in there quite well.

Plans change when the mirror got broken (shhhh...don't tell Joe about the seven years of bad luck!). I decided to re-purpose it into a craft for the porch.  

After buying the letter F at Wal-Mart for $1.95 I had Ben paint it grey with paint that we already had. Then I used yellow washi tape that I already had to make stripes. We Hubby then hung them separately on the siding. A very quick (less than an hour) and inexpensive (total was about $3) project!

Instead of throwing something away, look at the item in a different way to see what it could be turned into instead. You know, when life gives you lemons...make lemonade. Or when children brake mirrors, get creative... 

Edited to add: a close up of the letter for Gill who asked in the comments. Excuse the raindrops on the letter...we had a huge thunderstorm right before I snapped the photo.

 

By the Book

This summer I've seemed to hit the jackpot on books at thrift stores.

This pile will nurture my art and soul. ;) A perfect find on a gloomy day. 

And this pile of workbooks was bought for only $2.50 and will get us through the summer and beyond. 

As a homeschooling family, curriculum purchases fall on the parents. Both the financial burden, as well as the burden of choosing a complete year's worth of educational materials. Some families buy sets of books, others pick and choose workbooks and materials, and others put together their own system. Whatever works for their families.

It can get expensive though. Especially when you are teaching several grades. All materials, such as art supplies, science experiments, etc. also come out of the parent's pockets.

So far I've done the complete school curriculum sets. I've done the mix and match of curriculum. The latter works for our family better than the former. I'm thinking this summer, as I organize all our school materials, I may realize that I have enough to put together our own curriculum for the year, supplemented with books from the library. I have some fun books (like a history book based solely on the Little House Series books). I have a home economics book that is popular among homeschoolers. Both bought at thrift stores for under $1. I have Alice and Jerry readers. Piles of workbooks. Plenty of chapter books. Art supplies. School supplies. I'm excited to set aside a day or two to go through our school items and come up with a lesson plan to meet our needs for the year...and possibly save hundreds of dollars in the process as well as use up the items we have on hand.

I'll highlight what I've come up with later this summer, but given that the beginning of the school year starts just a little over two months from now I need to get on it, because if I do need to order a few pieces to complete the year then they will need to be ordered soon.

A homeschooling mama's work is never done! 

Finding Treasures

The kids and I headed off to another city wide garage sale and hit a few good treasures!

My favorite trinket find was this cute globe, which is actually a little bank. For some reason I seem attracted to globes for decorating and this is the second globe to be added to my "collection".

And that beautiful quilt underneath? It's a twin sized quilt and so original (those greens and reds just scream vintage summer to me!). The woman told me that her mother made it "forever ago". I questioned why she was getting rid of it and was told that she has too much stuff. I told her the quilt would be well loved in our house. 

I didn't even take it out of the package at the sale, as I had already fallen in love with the colors and knew I would buy it no matter the condition (for $5, how could I not?!). When I arrived home and pulled it out I about gasped at how sweet it is. Hand-stitched and in great condition with just one teeny tiny tear and a few small stains.

I hope the woman never regrets selling her mother's handmade quilt. I know I'll always treasure it - it's one of my favorite quilts to date!

The kiddos had fun too! Miss Amy with her new sunglasses and a little bag of Wizard of Oz dolls (her total came to 40 cents today!).

Joe had $12 in birthday money to spend and (surprisingly!) did not let it burn a hole in his pocket. He spent $2 on a giant pirate ship and $1 on a motorized train and has the rest saved for a rainy day.

Becca bought one tiny Littlest Pet Shop and two books for a grand total of 55 cents. 

They are learning the value of a dollar and what is/not worth spending their own money on.
 

Wall Art

A month ago I bought two cute little quilt blocks at a garage sale. I think I paid a whole 15 cents for the both of them.

I had plans to make pillows with them. 

But my plans quickly changed with I decided to make some wall art with them instead. I just taped them to the wall and added some washi tape as stems and leaves. They bloom next to Amy's toddler bed and add lots of whimsy and color to her corner of the world. :)
 

S.O.S. Update

My S.O.S. Challenge (Sick of Stuff) has continued. My goal? 5 things out of this house daily. I've met, if not exceeded that goal.

Today I will be working on my clothing. I have a box half full waiting for donation and hope to top it off and drop it off today.

I noticed when putting my laundry away that the drawers are so stuffed that sometimes I just pile the excess on top of the trunk at the end of our bed. Sometimes that pile ends up getting knocked down and then I end up rewashing it all whether it was worn or not.  Extra work for no reason.

Another item has been toys. A mothering book, which one I can't remember at the moment, gave me the freedom to purge toys whether they were sentimental or not by stating, "Think of toys as expendable. Like a movie or a day out at the park. Fun for awhile but not having to be hoarded." Or something like that, I'm paraphrasing here.

The point is, I can buy the kids a bag of 25 cent plastic farm animals at the thrift store and know that by the end of the week they will be forgotten and spread around the house. I can then bag them up and send them back to the thrift store (or even sweep them up and toss them) and still consider that 25 cents well spent. Because even if it's just an hour or two - they were played with. That doesn't mean they have to be kept. The freedom to look at toys (or books, or movies) in that sense is an immense help in pairing down our belongings.  
 

Brain Splat

Can I just say YAY!! about this week's weather forecast? 

Did any of you have this Fisher-Price kitchen set during your childhood? I remember mine fondly and was thrilled to find one, in pristine condition, at a garage sale last week. For $5! Amy has been cooking up a storm with it. Joe got the Fisher-Price barn, school, and cabin. All items I had during my childhood as well.

They bring back such fond memories. Toys just aren't made the same these days and I'm hoping these vintage ones entertain the kids for years to come. 

I found this passage (click on picture to make it larger) in the book Everyday Grace (review to come later today).

It was interesting to me, what an atheist says about sharing your faith.

I love this short article on child loss. 

This may be a jewelry commercial, but it made me tear up. 
 

Leather, Rinse, Repeat

I ran across, on Instagram, a way to clean up leather a few weeks ago. It reminded me of a favorite purse that I have, which I set aside due to some staining and wear.

I bought this Fossil purse at a garage sale several years ago, for something like $2 or $4. It's such a nice leather, and reminds me of a well worn saddle.

Once on vacation I bent down to observe some sea urchins in an aquarium and my purse fell in! The man opposite just stared at me, like "You dumb idiot!" and I wanted to shout "That's the least of my clumsiness!" 

Alas, my purse became somewhat water stained and dingy so I put it away in the closet.

Since I didn't have much to lose, I decided to try this little trick to clean up the leather. These are the before pictures: 

I added some warm water to a bowl and one (just one teeny tiny drop) of blue Dawn dish washing soap. I used a microfiber rag, got it wet, and rubbed the water into the outside of the bag. It's scary, because it does dampen and darken the leather and I was scared the whole time that I was ruining it (worse than it already was).

I then let it dry and it dried to a nice, clean, fawn colored purse, which I'm sure is what it looked like when bought new. These after photos show a cleaner, prettier bag:

I probably wouldn't try it with a $200 purse but when it's clean it or ditch it, it's worth a try to save it! I bet there is actual leather cleaner that you can buy, but I'm happy with these results!

Fluff Love

Look at that colorful goodness that arrived in the mail this week!

A few weeks ago Fuzzi Bunz was having a sale on their "imperfect" diapers (as a side note I see nothing out of whack with the diapers so the imperfections must be slight!) and with a code for free shipping and a percentage off I was able to get 6 diapers for $32 shipped. This is an amazing price for brand new cloth diapers. I wish I could have stocked up on more but they were literally selling out as I carted so I had to quickly check out just to be sure I received some!

I'm an on again off again cloth diaper-er. I don't use them in the winter as I don't like to dry them in the dryer. Once the weather starts to warm is when my babies sport the fluffy cloth bums! We don't use them at night typically and when away for the day we use disposables. I have a large basket of diapers that I've picked up on sale as well as at garage sales. Many dating back to when Jacob was a baby (9 years ago!) so it shows you how long they can last. I'll almost be sad when sweet Amy potty trains!  
 

Mary & Me

Last week I was honored to be able to read a rough draft of my mom and her friend's book Mary & Me (not to be released until Sept. 8th but already for pre-order through Amazon!).

It's a book about friendship. A book about women. A book about mothers, wives, and relationships. But especially about a friendship spanning close to 30 years and involving thousands of letters back and forth.

I loved it! 

And it made me want to sit down and write a letter. 

It was only fitting that a few days later I hit the jackpot at a thrift store of vintage stationery. All this for $3.55?! Who can complain about that?

I've had penpals since the age of 10. My longest standing penpal and I have been writing to each other for 20 years. There is just something about a letter that can not compare to a phone call, e-mail, or quick comment on Facebook. It truly is a lasting link through ink.
 

Thursday Thoughts

Lots of randomness today! 

*I'm burning a "Candy Corn" Prize Candle and it smells delicious in here. Not like candy corn, but some type of baked goodie. Delicious and very October-like!

*I'm halfway finished with Christmas shopping for the kids, and it's not even the middle of October. This "Something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read" is awesome and easy! I also have a fun idea for handmade gifts for my family and friends, I just need to get some supplies ordered soon.

*Do you need some Fall/Winter clothing for your kiddos? Finish up clothes shopping online at Moxie Jean! With this link, only available for a few days yet (expires Oct. 15th), you can get $15 off your first order (and shipping is free over $50!). You can see my previous review here. I've never had a bad experience with them and there customer service is the best! Halloween costumes were just listed too, along with coats, winter wear, and boots!

*The 4 winners of the NuNaturals packages were randomly drawn by Rafflecopter and are: Babsi Bee, Kathy, Elizabeth S, and Antonia M. All have been contacted and the packages will be sent out soon! Thank you for entering!

*I'm dropping several subscription boxes. :( Birchbox, which I loved, is the next to go. I'm still keeping PopSugar and Ipsy for sure though!

I'm following Jennifer for Thursday Thoughts!

Disclaimer: Referral link included in post.