Tips from the Consignment Sale Guru- Part Two

Tonight is the night! I am so excited about our semi-annual consignment sale!
I've got my big rolling clothes hamper ready, my snacks will be packed and I've got my running shoes on.
I feel like it's the wedding dress sale in Boston- only I will wear MUCH more than a bikini {thankfully} and will not have the stress of a wedding afterwards. Just the sweet reward of cheap, used clothes!

So, in conjunction with the big event, I decided to link to Oh Amanda's Top Ten List and share my Top 10 Tips for Becoming a Consignment Sale Warrior. Think Xena... with a laundry basket and measuring tape. {You also might want to read Part 1 of this series for the complete training.}

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This post was originally published on February 24, 2009.

Tonight was the workers sale night at my favorite local kids consignment sale.
This night happens twice a year and I REALLY look forward to it.

As in, it ranks higher than a girls night out.
Or maybe even a movie date. With chocolate cake afterwards.
Yes. It’s that good.

So, with my vast experience and knowledge at SOMETHING {I’m kind of embarrassed that this is what it is}, here are 10 easy steps to become a Consignment Sale Warrior:

Before the Sale
1. Sign up to work.
Most sales have volunteers that staff the receiving item times, the public sale times and the closing times. Look online for your local websites and talk to other moms. This is the BEST way to get the best deals; shopping first is a huge advantage and is totally worth it.

2. Get the appropriate gear.
You will need either a very large clothes hamper or a large garbage can. Wheels are really important. If you would like to go ghetto consignment sale warrior, you can use a clothes hamper with a belt looped around the handle to drag it from place to place. Oh, yes. I saw that A LOT tonight.

3. Case the joint.
If you consign at the sale or work when consignors are bringing in their goods, try to figure out which sections will have clothes, accessories, books, etc- whatever you are looking for. It’s best to know where you’re going before you get there with other crazies shoppers.

4. Find another warrior princess.
There is a HUGE power in numbers and if you have 1-2 friends who will also be there, it is much more fun and you can get someone else’s opinion on whether or not that item is worth $3.

5. Suck up.
I always ask my kids’ pre-school teachers what they are in need of in their classroom and let them know that I get to shop first.Tonight I got some big trucks for Ollie’s classroom and some train tracks and trains for Henry’s classroom. I think this might buy my kids a few more days out of time out. Or at least let them get away with one little push on the playground.

During the Sale
6. Know your priorities.
Try to get to your #1 area as soon as possible and work your way down your list. I always go to clothes first unless I need a specific item {like a video baby monitor or double stroller} and I start with the older child’s clothes. There are ALWAYS more clothes in the younger sections {they aren’t as hard on them and have many more clothes, usually to begin with} and my youngest has hand-me-downs. Then I go to shoes, then toys, puzzles, videos and anything else cool.

7. Stockpile your purse.
I know you’ll think I’m kidding, but I bring food and water for snack/ dinner. After 2 hours of throwing elbows and judging the value of Faded Glory {Wal-Mart} vs. Circo {Target} elastic shorts, you need a little boost of energy. I packed a PB & J and some chips. And I was not ashamed to chomp away while sorting clothes {Helloooo, hand sanitizer?}. One mom came close by me and told me it smelled good.

No, I did not share.

8. Have a network.
Start asking the people in your size zone if you can look through their “leftovers” after they are done. Most people get a big pile of things they might like, then they go through and only keep their final purchases. Ask around- especially if you see that other mom snatching all the cute stuff.

9. Know your sizes and brands.
Some people bring a tape measure and have their kids measurements written down {kids aren’t allowed at our worker’s sale}. Some even trace their kid’s foot around a piece of cardboard and bring that to fit in shoes. I just wing it. If it doesn’t fit one child, it will most likely fit the other. And if all else fails and it doesn’t fit either, I can always re-sell it, right?
Try to remember the basics like:
* Gymboree runs big and Polo runs small.
* They only paid $4 for that George shirt at Wal-Mart, so you should not buy it for $8.
* You'll need that Spiderman shirt later to talk your child out of the house to a birthday party or piano lesson, so go ahead and get it now for $4.

You probably know if your child will fit larger in shirts than pants or vice versa. Or if you will use these clothes for the next 7-8 months, like I will, buy your current size and the next size up.

10. Don’t forget special occasions!
If you have a wedding or family pictures or a 4th of July party coming up this summer {edited to add: for fall, I always get Halloween costumes and think of Christmas, too!}, go ahead and stock up while the getting’s good. And don't forget swimsuits and dress up costumes.
Cheap is the name of the game, so go for it!

I'm not done! You get an extra tip!

11. Scour the goods.
I have been burned a time or 2 with a shirt that had a stain on the back or a well placed tag was covering it. Also check the size of each item if several are together and the front and back of each if there is a combo on one hanger. I do love a matching shorts outfit, so I tend to lean towards those, but be sure to check it out.

If I had to have an 12, it would be to bring sharp elbows and a smile. The smile will hide what your sharp elbows can do!

Hope this helps and good luck this season at your local consignment sales. They are a great way to help other moms and get some great clothes much cheaper than buying retail!

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OK, do you participate in your local sales?
What's your favorite find?

I Could Eat an Elephant

If you ever hit 2:00- 3:00 pm and are so hungry you could eat an elephant, you are not alone {* cue Michael Jackson tribute}.
I am usually ready for a snack by that time and get to eat it while my children are hopefully asleep {and can't judge me}. Then they wake up and want some sort of snack, too, so I thought I'd share one of our favorites.

It's a pretty easy formula:

+

Combined for sandwich

= Happiness

* No children were forced to look like Hitler/ be covered in chocolate for the making of this post.

It just happened.

Since Ollie has gotten all the video love lately, I thought I'd include a little post- cookie bliss interview with Henry.

As with all my expert videos, this one includes thrills like moaning and chomping of older brother in the background, snorts and the trademark trailing off of silence at the end.

With all that build up...

Cookies: it's what's for dinner {hopefully} from The Other Mama on Vimeo.

That's about as Tasty as I can imagine and is linked to my friend, Jen's Tasty Tuesday! Her blog is Balancing Beauty and Bedlam {you should read it} and she is highlighting 4 Meals in 4 minutes from Homemeade Gourmet! I knew we thought alike...

Is anyone else hooked on this chocolate-y yumminess called Nutella like we are? What's your favorite afternoon snack?

Tips from the Consignment Sale Guru- Part One

Forget Football!!
It's Consignment Sale Season Time!
Since I am packaging, writing labels and taping together bags of fine used items tonight, here are a few tips that I've shared, but I hope you will use as a refresher... or a "fresher" if you have seen them before.

Look for Part Two tomorrow!
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Post originally published February 26, 2009.

After this post about shopping at consignment sales {I'm posting it tomorrow- promise; it makes sense this way- TRUST me}, several folks asked about my tips for selling items, so I'll be happy to share those, too!
Again, I'm thrilled to be an expert at something, just embarrassed that this is it!

The main person that asked me about this was my childhood next door neighbor, Alana. She was {and still is} one of the coolest people I know. She was a cheerleader in high school and taught the cheer clinics {I attended, of course}, she babysat us and she drove. And we have the same birthday.

Could she get much cooler, you ask?

Why yes, she can. One of my favorite childhood memories of her is watching her bleach her jeans. She was outside in the yard between our houses {near where home plate usually was} and had a bottle of bleach that she was flinging across her jeans back and forth to the tune of "Red, Red Wine" that was blasting out of the boom box {yes, big and silver}. I am literally snorting laughing at this memory! I can't hear Red, Red Wine without thinking about it- which is a tad more often than one might think. {To hear the end of the story that I NEVER knew, go to the last comment this original post. It's worth it.}

Aaahh. The 80s. Good times.

Back to the consigning, here are some sure fire tips to SELL your crapola fine used items.

1. Plan Ahea...
Or plan ahead. It will usually take MUCH longer than you think to get your items prepped for selling. Especially if you most likely have children {previous wearers of said clothes} around that are big time suckers.

2. Read all the instructions for your sale. Then read again.
Most are very particular about what position on the hangers the clothes should be, what type of clothes/ toys are accepted, what the maximum number accepted is and what specific numbers should be where (price, size, consignor number bar code). This is all for a reason and once you go through the whole sale process once you'll understand it all. Or else it will take you 4 times like, *ahem* me.

3. Become an Iron Maiden
Iron absolutely everything. Except maybe the toys.
It's all about presentation {see below}. And it covers up the pilled shirts pretty well.

4. The Price is Right
A good rule of thumb is to not price anything over 1/3 of what you would pay retail for it (and most of the time I go cheaper depending on how worn it is). I think you have to know the clothes and what they’re worth, but consider if you would rather have $4 or have it back in your house. You will almost always make more money in a consignment sale than at a yard sale, so think of those prices in comparison.

5. Getting Labeled
If you can do labels on the computer, then do that; they are much easier to read. And use big font. If you hand write them, just make them easy to read and I always add extra info- like “great for grandma's” or “super cute for school pictures” or “only pooped in once” {wait- you could possibly leave that last one off}. Just think about what the shopper would be thinking. Also, if it fits like a 4, but is a size 5, write “fits like a 4” and then make sure it’s placed in the 4s. Several things don’t get sold because they are in the wrong area and everybody that picks it up will think, “that looks small”, but nobody will move it!
Think like a shopper.
The best way to do that is to actually BE a shopper first, so hopefully you can do that, too.

6. Presenting My Used Junk.
Presentation is key. Group outfits together and make sure the top and bottom are clearly shown. If you have a minimum price {ours is $3}, and your item is not worth that much, then group with a like item. Don't try to hide a crummy piece with a nice one, though. That's just frustrating. What are these Faded Glory pajama bottoms doing with this Polo shirt??
Speaking of grouping, pin everything more than you ever think you’d need to. Go ahead and buy the 300 pack of safety pins. The clothes and hangers get a lot of action and things can fall off easily.

7. A Little Some-pin' Special
If you are going to collect your things that don’t sell, put a sticker or stamp in a different place on the sale card {that’s not obtrusive to the instructions} as an identifier- like a gold star or a Mickey Mouse stamp. This makes it really easy to sort and find your clothes if you are going to pick up any that don’t sell {or most places donate them if you don’t pick them up}. If you know you're going to donate any thing that doesn't sell, then you can skip this step. And really, people, do you want it back in your house to begin with? Come on. Let it go. You can do it.

Hope you enjoyed my tips for selling! Let me know if you have others!

Any more consignment questions? Ask away!
Here's to a little Red, Red Wine and come great, cheap clothes.
I hope none of them are bleached.

Those Monkeys Just Aren't Bumping Their Heads Hard Enough

Today you get to meet one of my new dear friends. "New" because we just met 6 weeks ago. "Dear" because we clicked right away and have talked on the phone/ e-mailed around 182 times since then.

Mary writes the blog Giving Up On Perfect and also writes for (in)courage, Blissfully Domestic and instructions for babysitters. She has a daughter who shares the exact same birthday as Henry, so we speak the same toddler language.

She is lovely, witty and fun and you will love her like I do! I'm so sure of it that I am giving her my blog today. And she has given me hers.

To catch up on me and my DMV experience, hop over there. But first, read below and leave Mary a comment. Let's give her a nice Rydell High welcome, friends {and not a hickey from Kenickie, kay?}.

Photo by lopolis

You don’t know me, so I feel like I should offer a disclaimer right now: no monkeys were harmed in the writing of this blog post.
There. Got that out of the way. No need to alert PETA after all.

But here’s the thing: those five little monkeys that keep jumping on the bed? They need to stop. They need to get off. They need to sit quietly and read books. They need time out.

Whatever they need, I need to not hear about them for a good long while.

“What’s with the monkey animosity?” you ask.

Well, let me just tell you. Last weekend, my husband and I had the grand plan of packing ourselves, our almost-two-year-old daughter, a diaper bag, a backpack, two suitcases and enough snacks and toys for a week into the car and drive for four hours.

Looking back, though I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with our college friends and watching our kids play together, this may not have been the most brilliant idea we’ve ever had.

And we’ve had some whoppers of ideas, let me tell you.

I remember, back when my sweet, innocent little pumpkin was just months old. I remember how she’d sit quietly in her car seat, entranced by the whir of the road or entertained by whatever music I played on the radio. Sometimes she got restless, but it was nothing a small toy or rousing rendition of Jesus Loves Me couldn’t cure.

And then she turned one. [Please read that in your most melodramatic voice ever.]

With her first birthday, along came hair and one nap a day and finger foods and talking and how to put it? Oh yeah: attitude.

Actually, that didn’t show up until around 18 months, but you get the picture.

So about that time, car rides started getting dicey. Sometimes trips in the car were no problem at all, but other times, it was a nightmare getting from point A to point B.

Saturday’s four-hour drive was one of those other times. It started out well, because I caved like a good mom and let her play with my cell phone. It was locked, of course, but that brilliant child of mine figured out the exact button-pushing combo to dial my emergency contacts. Those contacts, of course, are my husband – who knows to just let those calls go to voice mail, so he gets a cute babbling message – and my mother – who had to call Grandpa over to the phone so they could take turns saying, “Hi, baby. Give the phone to Mommy. We love you! What’s your name? Awww! Please give the phone to Mommy now.”

The kicker is that I don’t always realize right away that this is happening (because, yes, it has happened a time or twenty before). So I thought she was just having a good time playing by herself.

Uh, no.

Over the next four hours, we went from the Oopsy Game (You know the one, right? The one where she begs us to contort our bodies in order to retrieve her favorite toys from the backseat and hand them over – only to have her drop them into the canyon between the car seat and the door? Yep, that one.) to the Cheerio Game (That would be when Mommy and Daddy breathe a sigh of relief, thinking her silence is an indication of contentment and good behavior, only to realize it was just a result of intense concentration on dumping Cheerio crumbs all over herself and the car.) to pouring all the water from her sippy cup onto her pants to chanting her new favorite phrase over and over (That would be “poopy poo.”).

My husband thought perhaps things would work out better if I sat in the back seat with her. Sure, I said, rolling my eyes as any good wife would do. And it worked for about 2.4 minutes, until that sweet little pumpkin decided she needed to climb out of her car seat’s harness.

[Please insert the heaviest sigh you can imagine right here. But whatever you do, don’t imagine me shrieking at my sweet little baby and threatening to have Daddy “pull this car over.” Because I would never do that.]

Despite this excitement, we finally arrived, in one piece and with some sanity intact.

But when we climbed into the car on Monday to head home, you better believe I gave in immediately and played her favorite song. And played it again. And sang it. And sang it again. And – well, you know.

Five little monkeys jumpin’ on the bed. One fell off and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor, and the doctor said, “No more monkeys jumpin’ on the bed!”

Is it any wonder I’m ready for those monkeys to take a hike? Or that my daughter has added “jumpin’” to her vocabulary?

I suppose it could be worse. She could’ve started singing 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall . . .

Birthday Bash :: Behind the Scenes

You know the part in E! True Hollywood Story when that deep-voiced announcer guy says, "When we come back, {pause, pause} the cast of Saved By the Bell turns from innocent child actors to teen stars filled with angst" or something along those lines?
Well that's NOT how my behind the scenes story went. Aren't you glad?

While I was telling you about stories of my past {this one from middle school was my favorite to tell; I have been holding that picture for 6 months} and having a bloggity blast getting loads of comments and feeling popular, I had a lovely birthday in real life.

My real birthday started out with 7 of my favoritest girlfriends meeting me at the best little Tex- Mex place for breakfast. And if you've never had salsa early in the morning then you need that extra kick! We resolved to do it for everyone's birthday because it was such a fun treat.
Then I went for a pedicure {deluuuuxe, of course} and then to lunch with MIL, SIL and GIL {that's Grandmother in Law} at the girliest place in town.

As you see, eating on one's birthday is of utmost importance. I tried to continue doing it all day with mild interruptions of loafing and accepting well wishes via facebook, blog, real life phone calls, etc. It was tough being me.

The day took a slight detour, though, when I decided to take the boys to Toys R Us to play with trains and redeem some of Ollie's birthday coupons. Except these coupons were VAGUE and I ended up discussing matters with 2 very tired children and 1 inept manager. And we left minus the train.

But I decided to hop back to my happy {birthday} place and had a wonderful rest of the day.

That morning Jason told me he was going to bake me a birthday cake. He was very proud of himself for this idea {as he should be} and I was very proud of him for the thought.
Since he has never baked a thing, much less a cake, I wasn't licking my taste buds before they hatched... or something like that.

He braved Publix, came home with Betty Crocker's finest and got to cooking immediately!
He followed the instructions to a tee and even asked where our toothpicks were to test if the cake was done.

Oh, the man. He is so good. 2 layers of German Chocolate and it was delish!

He even bought the 3 and 1 candle and serenaded me with Happy Birthday along with the kids.

Wait! Don't look at that table. Here is a much prettier picture of the cake with me trying to "frame" my Welcome sign.

All the pedicures in the world couldn't make up for my sweet little family. Not even the deluxe ones.

Then this weekend we ventured to the park in between our Olympic- worthy laying around and had a great time with the ducks, fish

and park people {there is some great people watching to be had at the park, you know}.

Henry never meets a stranger- webbed ones included.

And minus the germs being incurred, this is one of my favorite pictures {SOOC- meaning I haven't even doctored it up, yet}.

So, behind the scenes, my real birthday was fantastic. There would be no need for deep-voiced announcer guy to have followed me around. My, he would been bored: "When we come back... She eats AGAIN".

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I want to be sure to thank the people who made it amazing on the blog, as well! Please consider giving them a call or e-mail for your shopping needs. I guarantee you they have something that would work for a teacher gift, pick me up, birthday present, etc. None of them are paying me to say this; these are truly my favorite people and products and I promise you would love them.

Melanie from Homemade Gourmet {also offering a 15% discount on your order if you tell her you read about it here!} [Day 1]

Lisa from Lisa Leonard Designs [Day 2]

Deanna from Design Chicky [Day 3]

Holley from Heart to Heart with Holley [Day 4]

(in)courage [Day 5]

Lydia from Layne James {also offering a 15% discount with code OTHERMAMA at checkout!} [Day 4]

Kasi from Southern Living at Home [Day 5- click here for all seasonal discount flyers and details]

Sonia from Uppercase Living [Day 5]

Thank you ALL so much. Until next year...

Wait- not the WHOLE blog... just the birthday and the bash parts.

I'll be back here tomorrow. Wait... no... I'll be here instead. You'll see...