Consignment Store

After work this afternoon I am heading to the local consignment store to see about selling some clothes the kids have grown out of.  We have a great little store in Lindstrom that facilitates this and I love shopping there for kids clothes. 

They pay cash for clothes from the 1 - 15th of the month and give store credit the 15 - 31st, and since I need to buy them more fall and winter clothes, I am going to get store credit.  Eddie needs a jacket and hat along with some larger warm clothes to sleep in and Libby needs socks, pj's, long pants and maybe even some shoes.   I have purchased Libby's Halloween costumes here and also purchased her "dancing dress" here last spring.  The only issue is that they do not allow returns, so if I am not positive an item will fit her, I can't buy it. 

Then on my way home I will stop at the local thrift store and drop off two more large garbage bags of clothes off for donation.  The consignment store only takes seasonal clothes, so all the great summer clothes they have grown out of cannot be brought for consignment now.  I could hold onto them until March or April, but I would rather just get rid of the majority of items and just keep key pieces to hold on for that time. 

I have no idea what the store will give me for the consignment clothes, but anything is welcome and will help get us through this winter with the growing kids!

Update:
The local consignment store in Lindstrom is NOT buying any items this month.  There is a huge road construction project currently going on and business has significantly decreased.  Once the road opens up at the end of this month, they will again be purchasing items.  I will be saving my bags of clothing and will take them to sell at the beginning of the month.

Now if I could just find time to shop there this month for Eddie's hat and jacket and some socks, pants and PJ's for Libby!  I need to make it there soon! 

Baby Girl Clothing Donation

We were finally able to donate all Libby's wardrobe since we didn't need it anymore (because Eddie would look silly in pink clothes!).  It ended up being 5 garbage bags full and 7 diaper boxes full.  The Family Pathways thrift store in St Croix Falls now has an adorable girl wardrobe for anyone willing to go check it out!  Well over $1500 worth of cute little girl clothes from newborn to 2T!

Simplify Saturday

Another trunk load of items made it to the thrift store this past weekend!  It felt so good to get rid of all that stuff I wasn't using!  I'm off to find another 10 - 20 items to donate!

Crafting Simplification

While I would love to be able to spend time doing crafts on a regular basis, I had to come to the realization that at this stage in my life, crafts are one of the least important things I could be spending my time on.  So, after realizing this and thinking about it for a while, I decided it was time to go through my craft cabinet and get rid of most of the fabrics and books I had accumulated over the past 8 years.  I did keep two shelves of fabric on the off chance that I will have an afternoon to play, but for the most part, I kept things that I had specific plans for already. 

I didn't take a before shot because it was just this entire cabinet crammed full of books, fabrics and the sewing machine.  It wasn't very pretty.  Even the floor under the cabinet was stuffed full of fabrics.  So I became ruthless and decided to keep only a certain number of projects that were already in the works (or already planned).  I also kept a few pieces of scrap fabric for quilts that I have made in the past, just in case I need to do a repair in the future.  Fabric I bought 20 years ago may not be available in the future you know...

But now, if I have an afternoon available, I know exactly which projects I would begin to work on!  There is some colorful fabric for making burp cloths for the new baby, squares of scrap material waiting to be pieced into a beautiful quilt for Libby, some fun and bold fabric waiting to be turned into a vintage style apron for me and some great fall colored fabrics just waiting to be cut and pieced into a quilt style table cloth for the kitchen table. 

I feel so much better knowing that there are only four projects waiting to be completed and that someday, they will be!  Simple and organized.  I feel refreshed and ready to craft already!!!  Now if I could only find the time! 

Simplify Saturday

I finally got around to having my first "Simplify Saturday" for this year.  Between being sick and gone on weekend getaways, it was good to get this task done!  Below is a photo of everything that will be headed out my door to the thrift store next weekend.

There are over 30 items of kitchen things and two full bags of my clothing.  There are actually well over 100 items here, but I only counted each "set" of things as one item.  There are two sets of dishes (one has service for 8 and one has service for 10, including serving platters and creamer/sugar containers with gravy boats). 

My coffee maker that doesn't get used anymore will hopefully find a good home where it will get regular use.  We make such a small amount of coffee now that we use our french press to make individual cups when we want.  No point in having a 12 cup coffee maker for that! 

Here are some mixing bowls, collectible tins and baking dishes that haven't been used in years.  I am hoping these will get homes where they are used on a more regular basis than I have been able to use them!

Here are some wine glasses that haven't been used in a long time.  I did end up keeping four white wine glasses, as I do enjoy a nice glass of chardonnay every now and then when I am able to, but I really don't think that my entire china cabinet needs every kind of wine glass when I only drink one kind every now and then!  Hopefully these will find homes where they are used as well! 

I am still debating on keeping one more set of china.  It is another one with service for 8.  I will probably end up letting it go with the above items as well.  No point in keeping it if I have never used it (and most likely will not ever use it).

It will feel so good to have this stuff out of my house and have less clutter!  And it makes me feel good to know that someone in our local community will get to use all these items that are still in great shape and have long lives left in them!