On Wednesday morning it dawned on me that I can no longer work in my living room. I might still type here on my favorite comfy white denim chair and ottoman, but I need an office to set up my files, my catalogs, my samples, etc. So, I visualized where in my house this “office” should be. While we are blessed with a large home and have space downstairs, I didn’t really want to have my office in the basement–I wanted it by my bedroom/laundry/kitchen area. So, I decided that I would move my son downstairs and I would move into his room. It is a cool space for an office. Last year my mom wallpapered maps purchased for $5 on ebay around the large front window, a look we copied from Pottery Barn Kids catalog. So my office, while not very princessy or girly, will inspire me to travel! I am going to make a plaque above my desk that says, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” taken from the title from a Dr. Seuss book. So, armed with my September Real Simple magazine that features how to organize a home office, I am making a lot of progress, but I have a ways to go.
We ended up having a last minute garage sale today and will have another one next week, because once you start dejunking, you can’t stop…so we went on the war path and had a successful sale this morning. Fortunately my husband sold off a lot of excess inventory that has been hanging around our garage and basement. Having a need to “set up the office” forced me to finally get around to the tasks that have been on our “to do” list this summer.
While we usually do garage sales with friends who live on more visible streets, I never had a garage sale at our home before because I just assumed we wouldn’t get any traffic. But, we paid $40 for an ad, put up posters and it was surprising…people came and came early. And we sold 85% of our stuff! Pretty good for a remote area/not a busy street. It helped that we had a gas dryer, a few antiques, electronics, jogging stroller…items that are big.
Our tips:
* Put an ad in the paper, for 3 days! Get the rain warranty ad, so if it rains they will re-run it
* Don’t mark your stuff, this is a mistake people make. Just ask what they are willing to pay for it or estimate as you go…you’ll save time and you won’t have to tag everything. And the point is to actually get rid of your stuff. So, just ask what they would like, but if they ask YOU, go higher than you think because then they will say, “can you come down on that?”
* Go to Dump & Charity Drop off location the same day for stuff that doesn’t sell, don’t put back into your house!!
* Play music!
* Try to merchandise your stuff…think of it as a store, use tables when possible, hang up stuff when possible
* Involve your kids, they can do a bake sale, popsicle sale, bottled water sale…
* Have lots of change, don’t take checks
Today’s Magic Wand: Dejunk 1 room a week, to keep up on it; (that’s the Fly Lady’s tip).
