Shopping the sales is not for the faint of heart (crowds, masses of stuff to sift through, long lines) and neither is prepping if you want to be one of those who consign. From an organizers perspective, consigning can be a great way to declutter but only if you do it right and follow through.

There are definite benefits to consigning:

• Most sales offer the chance to get in before the regular buyers so you get first dibs
• You can clean out closets & playrooms making space for new things as your child grows & changes
• You can make some good money off of things that may have just been tossed or donated.

First, you need to find a sale (or two) in your area that takes the types of items you have to sell. Luckily, today, most sales have websites or at the very least, a facebook page. It didn’t always be this way and it has made it a lot easier to find the sales. It has also had a downside – consignment sales are limited on how many consigners they will take, and they fill up fast, so you need to jump on them as soon as you can.

Once you’ve identified a sale, read their policies very clearly. Be sure you understand how they split the money, when items need to be dropped off, how those items need to be packaged and labeled, find out if there is a minimum number of items you need in order to consign with them, what happens to items that aren’t purchased at the sale, etc.

Then sign up promptly if their terms suit you so you get a spot. Once that is done, the real work begins!

Getting the most for your efforts:

• Be realistic about pricing. Visit other sales, consignment stores, etc. Have a pretty good idea of what you would pay for something at one of these sales and price accordingly. Generally 1/4-1/3 of the retail is a good rule of thumb, but that doesn’t always work for really expensive items, even boutique or high end brands. People will pay more for these so you can go a bit higher – people are pretty brand conscious these days.
• Make it worth your while by only consigning items that are in good condition, clean and fairly recent in style. The faded Target t-shirt that has seen better days will get passed by while the Justice plaid skort (priced appropriately) will sell, especially if paired with matching leggings.
• Speaking of pairing items….don’t be afraid to combine items when selling. Don’t have too many items togehter but pairing a dress with tights, or gym shorts with a hoodie can work really well. A series of books packaged together works well and a Littlest Pet Shop play house with a few pets included will most likely sell better than just the house alone.
• Be aware of current trends, especially in toys. You can price hot items higher than last seasons must have.
• Be aware of the season. Most consignment sales happen twice a year or sometimes quarterly, and they only want items for the upcoming season. This may not be an issue in some climates but around here, the February/March sales are spring & summer items. The August sales are when the school & winter clothes show up.
• Don’t be emotionally attached to the items you are selling. Just because you loved it, doesn’t mean that anyone else will care. Price it as if you’ve never seen it before and ask yourself what you would realistically pay for it.

Go about prepping in an organized fashion. Find an area in your home that can act as a ‘staging area’ and set it up so you can easily get items ready to go to the sale.

Some materials you may need:

• Hanging clothes rack
• Laundry basket or plastic bins for toys & accessories
• Wire hangers (start collecting those dry cleaners hangers and ask your friends for theirs!)
• Index cards
• Safety pins
• Sharpies
• Packing tape
• Ziploc bags (I like the freezer bags as they are more durable)

The sale you consign with will have specific requirements as to how the items are marked and merchandised. Follow them carefully or you may find that you are not welcome at the sale.

Gather all of the items you want to consign, checking them for damage, stains, parts, etc. Clean everything (sanitize toys with bleach if possible, wash all clothes in fragrance free laundry detergent, etc.) and check pockets for random objects that kids leave in their pockets. Check and double check for stains & tears.

Use Ziploc bags to hold groups of small items such as toys, hair bows, socks, etc. Staple the bags shut so items don’t fall out or go missing.

Safety pin clothing to the hangers so they don’t fall on the floor – don’t assume that if something is zipped or buttoned when you took it there, that it will stay that way. It will, until the first shopper comes along.

Start early! If you have your rack and bins set up and materials at hand, you can get items ready for sale as you come across them so when it’s time to drop off, you are ready to go.

Some sales worth visiting in the Nashville/Franklin area include Encores Consignment Sale (this one is huge and very well organized), Little Sprouts (smaller sale but nice items), Monkey Business (generally higher end & boutique brands held in Westhaven), Reruns are Fun! (held in the Factory), and one I haven’t been to but have heard good things about, Oak Hill School Consignment.

Would love to hear if you have any other great consigning tips!

Some colleagues avoid this word as much as they can, instead using words like pare – Julie Bestry, or move along to new homes – Jeri Dansky. I do too – ‘let’s rehome‘ this, or ‘let someone else enjoy it‘. But I think purge is what really says it all – that release and removal from the space. I just wish it didn’t sound so, well, icky.
Think of the word ‘purge’ in a new way. A way that lets you see negative thoughts, useless clutter, unwanted items and bad memories leaving your space giving you the freedom to live more simply and purposefully. Here’s to purging!

Popped over to take a look and boy, did they need some help. Some attempts had been made but when you have so many busy people in and out of one space, it was hard to get any kind of system going. But I realized that it was a pretty big project so I started brainstorming on how I could get some help.  Got it! Why not invite ‘wanna-be’ organizers who needed some hands on experience in with me? Do some direct instruction and specific skill training, then let them have at it under my direction. It was more successful than I’d even imagined. I had a fantastic turnout – these women had great natural skills, worked together as a team and made this 2 day project go by like a breeze.

We started by scouting the spaces out, and doing a needs assessment with Jennifer and one of the staff members so we had the perspective of both groups of people who used the space. You can make a place as pretty and neat as you want but if you don’t know the needs and wants of those using it, the odds of it working out well are slim, in my humble opinion. Once we had a clear vision, we went to work. An entire vanload of stuff went to charity, and the rest was grouped according to use and type. We focused heavily on ease of access and on making sure everything was clearly labeled so when all the staff came back to work the next week – it was really clear what was what, and where everything belonged. We took special consideration of a couple of needs they had – we had a bit of a budget since each of us pitched in some funds so we were able to get some new shelving that was desperately needed, and create a communication system at the entry. We also relocated several items and created homes for them so they weren’t eyesores anymore.  Check out the slideshow I made (unfortunately my slideshow skills didn’t include my elaborate descriptions I so carefully made – oh well – but you get the idea!).

The best part is that the staff at New Hope were thrilled. And so was I. It was a win-win all the way around. They got organized, new organizers got training, I got to feel good about doing something for the community. Can’t beat that.

Here’s an excerpt from the letter I received from Jennifer on behalf of the school:

Dear Liz,

 A big thank you for getting New Hope Academy’s teacher workroom spaces organized!  The outcome is more than we could have imagined.  Teacher’s comments have been:

□     “Wow – these rooms look larger!”

□     “I love the new space!”

□     “I can find things now!”

□     “It’s amazing how much extra space we have!”

 Thank you for taking on New Hope Academy as a project, and organizing it as a training opportunity for other upcoming planners.  Your professionalism and innate knowledge of how to arrive at the end result are amazing.  You knew just what questions to ask when helping us sort and purge, which made it easy for us to get through that process.

 Your heart to help our school has made a big impact on our teaching staff and administration, which ultimately, has a positive impact on our students.

Marshmallow

So I wrote a tongue-in-cheek post about my experiences with our hens -what you really need to know. Like the fact that they will pick the garnishes out of your cocktails when you sit on the porch if you don’t keep an eye out. Didn’t know that, did you?

Or that they will chase each other around trailing spaghetti noodles?

Our chickens crack us up daily…including our newest, Marshmallow, whom we took in from someone who got one single chick and didn’t know quite what to do with her. She was living in a cardboard box on their front porch. She’s now fitting in just fine with our girls and seems much happier to have a yard in which to roam.  Though she seems to think she’s a dog as she hangs out more with our lab than she does with the other hens. Go figure.
Read my post HERE!

U2 at Vanderbilt Stadium 2011

So you are probably wondering what’s my point here. I mean, this is a blog about organizing or staging or simple living. Well, in a way, the post is.  It’s about what happened to make me completely in the moment at U2.

We meet up with some friends for dinner before the show. I’ve got all my stuff packed up (being organized and all). My iPhone, my camera, money, ID, etc. I’m psyched because I’m planning on facebooking a lot of the show, taking photos to post and share, and I’m so ready to follow and contribute to the twitter stream about the show. The place was swarming with people, it was over 95 degrees and the stadium was brimming with excitement. I took a few shots on my iPhone when we got there, then realized that I forgot my flip video. Gaaah! I wanted to film some of the songs. Oh well, I could still stay in touch electronically. Or could I?

Even though I had full bars, I had nothing. Nada. Couldn’t upload to facebook or even update. Couldn’t access my tweetdeck. Couldn’t even text. I suspect with the over-abundance of technology in the arena – phones and video as far as I could see – circuits were jammed. I tried taking more pics with my phone and camera but the lights from the stage were so strong and numerous that all my shots were overexposed and impossible to make out any detail. I started to panic!  Then I thought….you know, why don’t I just watch the show. Not through a screen. But in real life. So I did. And it was great.

I started thinking about how many times I’ve experienced something virtually instead of really being there. The last time my daughter tested for a taekwondo belt. The chickens chasing each other with spaghetti up the hill. When we took our lab to the river. At the outdoor concert at the park. Each time, I’m spending more time posting about what I’m doing, filming or snapping pics, and thinking about how I can condense my thoughts into 140 characters or less, than actually being there.

So my new philosophy, or should I say , challenge, is to be in the moment. Not behind a screen. Wish me luck!

You’ve got the ground rules (see Part 1 of this series) but now what? Now we get together for our meeting so I can get to know you, and figure out the best way to help you achieve your organizing goals.

In that first session, besides getting to know you and your circumstances, I’ll ask you a bunch of questions along the lines of:
*What systems do you have that are working well for you?
*What systems do you have that are NOT working well for you?
*Where are your ‘trouble spots’? Those areas that continually cause issues for you.
*Tell me about your routines and how your day flows.
*Who else might impact your decision to ‘get organized’?
*Do you have any special needs I need to be aware of such as ADD, Learning Disability such as dyslexia, physical limitations, etc. If so, are you taking medication, seeing a therapist or using any sort of device or system designed to assist you?
I’ll also ask some specific questions such as these, depending on what we are working on:
*What sort of time management or calendar system to you currently use?
*Do you prefer to have things put away or out where you can see them?
*What items do you need to have frequent access to and which do you use rarely?
*What do you currently do with your papers?
*Are you able to keep up with your bills, appointments and commitments?
*How important is your computer to you and is it backed up and files easily accessed?
*Do you have a storage unit or another place where you keep your stuff?
*Do you have a preference for where we dispose of items we’ve determined can be let go? Any particular charity you like, consignment or similar?

The easier things are to find and do, the easier your life will be.

A few more thoughts when meeting with a Professional Organizer:
-If you have anything that you would be embarrassed for me to see . . . please put them in an inaccessible location. I’m not talking about paper clutter stuffed in a drawer, I’m talking about personal items that I really don’t need to see or touch if you get my drift.
-If there is anything dangerous in the home such as weapons, please be sure they are secured and out of sight.
-Please keep in mind that we (most of us anyway) are not psychologists, therapists or medical professionals. We are really good at what we do but are not a substitute. We are generally very good listeners, and consider that part of our job. But our goal is to help you achieve your goals so the listening and the doing must be balanced to get the job done.

Every client has unique needs, though there are similarities. The questions I will ask will depend on what we are trying to accomplish and will be focused on that. But the more I get to know you and how you think, the more efficient and effective I can be. So be honest, be open, and don’t forget to show me your hidden stash of clutter that I know you have buried away somewhere!