Monday, August 8, 2011

New Adventures


Just to let you know, I am embarking on a new adventure...I am now an Independent Scentsy Consultant! I have used the products for over a year and fell in love with them - this is seriously the only thing that I have ever considered selling (after that BAD newlywed stint with Watkins...)

If you'd like to check out my website, please do. You can find me HERE. Also, friends, I would appreciate your prayers as I start this new business. My plan is to help our family pay down some more student debt with this business so my husband can go back to school for his doctorate. I support his choice for higher education, know that this is a dream for him, and want to do my part to make it possible.

So, in addition to being a homeschooling mama, blogger, Christ follower, spouse, and friend - I am now wearing the hat of "Independent Scentsy Consultant."

Pray, pray, pray :)

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Top Ten Reasons Our Garage Sale Was Successful

We just finished a weekend garage sale here and we met our goal! I thought I'd take a few minutes to share with you the reasons that I believe our sale was successful.

10. It was organized. I organized each table by category. We had a kitchen area, toy area, clothing area, etc.

9. My items were clean. I took out a tub of clorox wipes and periodically cleaned off dust and grime on items that were for sale.

8. We kept great business hours without getting overwhelmed. We were only open from 9-3 on Friday and 9-noon on Saturday. This was adequate time to sell and gave us plenty of time to rest and rejuvenate.

7. We had a great location. We live on a busy street. We get a LOT of drive-by traffic. If we didn't live here, I would have went somewhere else.

6. We had a FREE box. It was nice to be able to give away some items for free and it helped boost everyone's morale.

5. Multiple families participated. The more families, the more stuff, and the bigger the sale!

4. We had a set 1/2 price time. On Saturday at 10:00, everything that was left went to 1/2 price and boy - did it fly out of my garage!

3. We had great signs. We used bright marker colors, attached balloons, and wrote in large letters. The other great thing was using old candidate signage to staple our signs on, so that they could go in the ground easily.

2. We had refreshments that went to a good cause. Who can resist lemonade from a kid who donates to the food pantry? This stand helped people linger longer and we met some real nice folks :)

1. We always had adequate help. There was a minimum of 2 adults present at all times. We could tag team customers and even help carry items to cars. No one felt ignored.

All in all, this was one of our most successful sales to date. Hope these tips help you when you plan your next garage sale.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Its getting old...

Do you ever feel like saving and pinching every penny is getting old? That is how I feel today. Going to search my favorite blogs for some encouragement and know that this too shall pass...

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Saving Away

We are currently saving money like crazy for a few big projects. Because of this, my shopping has been at a minimal lately. I have; however, been forced to purchase school supplies and a few clothing items for the kiddos. I have done well with this with a) staples deals/rebates and b) target clearance clothing.

My goal for August and September is to buy minimal grocery items and use what we have so that we can keep on paying cash for these home projects that we have going on. We do have a foreign exchange student coming for 2 weeks in August, so I will have a little extra in the grocery budget there, but overall we are on a clean out spree!

A few reminders for you:
Have you entered your codes for the Cars 2/Kellogg's promotion? Earn $5 gift cards for every 4 codes.

Carnival Foods FREE Lock & Lock promotion is coming to an end. If you have stamps, its time to cash them in.

Target's toy clearance is at 50% now and should be hitting 75% this week. Watch for it and shop early for Christmas.

Have a great week!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Thanks, Glidden

Just painted 3/4 walls in my bedroom with the Glidden FREE quart of paint that they sent me! Love the new color - Hazy Sage. Thanks for giving my "love nest" some lovin' :)

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Back to School Sales Started

Already the back to school sales have started. Here are a few this week to note:

Staples:
Glue, Erasers, BIC Pens .01
BIC Mechanical Pencils, Sticky Flags .25
500 Piece Multipurpose Paper Ream 5.99 - 5.74 easy rebate = .25

Meijer:
Buy $10 in Kelloggs products, get $10 off 3 packages of Fruit of the Loom products (starting at 3.99/pack.) This is the time to stock up on school socks and undies at a low price! See ad for details.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Meal Planning

Tuesday - Taco Salad with all the fixings
Wednesday - BBQ Pork Chops, Broccoli, Baked Potatoes
Thursday - kids and I are away; hubby eats fish and steamed veggies
Friday - Chicken Apple Brats and Hot Dogs, Grilled Veggies
Saturday - Pasta with meat sauce, Garlic Toast, and Brownies
Sunday - Beef Roast with Au Ju, Garden Salad; Green Beans

Breakfasts - Cereal, Waffles, Oatmeal, Pop Tarts, Eggs and Toast (yes, I am that mom)

Lunches - PB&J, Tuna Salad, Ramen Noodles, Chicken Patties, Leftovers.

Snacks - peaches, graham crackers, cucumbers with ranch, goldfish, granola bars, apples, canned fruit, yogurt, etc.