Yard Sale Helpers

Last week our neighborhood put on its yearly yard sale.
I joined in our first summer here because we had quite a bit of furniture from our rental house (which had very little storage) that wasn't needed in the new house.
Our new house also came apparently partially furnished with the previous owners cast offs most of which wasn't worth keeping around.
It was a lot of work.
I had to be up sooooo early, price everything, lug out too many tables, make crazy change transactions (mostly in my head), and deal with all the leftovers afterward.
By the end of it all, it felt like a lot of time and energy with not much return.

I decided to jump in on the action again this year.
To make it all easier and more motivating for me and to hopefully bring in more reward I did a few key things:

1. "Would I rather have a dollar in my hand right now than this item?"
With the mentality that I craved more free space for our family and fewer space-sucking items, I cleared stuff out for weeks with the very motivating promise of eager bargain hunters  just searching for what I didn't want anymore.  
As I combed through closets, bins, drawers, cabinets, and even our attic I asked myself with each item I saw "Would I rather have a dollar than this thing?"

That one little question made it incredibly easy for me to make a quick, no-regret decisions.

2. Set a purpose for the $$$ you make from the sale
If a dollar isn't terribly motivating for you, set a purpose for the money you might make from the sale. If you are able to get rid of 100 items, each marked $1, that's $100!!! A purpose we set for our money was to buy our daughters a bunk bed for the room they share. You wouldn't believe how much that goal encouraged even them to throw out toys, shoes, and clothes for the sake of their own bunk bed.

3. Make space to keep items until the sale
When I decided it would be worth it for us to have a yard sale, I asked Adam if he would help me by parking his car in the driveway for the month so I could use his garage space to keep items together and out of the way until the sale. He had no problem with that. Having a designated space to toss things to while I combed through the house made it simple to get things out of our way and out of the reach of young hands. Also it kept young eyes from seeing and asking for the toys and clothes I was sure we didn't need and wouldn't miss.

4. Mark things the easy way: don't
Don't mark all your stuff! Other than bigger, well working items that really could go for $5, $10, or even $20, my time is too valuable to spend it marking individual items as 50 cents here and $1.50 there. There was no agonizing over what that unwanted item was worth to me. It was much better for me to just make two signs posted at the front of our driveway stating that everything was a dollar unless marked otherwise. So simple! So easy! And shoppers are usually way fine with paying a straight up dollar than negotiating over cents.

I've also heard of people not marking anything at all and just setting out a by donation box with very good results. Generally people are more generous than you would ask of them.

5. For the last hour, make everything 50% off
Would you rather get half of your initial asking price and get rid of everything or have to lug everything back into your house and make nothing for it? If the former, then mark it all down! When I made the price signs for our driveway, I wrote on the back that everything was half off. When I had about an hour left of my sale, it was easier than pie to simply turn the sign around and let the flood of shoppers fill the driveway, people handing me 50 cents over and over again and walking off with my unwanted stuff. It was great!

Bonus: If like me, you really don't want to shuffle around what's left at the end, cart it all out to the curb and put a for free sign on it. Others benefit without having to pay higher prices at Goodwill and I didn't have to run an extra errand. If anything is left, feel free to trash what you couldn't even give away.

Maybe it goes without saying, but our yard sale was incredibly successful.
The best I've ever put on.
We were able to make over $200, get rid of countless unnecessary items that were eating up extra living space, and the new bunk bed is scheduled to arrive in just a couple days.
Woot woot!

Also no yard sale is complete without....

A Terre Haute specialty and the best donuts you'll ever have!

Adam made sure I was well supplied. 

The Change Continues

Continuing the theme of my recent post A Change of Heart, God seems to be continuing His work by asking me to change how I think about stuff.

Like actual stuff.
In that post I focused mainly on my clothing stuff but I feel a total overhaul from the inside out on how I view possessions altogether.

The word minimalism is thrown around a lot but in my case it feels like more than that.
I don't have an ideal that I'm striving for.
No certain number of items or a clear picture in my head.
I'm not pining away just hoping someone, someday will call me a minimalist.

Instead I am simply being compelled to weed out what I can and stop bringing in more to make room for greater things.
Some of those wonderful "things": Christ and my soul, my husband and marriage, my kids, and our ministry both at church and in the foster care system.

Adam and I are trying to get control of our money rather than being controlled by our impulses.
There's no good reason for us to live pay check to pay check so by God's wisdom, we are trying to change that.
The sad fact is that various debts are keeping us from following His ultimate lead.
We both feel a mutual and intense call to keep our door and hearts open to more kids.
But now we must first obey Him in getting out of debt so that we can make room and stability for more kids.....maybe quite a few if God says so.

Of course a bigger house and financial stability are never prerequisites to God doing whatever He wants to do..... but in our case, He's asking us to first obey Him in this dry, hard work of being self controlled and disciplined before we can walk into a more exciting adventure.

Our first practical step was creating a budget.
We've done it for a bit now and are tweaking it as we go, as we get to know our needs better.

Personally, I've been overhauling my desire for new somethings.
Anything.
Even if it's only new to me.
I LOVE bargain hunting especially at Goodwill or yardsales.
It seems harmless at the time but then I $20 and $30 us to death.

God is making me see that I don't always need those cheap thrills to enjoy myself or look good or make our house better.
I've got all I need!
And WAY too much more.

I'm trying to cut way way way back on my personal spending.
I'm trying to not only be happy with what I have, but less of what I have.

Some books that I've devoured lately on the subject.....

buy here

buy here

buy here

The first two are available as audio books on Hoopla.
The last I was able to find at our library.

They have been so motivating to me to look at what seems to be an endless hunger for more.
It's an endless hunger if I don't first ask God to fill me with gratitude, contentment, and generosity.

The physical outcome has been a complete weeding out of every space in our house of stuff that was a cheap thrill and now serves no purpose.
I've really never been much of a clutter bug.
I'm good at clearing out but the clearing out has always been because we are constantly bringing in.
Not this time.
God is doing a new thing and I'm ready to check myself before I wreck myself once again.

I'm taking full advantage of the fact that our neighborhood is having its annual yard sale this weekend.
I'll have my own which has been crazy motivating to let go of things.

One little step, one little prayer at a time, God is continuing to change me from the inside out dealing with heart clutter I didn't even know was there.

Not Summer Anymore, Not Quite Fall

Well we're here.
My very least favorite time of the year.
I have a hard time enjoying these weird in between weeks that happen at the end of summer but before the beginning of fall.

School is back in so summer just kind of feels....over.
This feeling would come on even before my own kids were in school.
Pools close, the daily schedule gets tighter, no one is free during the day, everyone has to go home earlier to make bedtimes....
The carefree-ness of summer is squelched.

But at the same time, the great things about fall still don't feel quite right.
Cozy decorating, corn mazes, cider scented candles, chili with peanut butter sandwiches to dunk, boots (even if it is still 80 degrees out), thinking about Halloween costumes, jackets, roaring camp fires, fall sports........

For now, I use this odd time to prepare for the season change.
One of the most necessary things to plan for is clothing.
For the past couple of years, I've been using these odd in between weeks to assess our wardrobe situation for myself and the three kids well before the thermometer plummets.
I make sure everyone has what they need, it looks good, fits well, is clean and is ready to grab.

I take a lot of inspiration and direction from these verses in Proverbs, chapter 31:

21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. 22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. 

Clothing is a basic need but it can also be a lot of fun. 

I don't want to be scrambling at the last minute, spending way too much on full price items when I could have just planned a little and found what we needed at fall yard sales and end of season second hand sales. 

Also lots of times, other friends and family will bring over a load of hand me downs. 

If I have a good idea what our kids need for the coming growth spurts and season changes, I can spend almost nothing yet collect some really nice things that fit our needs and family style. 

Tomorrow I'll share about how God is not only preparing, but causing my own growth spurt and a season of change.

Sunday Mornings

It's Saturday night and I know I have a Sunday morning to tackle ahead.
Uh duh, Kensie.
Sunday comes after Saturday.....always.

For any family who goes to church but has a parent that works Sundays, you know it can be a beast that needs taming.

My husband is a pastor and is up and out every Sunday morning by 7.
This leaves Mama in charge of getting the three kids up, dressed, fed, in the the car, and in the church building.
I feel pretty good about the routine we've got going but I started looking around tonight for some fresh tips, any new ideas that would make our machine run even a little bit smoother.

You know what I found?
Not much.
Bummer.
I love a good how-to or a new way to step up the game.

Because that's kind of how I think of it: like a game.

(She cute)

So here's our game plan:

Adam is up and out by 7 every Sunday like I said.
He leaves after kissing me which is usually my wake up call (not a bad way to start the day).
I try to really get myself going at this point, take some time to get a cup of coffee and to focus on the Lord, the reason we live this ministry life.
If I'm honest, sometimes I just snooze for another 20 minutes.
(Shame, shame, I know your name)
I get myself totally and completely ready between 7:30 and 8. I never shower in the mornings so that helps.
I use the next 15 minutes to gather everything we'll need for the day and get it into the car.
This includes a very simple breakfast for my girls, a bottle and lunch for my boy. and diaper pouch.
Next, I get my boy up, dressed, and sit him in his highchair with cheerios while I get the girls dressed and groomed.
By 8:30 we are headed to the car.
We get to church a bit before 9 and I sit with them all while the girls eat breakfast and I give my boy his bottle.
Success.

So that's it.
I keep it bare-bones to minimize messes that need cleaning up or getting myself frazzled.
Sometimes it doesn't go so smoothly.
Sometimes someone wants to wear tights, someone poops, someone has to use the toilet, someone can't decide between the black heels or the knee high boots (my bad).
But 97% of the time it works.

I think the most important part of this routine though is focusing on the Lord alone in your heart at some point before you walk into corporate worship.
Like I said, every once in while I can slack on making that moment happen.
And sure it may not wreck a Sunday. but I am more in tune with the Lord and feel more secure if I've centered myself on Him.
If you don't keep Him as the priority of the day, it will become just another day full of obligations.
That easily opens you up to bitterness and acting like a martyr. Not cool. I've been there.

I love to see how other families pull off a busy morning with lots of kids and maybe only one grown up in charge.
Please share!
Just hit on the comments link below.

Two Projects

I'm not sure both of these can really be called projects.

Both both were ideas that had been pinging around in my head for a while and I finally got them out into our real world.

First (and the least worthy of being called a "project) was reorganizing and writing on labeling my daughters' dresser they share.

 My girls are fourteen months apart in age but are now wearing the same size clothes.
Until recently, they each had two drawers for their own clothes in a small four drawer dresser.
This was becoming a silly solution because I would want a shirt for one but but it would be stored in her sister's drawer.
I was constantly opening and closing drawers over and over again to find this one top.
Easy solution: combine 'em. Duh.
Now everything is completely shared.
Of course, let's take the accessibility to the next level and write all over label the drawers so it's easy for sitters and grandparents and dad to find what the girls need.

For the labeling I just used a chalk marker.

Inexpensive, fool proof, and easily wiped away. 

Of course I embellished a bit with it too. 

Go crazy!

Remember: it wipes away. 

Next on the docket....

An honest to goodness project that I am so stoked is finally done!

We had this nice blank wall in our living room that would be a perfect place for some snapshots.
So after looking around for some inspiration, I landed on this idea from www.kellimurray.com....

I ordered a bunch of my favorite shots of this summer as 4x4's from Shutterfly.

Then I found some sturdy branches in our yard (one for a top support and one for a bottom), trimmed them to 3 feet long, and painted them white.
I taped each to my kitchen table 3 feet apart and strung them with copper wire.

Once I hung the structure, I attached all of my photos somewhat randomly to the wire.

We're all in love with the finished product.
And I really like that the pictures can easily be switched out for new ones.
I'd like to get a photo box to keep close by to store the removed ones.
It would be fun to flip through those.

It feels so good to get some stuff done.
This has been a full, fun summer and that has meant that home things have been kept to a minimum.
But I'm starting to feel the pull towards fall.
I'm wanting to prepare our space and things for the seasons to change. 

A List of Things I ACTUALLY Used With My Babies

I think of myself as a bit of a soft minimalist.
If I wont use it within the next year, don't like the way it works or looks, have outgrown it, or don't have a place for it-----its a goner.

It's been no different with baby stuff.
In this 21st century, American culture baby items are never ending.
There are so many rules and expectations, moms can feel the pressure to give their baby the "best".
But I don't think the best of anything has much to do with materialism.

Some of the things on this list meet actual needs, others just make life easier. :)

This is what we ACTUALLY used.....

Sleep
- rock and play sleeper (borrowed)
-crib + mattress + 2 fitted sheets
- handful of blankets of varying thicknesses
- 2 zip up wearable blankets
- mesh crib bumper
- fan = white noise

Eating
-2 bottles (wash after each use)
-dish soap
- formula
- travel container with compartments for easy mixing
- tap water
- microwave
- small spoons (when they began eating baby food)
- handful of bibs/burp cloths

Clothing
- handful of onsies in each size from newborn through 12 months
- handful of pants in each size
- 10-15 pairs of socks that doubled as hand covers to protect from scratching
- a tie on hat or bonnet
- handful of footed sleepers for each size
- jacket + sweater for 6+ months

Travel
- jogger stroller = all terrain
- car seat
- warm car seat cover during winter months
- makeup bag with some wipes, a few diapers, teething tablets, small toy

Toiletries
- baby shampoo
- regular wash cloth
- saline spray + nose sucker bulb thing
- wipes
- diapers
- q-tips
- comb

Other
- a few toys
- bumbo seat (borrowed)
- space saver high chair seat
- simple baby gym
- jumper thing for doorway
- pack in play
- ergo carrier

This is it.
Everything gets used nearly daily, depending on the stage of the baby.
There is very little clutter which helps cut back on object management.....a job I despise.

The only things I keep doubles or multiples of are things that need to be switched out while one is washed.
Everything else, you really only need one.

Some popular items that I never needed.....
- bottle warmer
- wipe warmer
- crib set
- baby bath tub (used sink until they were sitting)
- special outfits
- swaddler
- diaper rash paste
-baby powder or lotion

Of course every mom and child is different.
Your needs will be different.
But this is just my experience, and as mom chat, could maybe be used as a launch point.

Baby stuff is so cute and it seems like you have to buy soooooo much all at once.
It can be overwhelming.

I have to say looking at this list, I'm just reminded of how graciously God has provided for us.
Most of the things on this list were given to us, gifted to us, or gotten very inexpensively.
The most expensive thing on this list was the crib we got from IKEA for $70.
Even then, someone gave us a mattress.

Ask around, be patient, visit Goodwill.
Babies mainly need somewhere safe to sleep, to be fed, a safe way to travel, clothing, and love.

Bonus: My favorite mom tip is to travel lightly. As I mentioned in the travel section, I pack an old makeup case with the bare essentials. This I throw it into my regular purse and that is my entire diaper bag situation. With three little kids all in diapers until very recently, it was just too much to carry them and lug around a diaper bag stocked to the brim. I know it can feel risky to to not feel prepared at all times for all possibilities, but this *tiny* risk has saved my back and it's never really been an issue. I do keep my car stocked with extra necessary bits and helpful extras just in case. 

Hack Job

A fact of most homes nowadays is that somewhere you've probably got an ugly router, modem, or other sort of internet device hanging out for the whole world (or at least house) to see.

We did too......

 I've been wanting to hide the ugly for a while now and finally a light-bulb went off.

 These plain white photo boxes have been sitting around with nothing better to do than to be turned into the perfect camouflage.
Stacked, they were tall enough to house the modem and router.
They're just thin card board which is easy enough to cut through with a box cutter.
Plus if I mess up or just need more for storage elsewhere, they are cheap and easy to get.

 So with a rough plan in mind I literally started hacking away and ended up with this situation....

What would be the bottom box is cut out on top and in the back. 

The top box is cut out on the bottom and in the back. 

And I just stacked them of course with the cutouts roughly lining up and 

with enough room in the back for cords and things to feed out. 

A little bit of double sided tape keeps them from sliding around and getting janky.

Here it is with everything in place.

Perfect!!

This solution is perfectly functional and is easy to pull off if we need to do anything with the router or modem.

Fall Clear Out

This past weekend dawned chilly. 

The highs this week will still reach the 80s but the mornings and evenings are beginning to grow very chilly. 

Since I was starting to dig into the girls' out-of-season clothing, I decided it was time to just jump on the big seasonal change out before I got the chance to procrastinate. 

 Firstly I pulled out all of the strictly warm weather stuff: sandals, tank tops, really thin summer dresses, and summer pj's.
I left things like thin leggings and t-shirts for layering while the weather is still back and forth.

As I went through I put things in a pile that both girls had outgrown (or would by next summer) and anything I just didn't love.

Next I pulled out their out of season totes.
We each have a 10-gallon tote from Walmart for that purpose that looks like this....


     
After taking the warm weather stuff out and putting the cold weather stuff in, I did a once through the toys and pulled out anything that was old news or broken.

Everything that was pulled out and not tucked into storage is off to find new homes this weekend.

I'm helping at a kids clothing swap this weekend and I am stoked!
I love getting rid of what we don't need or want and meeting our needs (and maybe even our wants) for free!

Now I need to do all this with my stuff.
Joy. (not so much)

Cleaning Out the Bauble Box

This is my jewelry box. 

I found it when I was 16 at a thrift shop in Hot Springs, Arkansas. 

It's an old Elizabeth Arden travel makeup case. 

It permanently smells like old lady perfume and face powder.

It has tons of cubbies. 

It's perfect for storing all those bits and pieces. 

A few are even lined with velvet which is great for the very few significant pieces I have.

Unfortunately, it looked like this. 

Ugh. 

I hate dealing with anything that looks like this. 

So I haven't been wearing much jewelry lately. 

A tangled mess. 

It also has a tray that lifts off to lower a compartment. 

I keep bigger pieces, ring boxes, my wedding ring warranty, etc. here. 

Aww!

I found my wedding jewelry!

Instead of a veil I wore a circlet around a braid that wrapped my head. 

I haven't worn the necklace since that day but the bracelet is one I wear pretty regularly. 

This weird little thing was a headpiece I wore to a cousin's wedding. 

The bride asked for the guests to wear hats. 

I don't do hats so well. 

I get irritated. 

:)

So this was an easy compromise.

This will not be surviving the clear out. 

First I pulled everything out and put it in piles: bracelets in a pile, earrings in a pile, necklaces.....

I went through each pile one at a time and pulled out stuff I didn't love to give away.

These are the survivors. 

Everything got assigned a new cubby.

That middle square cubby with the rings was diyed a bit a few years ago. 

You can make your own ring dividers so easily.

Here's a tutorial....

Guess after all that I should clean the mirror, too.

Ramble

Today is a chill day.

Not much going on. 

The girls had a visit. 

I was able to use those couple hours to work on a small project. 

When we all got home, we took it easy.

Peanut snoozed on my chest while Sweetums played in her room. 

That sounds like perfection but it looked more like me insisting Sweetums play in her room so Peanut could snooze while Sweetums threw a fit about being limited by four walls. 

After playing all together for a bit, it was lunch time, cartoon time, and that brings us here to nap time. 

I love naptime. 

Duh. 

That's the day thus far. 

I'd like to head to the park later as long as the weatherman stays wrong and no rain comes. 

Then we have church tonight. 

Otherwise, I recently bought pink pants.

Well fuschia if you want to get picky.

I'm not sure about them.
I've got something against pink for some reason.
I can generally go for a berry red (aka raspberry I guess).
These pants are something like that and they were super cheap and they fit like a dream.
So I'm giving them a shot.

Also.....

I love these chips. 

I always forget about them when I do a big grocery trip.

We needed something random so I made a quick run into the store and saw some on sale and was like yes!

Yum.

I have been decluttering like a mad woman recently. 

Yesterday I just pulled apart the girls' room and closet weeding out ANYTHING I didn't or they didn't love (or use). 

I would like to have a yard sale but I don't know if I have it in me. 

A Goodwill dropoff sounds so much more pleasant. 

I do have a few things to pass off to a friend with a little baby girl

I really don't plan on storing children's clothing for any long period of time if I don't have kids that will wear it within the next year. 

Going through some of Peanut's stuff that was all between 3-9 months, I was a little torn. 

I know some people save stuff for years in case of more kids down the line but.....

Clothing always comes around. 

Gear always comes around. 

Like for cheap/free. 

I don't feel a huge need to hold onto all their outgrown (not gonna be used any time soon) stuff. 

Plus when we do need something, I enjoy the hunt. :)

I opened my laptop to go through some pictures, edit them, and write. 

This is my screen. 

How did it get so filthy?

Yuck. 

Fingerprints, smudges GA-lore, splatters, a water drip......

TMI?

What are blogs for?

A Series of Recent Events....and also projects

The other night I got the bug to get to Walmart and buy some pretty things. 

I came home with a bunch of plants, pansies, a new welcome mat, and 3 cans of spray paint. 

:)

All totally necessary unnecessaries. 

I repainted the big pot there. 

It was a drab greeny color. 

I hated the shade from the start but just never got around to changing it....

til now. 

Then these lovely plants got put in. 

I need to buy one more big showy flower to put towards the back of the pot. 

Hopefully, these plants will grow and overflow. 

My Aunt got married on Saturday. 

It was such a happy wedding. 

We ended it with blue cotton candy. 

Sweetums was over the moon!

Monday started bright then got stormy and wet.
After a quick run to the grocery store before the downpour, we spent the day watching Looney Tunes, baking muffins, playing with blocks, and taking naps.

I love Looney Tunes. 

My dad always mimicked Buggs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. 

It was awesome to watch some of the old episodes I'd seen a million times. 

Super Sweetums.

Baby peanut getting bigger and bigger. 

On national sibling day, my sister and I both posted this photo of us. 

My sister, Kristen, is the baby. 

That's our mom in the corner.

I'm loving her stripey shirt. 

I was pretty motivated to tackle some projects last week.

My dad let me have a plank of wood which I turned into one of 

those giant rulers to measure heights against.  

I've made one as a gift a few years ago and knew I wanted one for myself. 

Another day, I turned on Hoarders and decluttered here and there. 

Our game stash hardly gets touched so I got rid of ones we just would never play. 

I also downsized the packaging of the ones we would play from boxes to ziplock bags. 

Last of all, a friend was cleaning out toys from their garage and gave us this little cozy coup car for Sweetums.

I loved the idea of redoing it. .
I painted it the same blue as my large flower pot and took the top off.

Now it's this little car that Sweetums is obsessed with. 

Score!

All these things are good and pretty.
It's nice having images of the highlight reel.

A lot is definitely happening under the surface though.
Big decisions will be made in May about the future of the girls.
My heart is racing out ahead of me everytime I let my guard down.

We are still working on possibly buying a house.
We want to make sure we're being wise and doing it for the right reasons and goals in mind.
We want to be doing it for His glory, not our own.
Yet life is keeping us so busy it's hard to make time (and energy) to do what needs done on that front.

We're working on meeting the requirements for renewing our fostering license which must be done every year.

I've become very intentional about what I say yes to and pour myself into.
I recently withdrew from an event I said I would decorate for.
I was just feeling my mind and heart being pulled in too many directions and knew I wouldn't do the job as good as I wanted.

So yea.
It's not all pretty or easy or simple or quick.
It's mostly messy and hard and complicated and slow.
So slow.
But the good parts makes it all so very good.