Category: kids

Just Between Friends Consignment Sales Rock

For the past week or so I have been busily rounding up outgrown clothing, toys, books and videos from all over my house. Every spring and fall I consign all these things at the Just Between Friends Sale for Sugar Land/Rosenberg. This event takes place over three days and brings together boatloads of great gently used merchandise for bargain basement prices. I started doing this back in Philly when my own local MOPS group hosted their own resale event and I realized what a goldmine these sales are, both for buyers and sellers. They are very lucrative fundraisers for the organizing host too.

Last week I took all the rounded up toys and clothes and piled them up near my computer and one by one I cleaned them up, made sure all the pieces were together, and carefully entered a description and price into the tagging database. I price everything to move but also to maximize my profit. My collared shirts might be $4.00 and an outfit from Gymboree with shirt and shorts might be $8.00. Certainly less than I paid for them but I also got good use out of them for one season. Maybe two if both boys wore it.

My biggest issue is finding enough hangers for the heaps and heaps of clothing I sell. I prefer not to use wire hangers since they tend to get tangled up on racks and the clothes don’t present well. Consigning clothing is very much about the presentation so I take a minute to button every single button and pair up tops and bottoms into outfits that really look cute. I’ve even learned to pin tags on in ways that don’t leave behind obvious pinholes. The little things matter to shoppers.

It always blows my mind how much clothing I have in one size because I buy incredible bargains at outlets and consignment sales. It’s a little ridiculous, but I do buy with resale in mind, knowing that if I find a Gymboree shirt for $3.99 I will likely be able to sell it for at least that if Alex can keep it clean. Of course not everything ends up resellable. Lots of ripped jeans and stained shirts must be donated to Goodwill instead, but most things are kept in good condition. Goodwill gives a nice tax write-off too.

Preparing my stuff for the sale isn’t really a ton of work now that I’ve done it for years. I can do it while I’m watching TV at night over a few days.

But is it worth it? That’s the big question every asks. Most people I know think it’s too much trouble.

At the end of the average sale I usually get a check for somewhere around $200, not to mention a huge amount of extra closet space.

This year? I’ve got almost $900 worth of stuff tagged but I know not everything well sell. I get 65% of what does sell. It’s 70% if I volunteer a shift but this week with Run 4 the Children I had no time to volunteer. So last night was the Pre-Sale…a few hours when only volunteers and consignors are allowed to shop. I logged in this morning to check my sales report and was shocked to see that I had sold $325 worth of stuff. That’s also less than half of my total items so with three days left I expect to sell the vast majority of my things. So I have *already* earned $200 and my check will only grow from there.

Worth it? Absolutely.

Glimpsing into My Kid’s Heart at Christmas

Last Saturday my wonderfully patient husband conceded that he had no agenda for the day and agreed to accompany me and the kids on a few Christmasy errands. On the forefront of my mind was acquiring more Christmas bling for our yard. We already had all our lights and decor up from the previous year, complete with various colors and a few flashing strings, but I have been on a quest for the perfect yard display since our animated moose bit the dust a couple years ago. The problem is that I’m cheap, and the idea of spending $80 on a shrimpy wire deer is not a good one to me.

However this year I had more inspiration. My sister and her family are flying in from Richmond, Virginia to spend the holiday with us. Last week on Facebook my sister posted that her family had gone on a “tacky Christmas lights” tour, which had prompted my four year old nephew Timothy to declare, “Dad, we need more lights.” Knowing my sister, I can just picture her lovely brand new house with a sprinkling of very tasteful white lights and perhaps a few wreaths or holy garland. The fact that she used the word “tacky” says it all.

So that morning we ventured out in search of added tackiness to thrill my niece and nephew. Our third stop was Walmart, a store I almost never set foot in. It’s the newest and nicest Walmart you’ll ever see, but it doesn’t matter to me, it will never hold a candle to Target or HEB.

As we pulled into the parking lot my seven year old Nathan asked his dad and I if we had any money. “Nope, no money at all, Nathan.” he joked.

“Well how are we gonna BUY anything without money?” said Nathan, sounding more and more like he had something in particular in mind he wanted to get.

For the past few weeks Nathan has been in “Can we get…” mode, asking for stuff more and more often in every store as he joins me Christmas shopping. My answer is always the same, “No, we aren’t buying ANYTHING because Christmas is coming very soon and you have to wait.” The boys have been watching TV commercials and pouring over toy ads making the longest lists for Santa I’ve ever seen. I keep warning them that Santa doesn’t bring that much, they need not be greedy, and that there are tons of kids around the world who will get no toys at all this Christmas.

After all, they already helped wrap presents for bunches of families of cancer patients who wouldn’t have gifts otherwise.

My husband Mike replied to Nathan, “Nope, no money, we’re just going to go LOOK at stuff.” Then he chuckled, “Of course we have money, Nate.” To which I chimed in “But we AREN’T getting you anything, remember?”

Then Nathan looked at me and said with the most gentle eyes ever, “But Mom, I just want some money to put in the red bucket to give to the kids whose families don’t have money for presents.”

I glanced at the door of the Walmart and saw the Salvation Army ringers and realized that was why he had asked in the first place. My heart swelled as I dumped out my wallet into the hands of my two boys and watched them run up to the ringer and stuff the bucket.