I don’t know if a week off from school will be enough for me to recover from this week.   I’ve been up from 6:30am to 12:30am every night this week.  I looked in the mirror last night and I had dark circles under my eyes.   Thank god for makeup.

I’ve had two huge projects to complete.  One is a dream house perspective drawings for my art class.  Can I say ugh!!  If their was any part of me that wanted to become anarchitect, its gone now.  Oh never design a house with lattice.   Its like filling out a scan tron for the SATs.

Then I have a final website project for my web design class.   I still need to come up with text for that one.   And there are a million things on the checklist to make sure my site has.  I am eager to launch this one though.   Its for my line of bachelorette hats.   I also had a final for this class.

So please excuse my delay in posting.  I know I have a number of things to finish up and post on:

• Garage Sale Pricing Tips
• Garage Sale Shopping Tips – How to get the best deals
• Garage Organization
• Desk Organization

Please stay with me though.  We will return to your regularly scheduled blogging soon.

Its time for my post-garage sale recap.   After 3 days outside wheeling and dealing, the grand total on my garage sale was….

Drum roll please…

Approximately $900.

Now that was split between two people, my sister and I.  But I think that is darn good.  

So how did we do it?   I’m here to share my tips.

Tip #1 – Preparation is key 
In the weeks before my garage sale I cleaned my house front to back, top to bottom.  I followed some early prep tips for garage sales from my friend Dawn.   I moved everything that did not belong in that room or wasn’t being used to one corner of my basement.   Once I cleaned out my garage and set up table, I simply moved everything from the basement outside.  

Oh one more preparation tip – stockpile your plastic bags for weeks/months.   Ask your friend for their stashes.  

Tip #2 – The “I don’t know if I want to sell it” stuff
If you are up in the air on things to sell, you don’t use it that much, you probably wouldn’t miss it if it was gone.  I say throw it in the garage sale.   If it sells, you made some money.  If it doesn’t sell, it was meant to be kept.

Tip #3 – Small Sale vs. Large Sale
I would recommend waiting to have a garage sale until you have a large amount of stuff.   Its just not going to be worth it if you only have a few things to put out.   If you don’t have much, see if your friends and family have things to sell as well.   For my sales I emptied out 5 large totes of baby clothes we had 10-12 feet of men’s and women’s clothes.   Then there were tables of household items.

Tip #4 – Location
If you are combining sales, pick the best location.   My sisters house is located off a main road, but it is in a subdivision that would require 3-4 signs to show people how to get there.   My house is located 3 houses off a main road and right across from a baseball field.

Tip #5 – When?
So when should you have your sale?   This advice may not apply to all areas.  I’m in the midwest so the good weather months are limited.    But based on my success, late April is a good time.   Being the first garage sale of the year has its perks.  Everyone is fresh.    

Are you selling alot of clothes?   Consider what season your clothes are for.   Lots of winter stuff?  You might do better with an end of summer, September sale.    Lots of summer stuff? You should plan for early summer then.

Other things to consider:

• City Wide Garage Sale weeks.   These draw a number of people.   Plus during those weeks you usually do not need a garage sale permit.   Many cities offer a map of the garage sales.   If you register your sale is listed.  Take advantage of it.
• Events in your area.   Piggy back on other events that would draw additional traffic to your area.   The weekend I had my sale was little league opening day.  I had 200 people across the street.   Did they all come?  No, but many parents who were waiting for the next game to start stopped by.
• Weather – This is pretty much chance.   But if you are deciding between two upcoming weekend.  Take a look at the forecast.   If you are completely prepared and know a good weather weekend is coming up, you could easily be ready for a garage sale in just a few days.

Tip #6 – Advertise, Advertise, Advertise
Did I mention advertise?   This is big.  

• Spend $25 to put your sale in your local paper.  
• Post it on CraigsList a week in advance.   Add nice photos of your large items.  If you say that you have tons of baby clothes, back it up with a picture of the tables.
  
  
• During your sale, re-post and update it daily on Craigslist.   Note – Craigslist will not let you repost an ad exactly the same.   So copy your wording, delete the original ad, and repost.
• Make your ad stand out on Craiglist.  Capital letters, asterisks, and catch phrases are key.  For my sale I use “LOOKIE LOOKIE***GARAGE SALE – FINAL DAY – 1/2 OFF SALE****“  
• Put up flyers in local business.  Many of your local hardware stores and drug stores have a board to post items for sale.   Make up a snazzy little flyer and put it up. 

Tip #7 – Think Boutique
When laying out your merchandise, think boutique.   Make it appealing and people will stay longer to look.   All of our men’s and women’s clothing were on hangers.   We used a long pipe strung by 3 bungee cords (the thick rubber ones that barely stretch).   This also sectioned off the back of my garage where items not for sale were kept.

Household items should be grouped together on tables.   Try placing tables against the side of your garage in order to stand pictures up.

Don’t squeeze your tables together.  Customer don’t want to worry about knock into things.   Unless its raining spread out.  

Make sure your garage is well lit or move things outside.   I noticed when I moved the baby clothes outside they sold much better.  

Lastly, Dust or wash everything.   People do not want to buy things if they don’t think it was taken care of.   Put the stained shirts right in the pile for charity.   They won’t sell and just take up space.

Tip #8 – Be Approachable
Welcome everyone to your sale.   Say Hello.   Let your customers know that you are approachable.   You will probably end up with more sales this way.   If something has a story, tell them!  It might get the sale or it justifies why you are asking that price.   We had an antique pedal car fire truck we made a point to say was 40 years old.   The old electronic battle ship set – “look it still works.”

Ask the customers just wandering around if they are looking for anything in particular.   It just might be something in your house that you are not too attached to.   I checked on some bar mirrors for one customer.  I chose  not to sell them since they were my hubby’s favorite beer.    But if they were any other beer I could have made $10 and gained some space.

Tip #9 - What to do with the leftovers?
Donate leftovers to a local charity.   Many will pickup anything that doesn’t sell at no charge.   Check with St. Vincent De Paul, Purple Heart, or Easter Seals.   Call in advance  to schedule a pickup right after your sale.  Most will ask for items to be packaged in boxes or garbage bags.  As you bag them, make an itemized list of everything.   Enter your list into a program/website like TurboTax ItsDeductible to determine the value of your donation.   Keep the receipt the charity gives you.  

Tip #10 – Pricing
I’m sorry you will have to come back tomorrow for this valuable information.  

I will say I didn’t spend days individually pricing items. 

I’ve had been so busy the last couple days setting up for our garage sale.  I was first cursing the weather as we were setting up but it looks like we will have 3 good days of weather for the sale.   I can say we kicked but today.   I am hoping its not the peak.   I can’t wait to share my garage sale tips with you.  Probably this weekend. 

Check out these great blogs while I am MIA:
Momdot Mom Blogs
For The Love of Baby
Mommy’s Quiet Time
My Trendy Tykes
Crazy Adventures in Parenting
Womb At The Innsane
The Write Gal
Subjective Beauty
3 Kids and Us | Mom Blogger
Ordinary and Awesome

Well I haven’t completed my desk organization project yet.  That will be coming soon.   First I have to have a garage sale before I go out spending money.   That means I have to clean up the garage.   Easier said than done.   Here is my garage.   As you can see its been another neglected part of my home.

Did I mention I have a thing with plastic totes? I think I get it from my mother. For the record seven of these totes are baby clothes. My mother and mother-in-law also have a thing for shopping.

So I’ve been MIA the past week getting this organized. It was 70 and sunny out so I had to take advantage of that. All of these toys now have a place of their own.

Next week after all this stuff is gone.

I will post some pictures of my newly organized garage. I did this project for under $100. And I reused a number of things from my home.

You don’t know what unhappy is….

Until you are happy or atleast close to it.   

The downside of being happy and not a “rollar coaster of emotions” complete mess is my blog is suffering.  Due to happiness and 70 degree/sunny weather, I have not posted in what 4 days. 

I started this blog as a journal.  I needed to get my thought out of my head and channel them into an organized form.  Now those thoughts are quiet.   I feel good and have nothing to vent.   I am struggling to find things to post about.  I don’t just want this to be a “here is a photo of my kids and me baking cookies” blog.  I am working on defining myself and my blog again.   I guess a start would be to update my about you page.   Oh my poor neglected blog.

Ok back to finding happiness…

I never realize how much my job affected the rest of my life.   My job wasn’t horrid or anything.   It was actually quite well.   It was close to home.  They were flexible for my maternity leave and when I need to be off for sick kids.   I worked with a good group of people.   It was unfulfilling though.    

So lately it seems like this baggage has been lifted.   I am content.   I fall asleep easily at night.   I know longer lie awake for an hour contemplating how I am going to get everything done.   Then I even wake up on my own in the morning…suprisingly early at 7am.  

I look forward to accomplishing things around the house  (Oh I have things to post on this one – next part on desk organization, organizing your garage, tips for garage sales, etc.) .  I’ve been busy these past few warm weather days.

I drive around doing errands with my boys in the backseat and the windows down because the weather is so nice.  At that moment I was thinking how at ease I felt.  How much happier I was and I almost started to cry. 

Losing my job has been such a relief – almost a gift.   Now, I am just looking forward.

If you are on a diet I advise you to walk away right now…I’m going to be the anti-Christ and post the as I’d like to call it “Add Some Saddle to My Bags Please” Mac & Cheese. I can hear my arteries clogging as we speak.

For the longest time I thought Kraft Mac & Cheese was king. If it wasn’t Kraft powder mix I wasn’t eating it. I could make it in my sleep. A few years ago I ventured out and moved up to Velveeta Shells & Cheese. Also made my Kraft but with a thicker creamier cheese sauce. Its even easier than the Kraft mix – boil noodles and add cheese.

But I’m a proud to announce I am now truly an adult and a connoisseur. I have moved up to Homemade Mac & Cheese and I didn’t even realize how easy it is to make.

So without further adieu, drum roll please, here it is, straight from the kitchen of the Muskrat King Johnny Kolakowski (google it if you want to know)- the “Add Some Saddle to My Bags Please” Mac & Cheese

Here is what you need:

• 1 box of Pasta
• 1/4 cup butter
• 6 oz. Velveeta
• 2/3 c Pepper Jack
• 2/3 c Baby Swiss
• 2/3 cup Mozzarella/Provolone
• 1/2 cup Havarti (I was making this for kids so I went conservative)
• 1/2 tsp Garlic or Onion Powder
• 1 tsp or 1 cube Chicken Bouillon
• Pepper to taste
• 2-3 cups heavy cream

Heat oven to 350° or set your crock pot to High.

Bring a pot of water to a boil for your pasta.

Cut Velveeta into chunks.  Add to pan with grated cheese.  There should be about 1″ of cheese in your pan.  Did you think I was kidding when I said “add some saddle to my bags’?

Toss the butter, garlic or onion powder, chicken bouillon and pepper into and 11 x 9 pan or crock pot.

Put the pan in the oven and let cheese melt.

By now the water should be boiling.  Throw in the pasta. Cook until al dente

Once cheese is melted, whisk it slowly to combine.

Add 2 cups of heavy cream to thin the cheese mixture. Lately I’ve had a love affair with heavy cream, I love it, my hips don’t. But anyways – Whisk slowly until creamy.

Add pasta to cheese mixture and stir.   I like to let it thicken for a few minutes before serving.   

Obviously this photo was take before it thickened.   I was going to show you a really nice photo of the mac & cheese in a bowl ready to eat.  But by that time my kids wanted lunch….and so did I.

Enjoy!  I know your hips will!

This weeks topic at Momdot’s Small Talk Six is “6 breakfast foods that you love or hate.”  

This topic is perfect for our house.  Every weekend we are cooking eggs and sausage or pancakes.     Now that I am not working and my boys are home with me during the week, they always expect a big breakfast.  We are working on changing that because it will get expensive.

How does the Small Talk Six work?  It is simple.  Answer the topic with 6 words, 6 phrases, 6 sentences, 6 paragraphs, or 6 photos.

Here are my six for this week:

1. Eggs, Scrambled with Ketchup – Any time (morning, noon or night) when I ask my boys “what they want to eat?” their reply is “Eggs”.   Usually its accompanied by jumping up and down.  So we love breakfast, especially on the weekends.  So that had to be the start.
   
   
2. Cheese Potatos - I love them for breakfast.   I think they are better the second day.  More flavor.
3. This one is going to sound strange – Buttered Cheerios.   I know the butter defeats the healthy part of Cheerios but I love them.   How did this strange mix start?   Growing up my sister would not eat milk on her cereal.  So my mom tried them with some melted butter.   Its stuck with our family.   Its kinda like buttered popcorn.
4. Crumpets - I haven’t had them in a while.  On a home stay during a high school trip to New Zealand, the family I stayed with offered this for breakfast.  I loved them, but could never find them in the US.  Finally I discovered them at the local “gourmet” supermarket.   Love them with butter and jam.  Its kind of a cross between a pancake and English muffin.   Note to self: Get Crumpets.
   
   
5. I also love a good Strata.   I have a recipe for a good Weight Watchers one.   Hubby didn’t even know it was made with Egg Beaters.   I use the southwest Egg Beaters and turkey sausage.   I usually make it when I have left over hot dog buns to use.  
6. Ok I will have to say I’ve never been a Biscuits and Gravy girl.  But I have to say I might have to try this.  I have been making Chicken A La King lately and that involves making a Rue which is the basis for gravy.  I might have to try it.
   
   

 Well today I got a little crafty.  Part 3 of my desk organization will be vlogged.   Here is the previous post on desk organization.  Its my first one so please forgive me I know I say um and stumble over my words a few times.   Today’s episode will show you how to organize the papers you need at your fingertips but don’t want everyone to see.

Products featured in today’s episode:

• [In] Place Magazine File by Peter Walsh available at Office Max
• DiVoga Document Envelope available at Office Max
• Ikea Kassett Magazine File

Many times when you hear Peter Walsh speak he doesn’t just address the physical clutter in  your home.  He also addresses the mental clutter and how the two are linked together:  

 ”The word ‘organize’ and the word ‘organic’ come from the same place. Organic is to be whole; to be complete. That’s what organization does. Organization actually helps you live a richer, fuller, less stressed life.”

That is what happen to me.   When I lost my job, I went on this cleaning frenzy.   I had this sudden urge to rid my house of all this excess stuff.   It was only after listening to Peter Walsh that I realized how it was connected to the changes in my  life. 

When I was employed, I was stressed out trying to fit everything into my life.   A unfulfilling  job provided for my family, but I wanted to spend more time with my family.  I was also going back to school to pursue graphic design which made me happy, but again I had to give up time with the family.  With all that stress, I was holding onto all this stuff and buying more stuff thinking it would make me happy.  It didn’t.   I’m now purging our house of all this stuff.  I can say I am so looking forward to our Garage Sale.

Well back to organizing.   Remember the area I called my desk?   Here is the previous post on desk organization and here is hell:

How did I start organizing my desk?   I used one of Peter’s suggestions for organizing on a budget – Don’t buy a thing.   Why start out buying boxes and storage solutions when you don’t know what you need yet.   The first step is to get rid of clutter, only then assess what you need.

So to declutter – I bombed my desk.   Well I didn’t really bomb it.  I stripped it down to the bones.  Its completely naked and vulnerable right now.   I decided it was best just to start from the beginning.   Plus I needed to remove the inch thick layer of dust covering everything.  Here take a look:

Remember the cords under the desk.  I had surge protectors plugged into surge protectors.  

To solve this, I removed each piece of our computer and the accompaning cords.  By doing that I was able to determine what wasn’t being used.   Once I cleaned each piece, I began to put them back on the desk.   This time with one exception – I took inexpensive masking tape and labelled each cord.

There are still alot of cords, but I did get rid of one surge protector.  

Up Next – Organizing Paperwork….Check Back Soon.

Are you looking for some new blogs to explore? I remember when I first discovered blogging. I spent days just looking for new blogs. I loved when I found new lists of great bloggers. I’d love to share a few of my favorite mom blogs. Take a few minutes to visit them and spread some comment love.

Sweet ‘n’ Sassy Girls
Momdot Mom Blogs
Blessings Abound
Mommy Cracked
A Little Bit Nutty
The Shopping Mama
Good Golly Miss Blondie
Christy’s Creations
Free Sample Freak
The Not-So-Blog Blog
What’s That Smell?
My Charmed Life
HouseholdSix
DoubleBugs
mommy23monkeys
The Story of a Princess and Her Hair
A Psych Mommy
Momma’s Gone Over the Wall
3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires
A Blog of Goodies
Single Rose Designs Blog
Green Mama’s Pad
What Mommies Need
Through Hazel Eyes
Miracles on Mama Street
Momstart
Mom Saving Cents
Frugal RI Mama
The Morris Bunch