Organizing Project: Yard Sale Prep

There's nothing like a neighborhood garage sale to bring my organizing projects to the forefront! I know that if I can get myself together and put in a little effort, I'll be rewarded with a less-cluttered house come next week, which will make it easier to find a place for all the items that we decide to keep. Items that we don't need anymore will be connected with people who need them enough to pay for them (hopefully), and items that no one wants will be donated, where it will be put to good use--if a use can be found.

And hopefully none of the sale items will reappear inside the house somewhere. Oh, and hopefully none of the stuff from my neighbor's sales will end up at our house, lovely items that they are. (Gee, I wonder who might be the culprit of such activities? If it isn't me, it must be one of my dear family members. I might have to lock the house and subject everyone to a search before they are allowed back inside!)

Here is my plan to get ready for the Big Day:

In the week leading up to the sale:

1. Designate a Yard Sale Spot. For me, this will be the table in the basement. It could be any area in your home or garage where you can put all of the items that you are planning on selling in the sale. This is where I will collect everything together for the sale so that I can price items and get things organized by category, etc.

2. Purge. I'll grab some boxes and then move through the house collecting items for the sale. I'm going to use last year's checklist to be sure and hit all the hotspots in my house:

• My closet and drawers
• Daughter's closet and drawers
• Son's closet and drawers
• Linen Closet
• Large kitchen cabinet 
• Pantry
• Buffet in dining room (aka Craft Storage)
• Toy Cabinets, DVD Cabinet
• Basement Play Room
• Garage
• Storage Room

3. Get the family involved. I'll do most of the purging, but I'll encourage the kids to pick some items from the sale (and promise them the money) and I'll beg my husband to find a few things to part with. (I already have a few things in mind!) Another project for the family may be to make signs for the big day.

4. Sort. Before I start pricing items, I want to get things sorted into categories so that I can get a better idea of what I have and what is the best way to price things. If I have a lot of smaller items, I might put them all in a box with a sign that says '25 cents' or similar. Sorting before pricing avoids the situation of pricing two like items the same, or pricing a higher quality item lower than a lower quality item.

5. Price. I use stickers, some of which are blank, some have pre-printed prices on them. Many people like to haggle at yard sales in our area, so I think of prices as a starting point. If I have a lot of small, low price items, I might pile them in a box and put a sign on it that says '$1 each' or similar.

6. Get Change. I'll make a point to go to the bank and get a roll of quarters and a large number of $1 bills, probably about $50 worth of change total.

The day before the sale:

7. Advertise. This is a neighborhood yard sale, so several neighbors are taking care of this step for me. Ordinarily I would post an advertisement on Craigslist.

8. Set-up and Transfer. The day before the sale I'll start set up tables in the garage and transfer everything to that location. (I don't want to do this until the day before the sale because it's rainy here this week and I would rather park my car in the garage as long as possible!)

9. Extension Cord and 'Broken' signs. It's a good idea to have an extension cord set up for the sale so that people can test items with electrical components. For items that don't work well (such as my old Oster stand mixer) or that no longer work, I include a sign stating that fact. You would be surprised at what people are willing to buy even when it doesn't work! I guess they might fix the item, or use it for parts for another item.

The day of the sale:

10. Open Early. Be prepared for the first shoppers to arrive even before your advertised opening time. I typically have shoppers looking at items while we carefully carry tables out of the garage to the driveway (which is why I like to set everything up the day before!)

11.Hang Signs. Post signs at nearby intersections to direct local drivers to your sale. I typically end up doing this after the Early Bird rush is over.

Linked to Top 10 Tuesday and WFMW!

10 Steps to Start the Day off Right



There are a number of things that I'm trying to do each morning to jump-start my daily productivity. I don't do everything every day, but I find that if I do as many things as possible (time and schedule permitting) it becomes much more difficult for my day to become derailed.

1. Work out. I always hate getting up early to work out, yet it has never failed to get my day off to a good start, even when the workout itself hasn't been the best. I try to keep this in mind when I drag myself out of bed: I'll feel great as soon as I finish waking up... just need to get through the next hour...

2. Shower/Dress. I am not one of those people who can work out and then carry on with the day without a shower, I wish I were. I find there is a correlation between my productivity and being fully dressed--appropriately for the day's weather and activities.

3. Floss. It's probably better to floss at the end of the day, but I do a better job--and remember to do it--if I floss first thing in the morning.

4. Apply Sunscreen. I haven't yet remembered to apply sunscreen to my face and hands before going outside, so it needs to be done first thing.

5. Make the Bed. Just as soon as everyone has finished sleeping in it (daughter, dolls, stuffed animals, etc.)

6. Start a load of Laundry. Some mornings I can get this going before my eyes have fully opened.

7. Start Making Dinner. This is more often a mental exercise than a physical one: I confirm what we are planning to eat for dinner, making sure I have all the ingredients (perhaps getting them out of the pantry, or moving frozen items to the fridge or counter), and making sure any leftovers we are planning to eat haven't been eaten already. I'd rather realize that something is needed from the store on the earlier side of the day.

8. Clean Kitchen Sink, Stove and Counters. Usually while the coffee or tea are brewing, everything gets wiped down in preparation for the day, which also usually involves putting things away, washing up items left over from the night before, etc.

9. Have a Gourmet Breakfast. Usually after the kids are fed/delivered to school I sit down to eat a proper breakfast. This can be as simple as a bowl of cold cereal and sliced fruit (today) or something hot, such as a slice of fritatta or some leftover Eggplant Stew on top of scrambled eggs. It takes about 5 minutes to make a nice breakfast out of leftovers, frozen breads or muffins, and fresh fruit. If there is enough protein in the meal, it will last me well into the afternoon. (Note: if I work out, I eat a granola bar beforehand, and this eating becomes Second Breakfast.)

10. Review Email and Today's Schedule. If I'm really organized, I already have a list of Things to Do. If not, it's time to make one.

Recently I timed myself, and doing this full routine on top of helping my kids to start their day took over two hours (1 hour workout, 30 minutes shower/dress, etc.), but it means that by 9 AM I've been incredibly productive and my day is off to a good start!

10 Gift Ideas for Preschoolers

In honor of my kids' birthdays this month, I thought I would share some of our favorite gift ideas--things that we have given or received that were especially enjoyed!

Here are some fun gift ideas for the preschool set. I linked many of them to pictures on Amazon to help people locate them, but some of them might be more affordably purchased elsewhere.

1. Goldilocks and the Three Bears Read 'n Play Set- My daughter received this adorable little house a a gift, and she has spent hours imagining little stories for the inhabitants. This toy is also very popular when other little girls come over to play.

Everything zips up inside the little house, so it's easy to bring it along to play with during 'boring' errands or meetings.

2. Richard Scarry Busy Town Board Game- If you are looking for a board game that is a bit more complex than Candyland, this game is a nice choice. It uses a nice combination of competition and teamwork, along with some searching for detail, to get all the characters to a picnic on the island before ants eat everything in the picnic! This game is simple enough for preschoolers to enjoy while also keeping the interest of older players.

3. The Ladybug Game- This is a counting game that is a little more entertaining and complex than Hi Ho Cherry-O! My favorite part is that it doesn't have any tiny red cherries to get strewn around the house seconds after opening the box!

4. Battat Take Apart Crane- This adorable crane has large plastic bolts and nuts that screw together with a battery operated drill, almost like a three-dimensional puzzle. Both boys and girls are fascinated with this interesting toy, and it can be played with as a truck when it is fully assembled.

5. Melissa & Doug Wooden Picture Frame - DYO- This is a gift that keeps on giving! I gave this to my daughter, and she painted it, then we added a snapshot of her with her friend and she gave it as a gift to her friend. The completed project can be given to a parent or grandparent as well. The frame above is painted, but we haven't yet added the stick-on jewels... and I am not sure where they are, to tell the truth... I think we have completed at least 3 of these frames for different people so far.

6. Tangoes Jr.- This set has kept both my kids occupied for long periods of time. They are fascinated with the challenge of fitting the shapes together in different patterns. Unlike other sets that come with a ton of shapes, this set has only 7 magnetic pieces that are easier to keep track of, and contains a handy sliding storage tray so that the pieces have a home and avoid getting lost.

7. Crayola Telescoping Pip-Squeaks Marker Tower- These markers are stored upright in this clear tower, which makes it easy for my daughter to select colors... and also to put them away all on her own! She likes to sort the similar colors together and keep them organized (they are jumbled right now). When we got this set, I also purchased the Crayola 150-Count Telescoping Crayon Tower, and I put away all the other crayons and markers. It's amazing--crayons stay together and are easy to find, marker lids stay on... all because the kids have a specific, easy place to store them! When popular crayons get worn down or broken, I can easily replace them from a few extra 24-packs that I have on hand. Tip: I've found that the most affordable way to purchase these sets is to buy them at Michael's and use a 40-50% off one item coupon, which are available regularly, which lowers the price to less than $10.

8. Deluxe Card Holder Set- If your children like to play cards, this card holder set will come in handy to help everyone hold his/her cards. The holders are sturdy and can hold quite a bit, which is very helpful when you are playing Go Fish, Rummy 500, or Uno.

9. Real Tools For Kids Round Point Shovel - We bought a 'real' shovel for my son when he was 3, and he has really enjoyed using it. He digs up worms in our yard, and we use it at the beach for serious digging in the sand. It makes sense to me to get a sturdy shovel that can hold up to real use rather than a plastic shovel that breaks quickly. It's great practice and exercise to learn how to use a real shovel, and the kids like using one that is the right size for them!

10. My daughter is obsessed with dogs, so here are two ideas for puppy lovers:

Pucci Pups Dog with Carrier- My daughter loves her puppy carrier sets. I'm ashamed to say that we have two of these bags: one with a mother dog and puppy, and one with just one pup. The sets come with collars, leashes, dog treats, outfits, hairbows... and my daughter plays with them all the time. She loves to pack the carriers full of all her pets and go on 'trips'.

Nursing Nana Dog- This fantastic plush dog comes with three puppies who attach to their mother with magnets to nurse. It's so cute, and my daughter loves to play with it!

Now you know some of our favorite preschool gift ideas! Linked to 10 on Tuesday.

10 Reasons and Strategies to Avoid Grocery Shopping At the Beach

We are heading to the beach next week for our annual extended family vacation! I am trying to get some things ready in advance so that I can avoid going to the grocery store the entire 8 days that we are there, yet still enjoy lots of delicious food! Here's why:

1. My kids are particular. I've learned that my kids are happy to eat nutritious foods so long as we stick with certain brands they like. My son is especially sensitive and notices when the bread or yogurt is different from the brand he prefers. Rather than take the risk of the beach grocery stores not carrying his favorites, I'll just bring along what I know he likes.

2. The stores at the beach are expensive! I don't even need to explain this.

3. Grocery shopping takes time away from vacation. At our family beach, the grocery store is always crowded, day and night. On top of that, the beach house we rented last year was over 20 minutes away from the nearest grocery store. Just needing a few items meant at least an hour trip. I would rather be relaxing!

4. You often end up buying more than you need. I prefer to avoid wasting food, even condiments and/or bread, and it seems that we always have so much stuff left over at the end of a week at the beach house. I really hate to see it thrown away and wasted! By bringing just what we need from home, I'm hoping to eliminate at least some of the excess stuff left over at the end of the week.

5. You'll end up cooking less at the beach by using food from your freezer cooking stash rather than groceries from the store. I'm going to bring a variety of items from my freezer cooking stash, including Marinated Salmon to serve for dinner one night, banana bread for breakfast, and a few other items, possibly even ingredients for cocktails. My mom is bringing a lasagna and a ham. (I hope she'll give me the hambone to bring home and make into soup!)

Here are my strategies for staying away from the grocery store next week:

6. Make a Meal Plan. By the end of this week, I'll have a clear idea of what we're planning to eat and on which day, therefore I'll have a clear picture (and a list) of what foods to bring, and how much to bring.

7. Pack a cooler and some grocery bags with your favorite foods and ingredients. After making a list, you'll know what you would like to bring.

8. Bring Open Condiments. There's no rule that you need to bring a brand new bottle of ketchup to the beach house each year. Try bringing the open bottle from your fridge/pantry. If you time it just right, you can use it up at the beach house and avoid the need to bring it back home!

9. Shop at the local produce and seafood stands. Not only will you find the freshest ingredients for your seafood meals and your fruit and vegetable salads, you will also support local small businesses in your beach community. I'm hoping we find some fresh okra to fry up, and also some nice ripe juicy peaches.

10. Take it all back home with you. By bringing a cooler, you'll also have a place to stow left over perishables on the way home. Cleaning out the fridge on the last day will be easy!

The Exception: I (or somebody) will need to make an ice-cream/popsicle run late at night one night. Those items don't travel well in the cooler.

Linked to Top Ten Tuesday!

10 ways to Use Up Perishables Before Traveling

Here's what I need to use up this week...

You're getting ready to leave town and the fridge is full of perishables that you need to consume before you leave town! There isn't enough room in the freezer to just freeze the stuff, and the raw vegetables don't freeze well anyway. Here are some tips to use up your perishables before you head out of town for summer vacation!

Using up Milk:

1. Make pancakes. Our pancake recipes uses up 2 full cups of milk and makes 16 pancakes. Enjoy these as Breakfast for Dinner, or make them in advance and eat them the morning you are planning to leave town. Freeze them if you have space--pancakes seem to take up less space that milk in the freezer.

2. Make pudding. If you have freezer space, freeze the pudding as popsicles.

Using up Bread:
3. Make Grilled Cheese: just 4 Grilled Cheese Sandwiches use 8 slices of bread! I haven't figured out a better way to use up a loaf of bread.

Using up Cheese:
4. Make Grilled Cheese (see above!): my family can't resist buttery bread with nice big slabs of cheese melted in between them. I think we would eat just as many sandwiches as I could make--which is why I only make 5 at most, one per person with one extra to split between the really hungry folks.

5. Make quesadillas and freeze them. This is also how I use up my tortillas.

Using up vegetables:
6. Make a frittata. Squash, zuchini, onion, potatoes, green beans, bell peppers, and spinach/greens all go well in a frittata. Slice your tomatoes and place them on top. Eat it for breakfast on the day you are planning to leave for a healthy, protien-rich start to your traveling day.

7. Make soup: Minestrone is designed to absorb leftovers.

8. Make vegetable sandwich wraps: If you have lettuce, carrots, cucumbers and other vegetables that are better consumed raw, wrap them in tortillas with some hummus or cream cheese, and bring them with you in a cooler on your road trip. You can do this with your bread too (see above!), but I find you can stuff more lettuce in a wrap than what you can smoosh in a sandwich.

Using up Eggs:
9. Make a frittata (see above! use your veggies--you might as well throw some cheese in there too if you need to get rid of it!): when I make a frittata, I use a 10 inch pan and throw 12 eggs in there. It sounds like a lot of eggs, but when you slice the frittata into 8 equal servings, there is only 1 and 1/2 eggs in each serving.

10. Make Deviled Eggs: If you don't have enough eggs for a frittata, hard boil your eggs, slice them in half lengthwise, remove the yolks and mix them with some mayonnaise and sweet relish to taste, and use two spoons to plop a blob of the yolk mixture in each white half. Serve these up with vegetable sandwich wraps (see #8 above) for dinner, and your family will scarf them down. Again, even if each person eats 3 deviled egg halves, they're still eating fewer than 2 eggs.

Empty your fridge, and enjoy you vacation! Visit OhAmanda to read and share Top 10 lists about many entertaining subjects.

10 Things I Wish I had time to Write About

I think about sharing stuff on my blog every day, but for the past few months none of those thoughts have made it into an actual blog post. This is a shame, because I have a lot of fun stuff going on!

1. I planted a terrarium. My grandmother gave me a Wardian Case for my birthday last fall, and I am finally got around to planting some tiny plants in it after reading a beautiful book called The New Terrarium: Creating Beautiful Displays for Plants and Nature and reading this very helpful blog post by the same author, Tovah Martin. My terrarium is not be as stunning as those pictured in the book (I dumped the dirt all over the leaves on the tiny African Violet!), but I will enjoy my tiny little plants just the same.

2. I made Lemon Lavender Butter Cookies, yet another recipe from Fix, Freeze, Feast: The Delicious, Money-Saving Way to Feed Your Family. To make the cookies, I first had to make lavender sugar with some culinary lavender. These cookies are lavender-scented! Because it is a freezer cooking recipe, I have several dozen more balls of cookie dough stashed in the freezer to bake when I feel the urge.

3. I'm planning a cutting garden. I love having fresh flowers in the house, and I will occasionally buy a $5 bouquet of flowers from the grocery store for my table or mantelpiece. Last summer I kept seeing these beautiful bouquets at the farmer's market--like this--which I didn't buy because they were quite costly, but the flowers were beautiful! I finally realized I was looking at zinnias, which are actually quite easy to grow in my area, so I bought some pretty zinnia seeds and planted them. I will add a few more types of flowers to the cutting garden and hopefully I'll have a nice selection of flowers for vases throughout the summer and into the fall.

4. I'm slacking off in the organizing department. I came up with a list of organizing projects at the beginning of the year, and I planned to post about a project each week. I haven't finished any of them, nor posted anything about them. I need to get motivated and knock some of these projects out.

5. I'm also slacking in the decluttering department. The spring consignment sale went on without me. I haven't sold anything on Ebay yet this year. I did manage to donate some summer clothes to collection drive for an orphanage in South America... but otherwise, nothing. All my efforts from last year will be undone if I don't stay on top of this neverending project!

6. I have been using the Motivated Moms half size chore planner to get a handle on what needs to be done and how often around my house. I also use it to track my menu plans and workout schedule, including calories burned per workout. I'll be honest--I never get everything on the chore list done, but at least some things get done and I am gaining a more realistic idea of how often things need to be done in my household. (Never often enough!)

7. We are planting a raised vegetable garden this summer.We planted a small amount of things last year, and it was so much fun we decided to get more serious about it. Like for the flower cutting garden, I've planted some seeds and we'll see how things develop. I am using this handy site here to plan a square foot garden. For now it's recreational, but I am looking forward to having a prolific supply of vegetables.

8. After many years of studying the room arrangements in The Washington Post's House Calls, I'm finally rearranging the furniture in my living room. This was the room that finally convinced me that I had enough information to improve the layout. This room was also an inspiration. We just need to paint and have the new couch delivered...

9. A friend of mine has convinced me to try growing potatoes in a garbage bag. Apparently potatoes can be easily damaged when you go to dig them up, so if you grow them in a bag, you can carefull empty the bag open at the end of the growing season (or slit your garbage bag open, which is what I'm planning1), dump the soil in a wheel barrow or container, and pull out the potatoes without using a shovel.

10. I did some freezer cooking last week! And I got around to posting about it. Hopefully I will be able to post updates on these other projects, too.