Wordless Wednesday: This is how I Ebay!!

It takes unique set-ups and lots of natural light to get great, Ebay-quality photos!!!

(ignore the fact that I need to recover my bench seat with some matching fabric)

Wordless Wednesday: Consigning...

....another drop-off day for my favorite consignment sale, Upscale Resale.  

 I had my friend, Jen's, clothes to drop-off, too!!!

Another consigning season, come-and-gone!!

Wordless Wednesday: A New Bow

....thanks to Miss Nina for making Emerson such a cute purple bow.  She made all the girls, who just moved up to the next class, a bow to remember her by.  So sweet of her!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Drop-off Day...

...for Upscale Resale!!!

Consignment Shopping

A couple of weeks ago my friend Nancy sent me her friends pass for the bi-annual Kids Everywear consignment sale.  I didn't cosign this time around, so I was so grateful to Nancy for sending me her pass. In the haste of life, I forgot to put the shop date on my calendar, and if it doesn't go on my calendar, I'm sure to forget about it....and I did!  But last night as I was going through a bunch of emails, I came across the original email from Nancy and decided I would head out today and try my luck at shopping the consignment sale.  I TOTALLY should have been working, catching up from being out last week, but that's why I took this new job, right?  The flexibility!!  So off I headed this morning at 9:50 am (in time for the 10:00 am opening) to find some good deals...just me, myself, and I.  Peace. Solitude. Lots of clothes and armed with a credit card.  Ahh, it's been awhile since I had two solid hours of uninterrupted shopping to myself.  Pure Bliss!!

So since most of you have only heard from me about the consigning side of these sales, I thought it would be nice to blog about the buying side (I do know a few things about buying clothes, right?).   I really don't have a strategy going into these sales, especially KidsEverywear because it is huge!  I usually head straight to the boutique rack and then to the regular racks.  Today, after the boutique rack I headed straight to the size 5 racks (explanation later).

(sorry for the photo quality, these were taken with my Droid)

Secretly taking a picture of the size 5 racks!!

After I finished the daunting size 5 row, I rounded the corner to see this.....both sides were size 4.  I decided to opt out and realized my basket was pretty full.  So I started the task of keeping and eliminating, and after making a few hard decisions on what to put back, I was finished shopping and very happy with all my finds.

Check out all the clothes!!!

All in a good day's SALE!!

Here's a run down of my loot from the day:

3 skirts/skorts

3 dresses

5 tops

4 pairs of shorts

3 pairs of capris

2 matching outfits (with bonus bow)

1 jean jacket

1 dance outfit

1 warm-up outfit for our expected new neighbor Bryce

23 items

Total Spent - $128.22

Skirts and Dresses

The pink and aqua skirts were each $1.00 a piece....I couldn't pass that up, especially since they were still in great condition.  The skirt in the middle still had the tags on it, granted it's Target but it was half of what I would have paid in the store.  And, I can't wait to show you what I have planned for the three dresses....so cute!  I feel a craft project (and blog) in my future!!

The Tops

Four of these tops still had the tags on them

Shorts and Capris

I am so ready for short and capri weather now, love the details on the pink shorts and capris....who doesn't love turtles and flamingos?!?!

My favorite purchase from today...so cute and they have Emerson written all over them.  They literally screamed, "Buy Me" from the rack!!

Outfit Sets

How cute are these two outfits sets.   I'm still a sucker for a set and check it out, one of the sets came with a bonus hair bow...SCORE!!!

Miscellaneous

A dance dress, a jean jacket (although it's way too big for this year, it will go in the back of the closet for next year), and a cute outfit for Mr. Bryce, who will arrive in April.

All the Loot!!!

What I've learned from shopping consignment sales:

1. If your child wears a 3T, then shop in the 4T section.  If your child wears a 4T, then shop in the 5T section - hence always shop one or two sizes above your current size because people wash and dry the dickens out of their clothing.

2. I'm sure this will come as a shock to you all, but I am pretty particular when it comes to clothes and this makes it, sometimes, difficult to shop the sales.

3. People's taste in clothing is always shocking, err, different than mine, but to each his own, right??

4. People must stock pile their clothes for years, because there was clothing there today from when I was 5 years old. If it isn't in fashion people, don't bring it to the sale.  (Although, back to #3, someone will probably buy it!). 

5. People are really proud of their really worn, super shrunk, stained Gymboree outfits (or any other brand).  People, if I can buy it in the store NEW for $15, why would I buy it from you stained and faded for $14.  

6. Take something to carry clothes in.  Kids Everywear actually offers you a clothes bin, but they could run out if there are tons of people, so always take an extra bag to put clothes in so you don't end up with shopping fingers (not the technical term, but it's a real thing folks!!). 

7. When going through each rack, always pull everything you think you might want to buy and then go back through everything at the end.  If you don't do this, then when you go back to find an earlier item, It. Will. Most. Certainly. Be. Gone!!

8. Always ask your husband how much he thinks you spent, more than likely it will look like a lot and he will estimate high, so when you tell him the real total, he will be pleasantly surprised. 

9. Always have fun trying the clothes on your little one and talking about how cute they are, she'll never know they weren't new (and probably wouldn't care anyways)!

Happy Shopping, Y'all!!!

Sometimes Dogs Aren't Always Man's Best Friend...

Some of you may remember a post I wrote back in November about our wonderful dog, Hogan.  This cutie right here...the angelic, looks-like-he-wouldn't-hurt-a-fly dog.

Well, Friday, Hogan quickly went from lovable dog to not-so lovable dog in a matter of seconds.  I walked in from a nice dinner to find my shoes, my Coach shoes I might add, like this:

Expletives!!! Expletives!!!

Oh Hogan, how fast you went from friend to foe.  My favorite work shoes, you know the ones you can wear all day, the ones I could walk all over NYC in, were ruined.  Unbelievable....guess the only positive is that I get a shoe shopping trip out of it, but I so loved those shoes!  Rats!!

Consigning

REMEMBER THIS???? 

This is the way my guest room used to look, then I devoted my February Decluttering The Devers project to getting all these clothes ready for my upcoming March consignment sale.  I've mentioned on this blog several times that I'm a consignor.  There are three main reasons I consign.  First, we all know I love to shop for Emerson (as stated in the February decluttering post).  If/when I have another baby, and if it's another little girl, I will go just as crazy shopping for her, as I did for Emerson.  Second, I hope to recoup a fraction of the money I have already spent (we'll let Danny think this), but really it's to make money to buy MORE clothes!!!  (At most of the sales, if you are a consignor, you get to shop early, so you usually spend what you are going to make back.)  And, last but not least, we really need to get the clothes out of the house because we are bursting at the seams.  Who knew having a child would bring so much STUFF (read: toys, clothes, sippy cups, toddler plates, general clutter)?  We are slowly running out of space and again, if that second baby ever comes, it would probably be nice to have a place for it to sleep.  So, I have decided to keep all the important clothes (birthday outfits, Halloween costumes, favorites) and the cute outfits I just couldn't part with, but for the rest of them, they have been put up for consignment. 

I consign at two different sales, Upscale Resale (my favorite sale) and KidsEverywear.   Although I did just recently sign up to sell at the Chatham Kids Consignment. This is the third season I have consigned at Upscale Resale.  I missed the registration cut off for the spring season of KidsEverywear but I did participate this past fall.  Although not a consignment pro, I have certainly learned the ropes quickly and I'm working my way out of rookie status fast.  So, I thought I would show all of you exactly what is involved in consigning. 

The Process

Sorting - Obviously the first step is to sort the clothing you are going to consign.  Upscale Resale only accepts certain brands, so it is crucial to sort.  I have two bins, one for Upscale Resale (the more boutique-ish brands) and then an "Other Consignment Sales" bin (both labeled, of course).  (Hopefully this will make it much easier for future sorting and instead of ending up on my guest bed, the clothes will end up in the appropriate bin.)  Each sale is also season specific, so in the spring, you can only sell spring clothing and in the fall (you guessed it!), you can only sell fall clothing.  I put both seasons in the bin and then just sort out the season when its time for that sale. 

Presentation and Hanging- The next step is hanging the clothes.  It seems like all the sales have the same specifications for hanging; place clothes on hangers with the hook facing to the left ( like the shape of a question mark). Presentation does matter, so I make sure to tie the bows, fasten the buttons and snaps and close the zippers.  I rarely iron the clothes unless the article absolutely needs it; I've usually taken good enough care of them on the front end that they don't need ironing.   The other important detail is if there are two pieces to the outfit (ie- bottoms, bloomers, etc.), they need to either be safety pinned or put on a two-part hanger so as not to be separated at some point during the sale.  I also used a clothing rack this time and oh my, it made the entire process so much easier.  Thanks to the Hermans for use of their new in-the-box clothing rack (all I had to do was put it together while they were out of town).  Note-to-self put clothing rack on my shopping list before the fall sales start!!

Emerson loved helping her Mommy and the clothes rack had a lower rod that was the perfect height for her. 

All the clothes hung up and ready to be tagged!!

Tagging - Luckily most of the sales give you a template that you can use to plug in the info for your clothing.  Usually these tags include, your consignor number, a description of the item, the size of the item, price and your participation in the half price sale (usually the last day of the sale).  Since your consignor number will stay the same for each sale, I usually save the template and then just input the clothing info (it goes much faster this way).  You can also choose to hand-write the tags but being the OCD person that I am, I like to type them, and save a copy for my records.  Most sales require that you use card-stock.  KidsEverywear actually assigns you a particular color card-stock but Upscale Resale lets you use any color you want.  I try to use bright colors.  The brighter, the better...it attracts more buyers that way.

After you put in all the information, it's time to cut out your tags and start attaching them to your articles of clothing.  The best way to attach the clothing and the tag is by using a zip tie.  I try to zip tie the tag to both the hanger and the clothing.  I can usually do this by either going through a button hole or a clothing tag.  

Drop-Off -  Ahhh, Finished!!!  All sorted, hung, tagged, folded and placed into the Tupperware bin ready to go off to consignment land and hopefully be adopted (read: bought for full asking price) by a wonderful new mom for her adorable little girl.  (I have to give a big shout out to my consigning cohort Jen for taking my clothes this time around.  My schedule got so out of control and she was nice enough to drop-off for me. Jen, I've got drop-off duty next time!!)  Now all you have to do is hope there aren't too many leftover clothes when you go to pick-up on the last day; then it's time to sit back and wait for your check to come in!!

....and that, folks, is how you consign!!!

Jasmere

It's pretty obvious from my February Decluttering post that I have a shopping problem, ok BIG shopping problem.  Especially when it comes to a certain little fashionista toddler in our household.  Well, now I am even entering contests to support my addiction.  Jasmere, a social shopping site that my neighbor Amy introduced me to (thanks Amy!), is hosting a contest.  It's pretty simple, post a picture to their Facebook page that's related to one of your Jasmere purchases, get all your friends to comment on it, which equates to a vote and then wait, and hope you win.  What do you win, you might ask?  A $250 credit.  Friends, $250 will go a LONG way on Jasmere. 

Jasmere has a daily feature item (posted for 24 hours) and the more people who buy it, the lower the price gets and everyone who bought the item (at the end of the 24 hours) gets the item at the lowest price.  I've bought a couple of things on Jasmere, mostly for Emerson.  So today, after work, I decided to head home and try to snap some shots of her in all her Jasmere outfits and enter the contest.  I thought I would post a couple of them here.  Emerson had a great time trying on her clothes and, I won't lie, Mommy had just as much fun playing dress up with her little girl!!!

Here's my acutal entry for the Jasmere contest.  Feel free to go vote, the more comments, the closer I get to the prize.

My little one (the one I shop for the most on Jasmere) modeling her new dresses from Decaf Plush, her initial sweater from Write Away, and the one purchase for me, a new Coakley bag!!!

Here are some more pictures I took this afternoon! 

And if you want to join Jasmere...make sure you click on the personal referral link below.  I get $10 for every friend who joins under my name.  I could potentially buy a lot of Jasmere items soon with all the comments on Facebook and hopefully new people signing up under my name!!!  Believe me, Danny will be happy it is all bought by credit and not coming out of our bank account!!

Brooke's Personal Referral link for Jasmere!!
http://www.jasmere.com/referral/777778db

Decluttering The Devers - February 2010

I'm sure it won't come as a surprise to some of you (okay, all of you) that Emerson has A LOT of clothes.  I think, actually I know, the day I found out I was having a little girl I went shopping right away and bought at least five outfits.  I admit, I have a shopping problem habit, but I am not the only one that has contributed to Emerson's sizeable amount of clothing.  Yes, I have a partner in shopping crime....Mimi!!!  We have been shopping partners since before I can remember and luckily we have the same taste.  Shortly after Emerson was born, I introduced Mimi to Ebay, a source I had quickly grown to love for Emerson clothing.  We both tend to go overboard when it comes to dressing Emerson.  There, Danny I said it, I CAN go overboard, but I AM working on it.  I mean come on, clothes for girls are just SOOO CUTE!!! 

So, if you haven't figured it out yet our February Decluttering The Devers is about my "hobby" (and Danny's nemesis), Emerson's Clothes!!  Needless to say, they have taken over the house, at least 3 rooms of the house; her room, a bit of the bonus room and our guest room.  Even participating in consignment sales like  Upscale Resale (2x) and Kids EveryWear, we were still being engulfed in clothing.  I am embarassed to even show the pictures of these rooms.  If I participated in McMama's "Not Me Mondays", this would surely be a great topic for a post.  So, without further ado....this is what our guest room looked like before the "decluttering".  (In my defense, although it doesn't take away from anything, there was a fresh pile of laundry on top of the already existing pile.)

The Guest Room, Emerson's 2nd Closet

I know, I know...so embarassed right now!!! 

I purchased four plastic storage bins and labeled them.....

Upscale Resale - I can take these clothes next week, YAY!! Guess it's time to start hanging and labeling!

Other Sales - KidsEveryWear, Once Upon a Child, etc.

Does Not Fit (Keep) - those outfits I just can't part with

May Fit Spring/Fall 2010- hopefully Em can wear these, if not, they will find there way into another bin

......and then I started sorting.  In fact, my Other Sales bin got so full, I had to add a second one. 

(Amy get ready, those are both coming to you!!)

Ahh, the final result was worth taking the time to DECLUTTER.  Anyone want to come spend the night?  I can actually have house guests again!!  Danny even said he might just sleep in the room since no one has stayed in there for so long.  I mean how could they sleep there, the bed was drowning in clothing, but not anymore.  Maybe it is a good idea for Danny to sleep in there, then I'd have the king to myself. 

Hmmm, oh honey.....!!!

I'm vowing that our guest bedroom will stay a guest bedroom.  Seriously, anyone want to come visit!!

Check out past decluttering projects by clicking on the links below:

January 2010 - Brooke's Craft Closet