Are you itching for a new spring wardrobe? Beware not to let koumpounophobia, a real documented phobia of buttons, set in. Watch this tip on how to store those extra buttons that come with new garments so you can actually find the right buttons when you need them.
If you can’t see the video thumbnail, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3cyd5EwbJw
I was talking to a friend about this particular transformation, and realized it had never made it to the blog, so here you go. For those of you who work at home, you can have a super-functional and pretty office, in just about 30″ of space (deep).
Before:
After:
This week I’m enjoying hanging with my organizing peeps at the National Association of Professional Organizers annual conference. Did you know there is one? It is always one VERY organized agenda!
I can’t wait to get back and share what’s new in the industry. I’ll be spending a few days in the land of crab cakes and Orioles. Too bad we’re a few weeks ahead of opening day. It’s true, I have one of the best jobs a person could ask for.
This is one of my favorite parts of my job. I almost never work alone.
This is Smudge, and he was doing the safety check and space planning for this linen closet reorganization. I have a million shots of my your little furry children helping me organize your spaces. Next time I’m at your place, please remind me to snap a shot of the silly things they do to help us out.
Enjoy your week.
The mudroom or entry way to your home is probably the hardest working space in the house. Decorating a mudroom can be a challenge because the space is usually small, multi-tasking, and heavily used. If you have kids or dogs, an entry hall or mudroom can be a disaster waiting to happen. It helps to know how to pick paint for high traffic areas and a few other tricks when decorating a mudroom.
Read more about how to choose the best paint, furniture, lighting and accents for your mudroom at the originally published location for How to Decorate Mudrooms.
Photo credit and © HeartWork Organizing 2011.
Originally published in www.blog.AboutOne.com.
Babies don’t stay babies for long. My babies have grown out of baby bug rattles and what seems like thousands of adorable outfits. I can’t store them all, so I thought I’d try consignment sales. My clients are often tortured with the idea that by donating their goods, they are somehow losing money. Is selling at a consignment sale or store, on eBay, or on CraigsList any better? I decided to run the math on my own involvment in a community consignment sale and see how it compares to donation values.
Let’s set aside the emotional distress tied up in pawing through teeny tiny clothes, hand-knitted sweaters and beautiful booties. Look, I’m a professional, and even I did a mini fashion show for my husband as I tagged items for sale. (Aaaaw, remember her in this cute little outfit? It hardly looks worn!)
Let’s examine facts. I had about 250 outfits, shoes, and baby gear that were consignable: in good shape, no stains or tears, matched in complete outfits, and basically looking like-new. I signed up to be part of a local one-day consignment sale, but working with a consignment store is similar.
First came the scramble for child-sized hangers. Clothes on hangers tend to sell better. Every dollar spent on prep reduces profit, so I scoured Freecycle and hit up friends and clients, but it was tough coming up with enough extra hangers. I used adult hangers for many outfits.
Using straight pins to attach sale tags is tough on the buyers. One DollarTree package of safety pins, cost, yep, just one buck. Sale tags were provided by this event host, but some sales require consignors to print tags at home, adding paper and printer ink costs.
Then came the real cost. Little outfits had to be unpacked, put on hangers, steamed or ironed, grouped and priced. I spent at least 10 hours, maybe 15 hours or more. At minimum wage of $7.25 my “cost” for time spent would have been at least $73 bucks.
Last, I trekked to the sale site for drop off. Loading items and delivering to the sale site took a little more than an hour, so rack up another roughly $10 in opportunity cost and aggravation.
Now comes the fun part. Each sale works a bit differently, so read up on what’s available in your area. This sale gives 60% of the proceeds back to the consignor, which is pretty good. I opted to volunteer at the sale and earn a higher percentage of the earnings, in my case 75%. I donated two hours of time for greater profit and an additional shot at end-of-day markdowns. I scored big, getting an all-wood three-piece play kitchen, which I look forward to repainting “Pottery Barn Pink”, for just $10.
I priced just about every item at $2. Price items to sell, for sure. Remember, folks, pricing something unreasonably high at a consignment sale actually lowers your chance of earning any profit at all. Most people come to these sales for deals and steals, so play along or don’t play. And really, you’re done with it, so let it go and feel happy it’s getting another life.
My results?
I’m not surprised that $61 is just about what I spent that day at that very same sale. I received a check two weeks later. Unsold items can be donated by the host, but I picked up mine to take to another sale or perhaps donate for the tax deduction. That means I dragged home 150 outfits, which was no easy haul back out to the car. They are still worth another roughly $75 back on my taxes when properly documented.
So was it worth it? About one-third of taxpayers itemize deductions, and we can claim charitable donations on Schedule A. If I had bagged and dropped off those same 250 items at my local Goodwill, I would have been able to assign a thrift value to them of the same $2, and taken the deduction on my taxes next April. My donation would have reduced my taxable income by the value donated ($500), and reduce my tax bill by roughly $125. (Note: Taxes can be confounding. Please talk with a tax advisor for specifics.) Hmmm, that is suspiciously close to my net earnings on this sale, but without the time that I spent preparing, dropping off and collecting my unsold items, and volunteering at the event. Click here for one guide to donation values.
So should you or shouldn’t you? If you enjoy consignment sales, if you could use the cash more than the time, or if you have some trendy, high-quality items that you know people are willing to pay top dollar for, then go the consignment route. I appreciate it, because I’ll probably be buying your stash. Watch out for emotion, though, since the longer you wait to consign, the less likely your stuff will be current and desirable. If, however, time is more valuable to you, then donate your goods to a charity like Goodwill or any local charity that will provide a receipt for tax purposes, knowing that the financial outcome to your bottom line will likely be about the same.
A huge part of my business happens in the fall when moms everywhere realize that their plan for getting organized during the summer didn’t happen as planned. School is out this week where I live, so I’m offering up this 10-week strategy for getting organized. The idea is that you tackle one manageable topic each week, and you find yourself a bit more organized at the end of the summer, but you still have time to enjoy yourself, guilt-free!
I’d love to hear how this works out for you. Please post a comment and let me know if this plan helps you. Happy summer!
Week 1: summer calendar, backpacks and sports gear
During this week, ensure that all summer activities, camps, vacations, babysitter time-off, and travel is on the same calendar to avoid overlaps and gaps. Also, unpack backpacks and sports bags coming home from school to avoid lost items and fuzzy green sandwich remains surfacing in the fall.
Week 2: summer clothes
During this week, cull through all family members clothing to ensure everyone is covered, so to speak.
Week 3: fitness routine
During this week, if you’ve let your own fitness routine slip, look at ways to incorporate fitness, healthy eating, or other healthy habits back into your day. Take a class or enlist a buddy to help make it stick.
Week 4: kid artwork and paperwork
During this week, get each kid to review last year’s treasures and masterpieces with you, and decide on the best items to archive. Then order Dynamic Frames to help organize next year’s works effortlessly and beautifully.
Week 5: an unfinished project of your choice
Choose something you’ve been meaning to get done and tackle it, whatever it is. Refinishing a piece of furniture, organizing the garage, having a contractor make repairs, or even making that long overdue doctor’s appointment for yourself deserves your attention this week.
Week 6: household paperwork
Yep, you knew this was coming. Devote just 30 minutes each day this week to clearing off counters, desks and tables. If you need to set up or tweak your filing system, challenge yourself to do this in under an hour. Ensure there is a mail handling station you can live with.
Week 7: mom’s closet
Earmark one day this week to cull through your closet for items to donate. Anything that is to small, too big, stained, ripped, hopelessly out of date or ill-fitting needs to go. Then, and here’s the fun part, make a list of items you want to add to your wardrobe, and go shopping for good quality staples.
Week 8: school clothes
This is the week you tackle the kid’s clothes. Get in there with your kids, and get an idea of what is in good shape and what needs to be replaced. The stores will be having back to school sales by now, and going armed with a list of what’s needed will save you money at the registers.
Week 9: school supplies
Ditto last week. Take a day early in the week to clear out the junk drawer and desk drawers, lightly organizing, before hitting the office supply stores.
Week 10: new routine (dry run)
This week, take pride in the fact that you’ve accomplished so much this summer. Then write down your new routine and run it by each member of the family. Get agreement on activities, house rules, curfews, and morning routines. Do a daily dry run the week before school starts, and you’ll have less whining and more smiles come fall.
HeartWork Organizing 