Consignment Sale Debriefing & Tips

It's been a busy and fun weekend so far. Hubs and the DS went to go visit his family, and therefore I'm getting some fun girly stuff done! I've been waiting for today, for several weeks now, knowing that two major consignment sales would be open for business. I couldn't sleep, I tell you. It was like Christmas Eve or something. Plus, I had to get up before the sun to be ready for the first sale.

6:50 am: roll up to a church parking lot and see small line of frugalistas waiting for the gym doors to open.

7:00 am: mad dash inside. people falling down. screaming. something caught fire. well, not really, but you get the idea.

7:01 am: overwhelmed.

7:02 am: My confidence increasing, I weasel my way over to the 18-24 month boys' rack and begin quickly skimming. Hello, stripes. Hello, Ralph Lauren. Meet...my shopping bag.

8:00 am: Checking out and glory Hallelujah, I only spent $22 for several nice pants and shirts. Not to mention a cute puzzle depicting how to set the table. Gotta start 'em young.

8:20 am: roll up to a church parking lot and see a cop directing parking traffic. oy.

8:22 am: overwhelmed. again.

8:24 am: go straight to shoes and see lots of cute styles, but not in his size. shimmy my way over to the 18-24 month boys' rack and begin skimming: Nothing...nothing...nothing...ehhh....hmm...maybe?... I wasn't as impressed with the selection at this particular sale, saw several stained items. Ventured out to the books/puzzle area and toys.

9:15 am: Checking out in the "express" lane, and my total was $18.75.

9:30 am: Visiting the final sale of the weekend, and the one I hadn't planned to visit. After combing the racks, found a pair of jeans for $2.

10:30 am: Leaving with my sanity in tact, and only a minor dent in the budget DH and I had agreed upon after 3 sales!

And here is the final stash of clothes bought for Fall/Winter:

Not too shabby for roughly $44, tax-free too! I love all of the pieces, and they average $2 a piece.

So here are some of my tips that I've heard from others, and that I've learned through experience:

• Try to leave your kids and DH at home. I don't say this to be mean, but simply that space is extremely limited at this type of sale, and most shoppers are on a mission. Plus, you won't have to worry about someone getting bored or whiny.


• Go first thing at opening if you can. The early bird gets the worm, or rather the early shopper gets the best selection.


• Bring a bag or laundry basket, something. I am constantly amazed at how many people have nowhere to place their items. The IKEA bag was made for this.


• If there are windows available, take your clothes over there and inspect them for stains, tears, missing buttons, broken zippers, grease stains in natural light.


• Take cash or check with you. Most sales are not debit/credit equipped.


• To stretch your dollar further, visit sales hosted by non-profits since there will be no tax included!


• Volunteer at your favorite sale and shop the preview sale for even better selection (before the public gets their grubby hands all over it).


• Take some measurements of clothing that currently fit your child well. I used a string of yarn to measure some jeans from waist to bottom cuff. Holding it up against other pants will show you how it compares. For shoes, I simply trace a foot, then take out the insole of a prospective shoe to compare for size and width.


• Know prices of brands. This will help you in the long run. For instance, I really don't like the idea of paying more than $3.50 for a shirt because I know I can buy a new one for the same price at Walmart (Garanimals brand) or Kohl's (Jumping Beans). Some consignors price items too high for the brand, i.e. GenuineKids by Oshkosh for Target, $8 sweater...not a deal.


• Keep a towel with you in case you need to sit on the floor and sort your clothes before buying. I did this at a sale and many buyers wished they had one too. A lot of the venues that sell do not have seating or a table to do this. Plus, this will keep your clothes clean too.


• Some buyers/sellers frown upon this ("stockpiling"), but I call it smart shopping. If you even think for a second that you like a particular item, shove it in your bag. I may start with a bag overflowing with clothes, but after sorting, pondering, etc. I may decide it's not worth it. Please put the items back where you found them. I have 'lost' several items to other shoppers because I hesitated.


• This should be an obvious one: know what you need to buy. I'm sure lots of poor souls fall prey to impulse buying at these sales since everything is so cheap. But it's not much of a deal if your kid already has more of the same.


• Have fun :)

Spring Shopping Fever or Get Your Frugal On

Just got back from the mall today with Mom and saw some really cute kid clothes at Old Navy and The Children's Place ($5 Spring polos!). I feel so conflicted though, attempting to plan ahead and buy for future seasons, but not knowing how big Caleb will be then. I exchanged many baby clothes when I was pregnant with him for larger sizes and the appropriate season, but he has been unable to wear them due to his larger size. What's a girl to do? Well, I still don't know...but spending money on full-priced clothes is not part of the solution.

I'm thinking.....SpRiNg CoNsIgNmEnT SaLeS!

What I just stumbled upon...(and man, I have a knack for doing that) was this:

Consignment Mommies which is a searchable, rateable, and highly organized site on all the consignment sales in your area. Score!

After having now discovered that there are 33 sales scheduled within the next few months in my area....this could be disastrous amazing.

Recalls of Child Products and Toys

Ok, it may seem strange off the bat that the title says 'child products and toys,' as if toys aren't child products?? Well, those are just the two technical terms provided by our lovely government on its recall database. So how on earth did I get on this topic? As most things go, it started off innocent enough.

There I was, exploring a cool website Healthychild.org which you can easily lose yourself in (and btw, it's not all about children). When lo and behold, I came across an article on toy recalls. To my horror and disbelief, I immediately recognized the friendly face of "Big Rex," who just so happens to be one of my son's favorite book characters. Ok, so maybe it's really one of my favorite books to read to him. It is the cutest dinosaur book, EVAH! And unfortunately, for children (and parents) everywhere, "the lab determined that a red dot appliqué on one of the pages had a lead content of 1900 parts per million - nearly twenty times the content allowed for paint in the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act; six times the total lead content allowed by the law."

Oh you stupid red spot....I knew instantly that it meant the spotted Diplodocus was the accursed. So I read the recall details and basically you get a refund. Our copy was a gift, but I don't want the money! I. just. want. a. safe. copy. Is that too much to ask? And I'm sure I'll get some flack for this, but because it's a cloth book and I have been known to pick up a needle and thread before.... I'm going to perform a spotectomy with my trusty seam ripper. Aka removing the blasted spot. And praying that Diplodocus can live again. And if you owned the book, you'd understand.

So truly on a more serious note, I then proceeded to go to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's website. I began reading thousands (literally) of entries in the Child Products and Toys categories. I won't lie, it's rather sad reading the blurb, "Curious George Plush Dolls Recalled By Marvel Toys Due to Risk of Lead Exposure." Some even make the toy sound malicious: "Hasbro Inc. Recalls to Repair Nerf Blasters; Child’s Skin Can Get Caught in Plunger of the Toy." And no surprise here, I'm sure you can guess correctly where the majority of these toys are manufactured.

And for parents who believe that wooden toys are the pinnacle of safety or eco-chic, you have been misled my friend. Dozens upon dozens of wooden toys still had traces of lead paint or choking hazards associated with them. So my point here is that I think we're under a delusion of safety. I'm not one to be a zealot either, but I do think we owe it to ourselves and our children to be in the know.

Please add the USCPSC's recall lists to your feed reader. It is easy and simple and it won't clog your inbox either. You can do so by going to their main page and scrolling to the bottom. I only subscribed to the childrens' ones, but they have other categories too: Household, Outdoor, Sports & Recreation, and Specialty.

Fitting in housework with a little one

Being a SAHM, you'd think my house would constantly be spick-and-span. Not so. In fact I believe our home has the more fashionable "lived in" look. ;) And while moms who work outside the home may think SAHMs have all the time in the world to clean, cook, and organize, that isn't the case either. It's challenging for me to balance playing with my son and being hands-on with him, but also keeping the house in running order as its primary manager.

There are definitely days where I am full of energy and in a cleaning mood. But more often than not, I feel as if I'm in survival of the present mode. It dawned on me the other day that I ought to make a list. I am a list-maker and a list-lover. And I have even been known to create a whole new list when I have crossed something off...just so it would look neater. Quirky or neurotic? You decide.

But my epiphany, if you will, was to make a list of household tasks that were divided either A) by noise level or B) personal energy level. The noise level idea came to me because although I don't keep everything silent in our house as my son sleeps, I'm certainly not going to test him by doing crazy loud stuff either. Your noisy tasks could be different from somebody else's as well, depending on how your child sleeps or even how large your home is. Since we live in a two-bedroom flat, thinking of the noise factor is a must.

Some of my quiet tasks are:

Changing the bed linens/making the bed

Dusting (like I dust!)

Folding clothes

Organizing/straightening the bedroom or den

Cleaning sink vanities

Some of the noisemakers:

Vacuuming (obviously)

Unloading dishwasher (we have heavy stoneware plates)

Blending baby food

Or maybe if you're like me, there are some days when you really don't care if the baby wakes up, you just need to get stuff done regardless. But often times I discourage myself because I don't have the energy to do anything. So try making an energy-based household task list instead. Remember, this is based on your energy level not Super Mom's. (And if she really exists, I'd be in line to string her up by her toes since I find I tend to compare myself to her).

Low-energy tasks:

Loading/unloading dishwasher

Dusting

Laundry

Making baby food

Ironing (which I never do)

Writing letters/Web surfing (I realize "web surfing" is negligible)

High-energy tasks:

Vacuuming

Steam-mopping

Grocery shopping (all that it entails)

Cooking meals

Cleaning tubs

Handwashing caked-on-baked-on pots & pans

So, there you have it. Don't forget to take time and smell the Pine-Sol.

Easy Clothing Tip

Something I always seem to have issues with is getting some deodorant residue on sleeveless shirts. It kills me, because inevitably no matter how little I put on, ten minutes later it's rubbed off around the seams, leaving an unsightly mess.


My tip is not how to avoid this, because frankly I don't think you can, even by using clear or spray deodorants (they always flake off). But rather, what to do once it has happened.


This isn't rocket science and you probably already do this. I simply wet a washcloth and rub gently to remove it. The key however is to use a washcloth that is similarly colored!


Nothing is more frustrating than using a white or light colored washcloth to remove the residue only to come away with wet lint deposited on your dark shirt too. Double ick.


So, keep a black washcloth around for just this type of moment. Most of my wardrobe is black, and I'm amazed that I hadn't realized this sooner.


Side note: You will notice in some very high-priced restaurants that black linen napkins are given to patrons to prevent lap lint. :)