The Momnificent™ Blog

One Man's Cast Off is Another Man's Treasure

My summer decluttering project ended in a huge sale this past weekend.  To be completely honest with you, this was my first "real" garage sale.  Normally I don't take the time to put together a sale, but this time I thought I would give it a try.  After decluttering my whole home, I had a boatload of things to sell.  It's been quite funny because now there is a sudden interest from my neighbors on how I went about creating such a successful sale.  So I thought I would share with you the tips I used to make a garage sale worth your time.

1. When you are decluttering and boxing up things you don't want anymore, put a price tag on everything immediately.  This will save you a tremendous amount of time when setting up your sale.
2. Garage sale prices run from .10 to .20 on the dollar.  For instance, if you would pay $50.00 for a particular item, you can expect to receive $5.00 to $10.00 depending on the condition of the item.
3. Some items have to be priced "right" or you won't move them out.  Examples include books and clothing.  I sold tons of books and lots of clothing (even adult clothing), but my price was attractive to buyers.
4. Advertise your sale in your local newspaper, and place at least a half dozen garage sale signs in high traffic areas.  Even consider making up flyers and placing them in local businesses.
5. When setting up your sale, make it as attractive as possible.  I had red plastic tablecloths on most of my tables.  Everything was organized by category to make it easy for the shopper.  We straightened up the merchandise whenever there was a lull in the traffic.  We also consolidated items onto one table to make sure the tables always looked full, and not picked over.
6. Have plenty of plastic bags on hand for your customers - a garage sale is no different than shopping at Walmart.
7. Be willing to negotiate on your prices.  Some people will pay full price, but others will suggest a lower price.
8. If you run a two day sale, at noon on the 2nd day, run a 1/2 price sale.  Put a big sign out front and give a 50% discount on everything.  You will be amazed at how much product you will move out.
9. Do not bring anything that does not sell back into your house.  Start an itemized list of things that did not sell and box them up while still in the garage.  Make a pile of everything you are going to donate and call your favorite charity to have them pick it up.

My sale was so busy beginning at 8:00 AM on the first day that I didn't even have a chance to take pictures.  You might be wondering if it was worth my time financially.  With only one big ticket item (my sectional sofa at $150) and mostly all small ticket items, we made $1845.48 and had $1730 in tax deductions from items that did not sell (thrift store prices).  But the most important blessing is that I have a completely decluttered home!

Here is a picture of our donations to charity.  If you saw the original pile we started with, you will be able to tell that a lot of people were blessed by our "cast offs".

Announcing the Winners of the Disney on Ice Tickets

Momnificent! recently ran a contest for two families to win a set of 4 tickets to Disney on Ice - Chicago's opening night on September 8th.

Selected by a random drawing, I am tickled pink to announce the two winners:

Winner #1 - Diana Kunickis (and her family)

Winner #2 - Karen Palmer (and her family)

Congratulations to our Disney on Ice contest winners!!

Decluttering Becomes a Messy Family Affair

We are counting down the days to our huge summer sale this weekend, and so the pressure is on for getting the WHOLE house decluttered.  My mom came into town on Saturday to help us with the rest of the decluttering, setting up and working the sale.

Yesterday we tackled the garage.  What a dirty, grimy mess, but God blessed us with a beautiful sunny day to complete this project.  The whole family was involved in this project, including Grandma Roxie and my seven year old, Ian.  Considering we had four people involved in this project, it wasn't as bad as it could be.  There were times when the attitudes were getting tested, but my mom reminded us all to stay positive.

Having a positive attitude during the process of decluttering is sure helpful.  We do have two choices; we can grumble and complain which makes the process much harder, or we can emmate positive energy, which in fact, makes you more productive.  We took several breaks during the day to adjust our attitudes and refuel our energy.

We found the best way to clean out the garage was to completely empty the entire garage first.  Everyone helped bring everything out to the driveway and lawn.  Then it was time to sweep out the dirt, cobwebs and spiders.  Yuck!  After sweeping, we hosed it all down to get rid of excess dirt.

While the three adults started making decisions about what to keep, what to throw away, and what to sell, we got Ian busy with the water hose.  What kid doesn't love playing with water.  Ian washed down so many things, and got soaking wet in the process.  Imagine that!

One of the things that can make the decluttering process more difficult is the decision making.  You can him and haw forever on what to do with a particular item.  The rule of thumb we used when we couldn't make a decision was "Have we used it in the last year?"  If not, it was gone.  We can always convince ourselves that we might use something someday.  Someday could be five or ten years from now, if you even remember you have that particular item.  So make quick decisions so you can move on.

This week we will tackle the hall closet, master bedroom, and the rest of the basement (1/2 is done).  Here are some pictures of our clean garage with all the items we found to sell, just in the garage!

The picture above is all the items we are selling!

Momnificent! is Giving Away FREE Disney on Ice Tickets

Celebrate 100 Years of Magic with Disney on Ice

Momnificent! is giving away 8 free tickets to the opening night of Disney on Ice at Chicago's United Center.

To enter the contest, all you have to do is tell me your favorite Disney character, and your child's favorite Disney movie or character.  We will be giving away two sets of 4 tickets to 2 lucky families for the Tuesday, September 8th show at 7:00 PM in Chicago, Illinois.  Don't forget to leave me your email address so I can contact the winners.  Simply leave a comment on my blog or send me an email at lori@momnificent.com.

Contest Ends:  August 30th, 2009  (Winners will be contacted immediately so pencil in September 8th just in case you are a winner)

A SPECIAL OFFER FOR YOU!

Purchase a 4-pack of tickets for only $44 by logging onto www.ticketmaster.com and entering the coupon code:MOM.**

CHICAGO SHOW DATES:

Tuesday, September 8^th @ 7:00pm

Wednesday, September 9^th @ 7:00pm

Thursday, September 10^th @ 7:00pm

Friday, September 11^th @ 7:00pm

Saturday, September 12^th @ 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:00pm

Sunday, September 13^th @ 1:00pm, 5:00pm (Spanish-speaking show)

 

**Get 4 tickets for $44 by entering the code “MOM” at select ticketing channels.  Minimum purchase of 4 tickets required; additional tickets above 4 can be purchased at $11 each.  Offer not valid on Front Row or VIP seating.  Cannot be combined with other offers.  Service Charges and handling fees will apply.

The Somewhat Empty Nest Arrives Tomorrow

Well, it's hard to believe but tomorrow I make the long drive to Columbia, Missouri to take my first born to college.  Am I sad?  You bet I am!  It's not like I am losing him forever, but it sure feels that way.  For the last 18 years, I have taken care of my son, and I have poured out my love to him.  He's always been in my home, and even though sometimes we irritated each other, 18 years is a long time to live with someone without feeling the pangs of sadness when they leave.

So I've kind of turned into super mom over these last few days.  Everything I can do for him, I want to do.  I want him to be comfortable where he's going to live because I know it won't be home.  I want him to be successful in college.  I've been gathering everything I think he will need for college - can't forget the winter coats, hat and gloves.  I can't believe I almost forgot to get him some toilet paper for his bathroom.  I even put together a nice, organized binder of information I think might be helpful for getting settled at college.  Do we ever stop being a mom?

I truly think I'm hanging on to my last moments of being a mommy to him.  He's 5'11'' tall and 180 pounds, but to me, he is still my baby boy.  I know I have to let go and let him grow up, but it's so hard right now.  Sure, it will get easier as time goes by.  We'll settle into a new definition of our relationship.

I'm not the only one who is feeling this transition.  The last few days Kai has been highly irritable, especially when I mention anything that has to do with school.  Finally today I thought it was time to acknowledge the elephant in the room.  As I sat down on the couch to show him the planner I bought for him, he looks at me with an irritated look and said "I know what a planner is mom.  I think I can figure out how to use it."  Rather than react to his sarcasm, I simply said "You're not looking forward to going to school, are you?"

At last, the real feelings came out.  He says to me "Well, it's kind of weird mom.  I've never gone away to college.  I'm not going to be able to see my girl.  I've never lived on my own before."  The elephant got smaller as I acknowledged his feelings.  It is scary.  It is sad, and it's a big change.  I want to be positive for him, to encourage him, so I put on my strong face.  I tell him that time will go by fast.  All he has to do is get involved in his school work, and he'll be coming home before he knows it.  Who am I coaching?  Me or him?  :)

So we begin a new chapter tomorrow.  I don't have a completely empty nest because I still have my seven year old, but the sadness sure is hanging in the air.  I will look forward to the new experiences my son has to share.  I will stop being a Batavia Bulldog fan, and become a Mizzou Tiger fan!  I have prepared my son and given him wings to fly on his own, and now I will watch proudly as he does just that!

Look out Mizzou!  Here comes my baby Kai!

Big Thumbs Up from Moms in a Blog

Angela Moore from Moms in a Blog just finished reading my book - The Momnificent Life.  Not only does she have some great things to say about my book, but she has a great blog for moms.  Moms in a Blog features several mom writers and the following categories of articles, depending on your interest:

• Mom's Lifestyle and Hobbies
• Moms and Family
• Moms and Holidays
• Moms at Home
• Moms at Work
• Contests and Giveaways

Even if you don't care to read the review on The Momnificent Life, check out Moms in a Blog for positive and helpful mom tips.

The Art of Success

Last weekend while on a road trip, I was listening to the first of a four part series by David Neagle called The Art of Success.  David was sharing his story of when he was married with two young children, and only making $20,000 per year.  He was miserable because he couldn't figure out how to get ahead financially in life.  He hated his job driving a forklift truck, and was regularly calling in sick to avoid work.

But then one day he decided to be curious.  He began to think about what enables some people to be successful in life, making good money and having healthy and happy relationships, while others seem to struggle (like himself).  He was so curious that he started to look for someone that seemed to be living differently than him, and he identified the owner of the company he was working for.  He asked himself, "What is different about this guy?  Why was he able to build a successful company that started in his garage and have a happy marriage and family?

He noticed three things that made this man different than himself and many others.

1. He treated everyone with respect.
2. He loved what he did.
3. He did everything to the best of his ability.

So he decided to do an experiment for the next 12 months and change his own attitude.  He wondered if he changed just these three things, what might happen to his own life?  In less than a year, he tripled his income and other parts of his life were dramatically changing.

I thought this experiment was pretty interesting.  What if we were to change just three things about our attitude?  It could be anything, but here are some suggestions...

• I will look for the opportunity in every problem.
• I will start thinking positively instead of negatively.
• I will stop controlling life and allow life to just happen naturally.
• I will treat people with love, even when they are unloving to me.
• I will seek opportunities to serve people everyday.

The possibilities are endless.  How might your life be different if you just changed 3 things about your attitude for the next 12 months?

Rave and Review is Giving Away Two Autographed Copies of The Momnificent Life

Just wanted to give you a heads up about another great giveaway going on at Rave and Review.  Leanne over at Rave and Review is giving away two autographed copies of The Momnificent! Life - Healthy and Balanced Living for Busy Moms.  She has written a very extensive review if you're curious what another mom thinks about the book.

• Be Inspired
• Celebrate Balance
• Minimize Stress
• Create Positive Change
• Take Care of YOU!
• AND GO ENTER THE CONTEST - YOU COULD BE A WINNER!

When Material Possessions Hold Emotional Attachment

Earlier in the week, I publicly set an intention to continue with my decluttering and take out the remaining boxes from the crawl space.  I just want to say I did that, and even went beyond.  Not only did I take the boxes out so I could see what was in them, I went through over 50% of the boxes, removing things I could sell and organizing the rest.

The hardest part of going through boxes in the crawl space is seeing all the porcelain dolls I have collected, and knowing I am saying goodbye to my collection.  Now some of you might wonder why I would get rid of my doll collection.  The fact is most of my dolls have sat in boxes in the crawl space for over 10 years now.  A collection can't really be enjoyed if it's sitting in boxes.  I haven't had the money or space to properly display my collection, so I am hoping someone else will appreciate my dolls.

I talked with my mom about letting go of this collection because a lot of the dolls were given to me by her.  She assured me she didn't have a problem with me selling them.  It is nice to have a collection, but maybe I will find something smaller I can collect.

As I went through all my dolls, I paid close attention to my emotions.  There were two dolls that brought tears to my eyes when I thought about selling them, and I couldn't seem to shake the tears.  I kept staring at them wondering why I had such an emotional attachment to these two dolls.  I realized that the ballerina doll reminded me of my mother's dream to be a ballerina, and the school girl doll represented something that has always meant so much to me - my education.  I earned my college education, graduating with a 4.0 GPA working full time and being a single mommy.  It was a tough, but rewarding time of my life.

So these two special dolls will remain with me, sitting on the shelf in the guest room, where my mom always sleeps when she visits.  They will not only remind me of the doll collection I once had, but also of two special emotional attachments - my mother and a defining moment of my life.  Next to each of these dolls sits precious pictures of my two boys when they were babies.  Kai is next to the ballerina and Ian is next to the school girl.

Yummy Mummy Club is Giving Away 6 Copies of The Momnificent Life

Wishing you could get a free copy of The Momnificent! Life - Healthy and Balanced Living?  Well, you just might win one.  All you have to do is visit Yummy Mummy Club and become a free member.  Yummy Mummy Club is giving away 6 copies of my new book to new members.