Have a Super Successful Yard Sale

We just had a yard sale
 and attendance reached epic proportions -
300+ people!
We are not career sellers or anything, this is only our third sale in the past decade.


We sold almost everything, our pockets are full and we're pleased as punch ;)

There are a few simple things you can do to maximize your efforts and profit.

#1 drafting
We discovered that the a nearby fancy-schmancy neighborhood has an annual subdivision wide yard sale every May. Apparently it's kinda famous.
Pro yard sale goers will travel for big events, (This was the single most important thing we did!)
Ask around, scan newspaper listings, make a note on your calendar for next year.
Ride the coattails of the big guys! We started at 7 am and the big deal started at 8 am, folks came by ours on the way to the other guy.


#2 stand out from the crowd
Go above and beyond the cheesy fluorescent poster board and black sharpie sign. I made my sign out of 2 precut 2'X4' MDF panels from Home Depot and a hinge, then hand painted it. 
I will stow this flat folding cafe style sign for future sales.
 No one will pass this baby by and the extra effort will pay off!



#3 clean and tidy 
Wipe down, hose off, run through the dishwasher, washer and dryer, dust or vacuum.
You will get a fair price for your things if they are clean and well cared for.

#4 the price is right
Put a price on every item. You stand to lose out on sales while negotiating with one person, another buyer may be too impatient to wait to speak to you. 
ENCOURAGE HAGGLING. I put up a sign that said "ALL PRICES NEGOTIABLE" 
Now everyone knows what you'd like to get for it but they stand a chance to make a deal, 
it's all part of the fun ;-)

#5 tasteful display
Don't spread your things out all over the ground or in boxes. Be creative if  you don't have folding tables. It is a much more enjoyable experience to browse at waist height. I know I wouldn't want to bend over and rummage through stuff on the ground. If you have to pull out the patio table or other furniture from your home, by all means make the effort.

#6 something for everyone
I was skeptical when I saw my husband pulling out his bins of unopened "chemicals" like 2 stroke motor oil (for the snowmobiles we no longer own) or  RV antifreeze, wasp spray... 
but the husbands snatched this stuff up!
outerwear, sports equipment, hand tools, kid stuff in good condition, camping supplies. If you only have a few knick-knacks and some clothes, hold onto them and wait until you have enough stuff to warrant going to so much trouble.

#7 free advertising
I listed our sale on Craigslist a week before highlighting some of the items we were selling.


Happy sales to you and
Thanks for stopping by
~Cristy






Great places 




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Trash to Treasure Remodel

This is the third and final post on the complete renovation of our first home.

Lots of Drama...

If you missed the first post, the interior remodel, you can find it HERE.

The second installment, the addition, can be found HERE.


This place was a total gut, if it hadn't been built out of concrete block and poured concrete, it would have been easier to tear it down and start over.

We purchased this house for $82K (900sqft) in 2003 and sold it for $242K (~1500sqft) in 2010!

I know, home and land prices in CO are ridiculously expensive.

(That explains some of the already outdated decor)

The best part was it wasn't even listed for sale when a realtor contacted us and told us he had someone interested in purchasing our home! In the midst of a HUGE bubble burst. 
What could we say but, come on in!

The fence is also concrete formed and poured with embedded t-posts and wire fencing. 
Super reinforced = Seemingly impossible to remove.

Below I am painting any chipped paint since it's pre- 1978 (lead paint) so it will pass the inspection.

Before we closed ( before we owned it ) we painted, replaced broken windows and hammer drilled crawl space vents through the concrete. 

We sure worked our butts off for this dump ;-)



Never thought we'd see the day... Saying goodbye to the fence!

Thanks to the son of the neighbor across the street, he was excavating an old building foundation behind his father's house, and took care of the fence for a tidy fee. He even hauled the debris away for clean fill to be used on his property. It doesn't get much better than that!!!

Ahhhh, so much better.

The city kindly allowed us to form and pour and pay for our sidewalk!
We left our mark  ;-)
This local newspaper clipping shows the house (on the left) possibly during the late 50's, early 60's.
It doesn't look so bad. What ever happened??? The house next door still looks exactly the same.




Hubby re-framed the entire existing roof, lifted the porch roof, and added a gable over the garage to stop snow from sliding and piling up in front of the garage door. A thorough pressure wash, new windows, garage door, paint and stain. 


The corugated metal on the foundation isn't rusted yet, rusted metal is very 'in' in Colorado.

I'll share my secret to almost instant rusty goodness later...


Well that concludes the long journey from trash to treasure of our first home.
It makes my kind of sad and we miss it a bit.

These are a couple before and afters from the first post on the interior, found HERE

It was quite an adventure and we have now moved on to the second phase of our 3-step-debt-free-home-ownership plan!

I can't wait to start sharing what we are doing with our *new* home.

Thanks for joining me. 




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7 Must Have Kitchen Tools & Tips

These seven simple, affordable kitchen tools are must haves!
If I were on Kitchen Survivor, and had to chose 10 tools, these are what I would take, as well as a chef knife, paring knife and cutting board. Not including pots and pans and spoons and ...
Well, maybe not just ten...
In my humble opinion, you can't go wrong here:

SALAD SPINNER 
     This OXO is about 7 years old and I toss it right in the dishwasher. It works and looks as good as the day my sister-in-law gave it to me. I use it almost every day.

TIP: Besides salad, I use it to wash all my herbs, cabbage, leeks, then spin dry.

TIP: The best way to wash greens is to float in water and scoop out of the water.
Don't float them, then pour into the strainer because any debris can settle right back on the greens. In the float and scoop method, debris is either suspended in the water or settled on the bottom of the bowl.

BENCH SCRAPER
     Designed for manipulating dough, nothing divides a ball of dough into neat little pillows perfect for rolls, like this guy.

More frequently it transports lots of diced produce from the cutting board into the pot on the stove.

DISHERS
These are not ice cream scoops and just three sizes fit my every need.
The smallest size 60, makes perfect portioned drop cookies (chocolate chip, assorted Italian cookies...) a heaping dollop of cake or muffin batter fills mini muffin pans perfectly.

The middle size 40, makes larger cookies like big soft molasses cookies.

The largest size 20, is perfect size for filling the cups of a standard muffin pan.

There are many sizes, like wire gauges, the larger the number the smaller the size, found at restaurant supply stores or online.

KNIFE SHARPENER
There is nothing more dangerous in the kitchen than a dull knife. This won Americas Test Kitchen best sharpener years ago. It's about $5 at True Value Hardware of all places. I've had this one about a decade and it's still running strong. Very effective, compact and simple to use. Better {than} sliced bread! Just hold your knife blade facing up on the counter and run the sharpener over the blade about 10 times, goof proof!

Now skip to the

KNIFE STEEL
You probably have one of these from a knife set and never used it. But you should!
Watch this YouTube video if you want to see how. It's not difficult, there is really no special technique. Don't be intimidated by the angle you hold it, it's almost instinctual.

TIP: Keeping your knives sharp:

Even if you payed big bucks for a fancy name brand santoku or a more affordable bargain brand.... If you use it it's going to get dull. No need for one of those electric sharpeners the two compact tools above will do a better job of preserving and maintaining your cutlery, without removing too much metal.

TIP: The difference between a steel and a sharpener is the sharpener removes thin shavings of metal to create the sharp edge. After time this will wear down your knife. The steel straightened the blade. The very thin edge can become folded over if you hit a bone or you cutting board.
Don't be afraid to ruin your knives. If they are dull they are not useful anyways. Or practice on an old knife until you are comfortable.

ZYLISS GARLIC PRESS
This was a gift to me back in 1996. Who knew it would survive the test of time and travel. It has followed me from California, to Mexico and now Colorado. I have given one to every one I know who enjoys cooking and I hope the do the same. A lifetime investment of $12. Most folks have a white plastic one, that's fine but you are missing out. Especially if you use as much garlic as I do. Any store that carries Zyliss (bed bath & beyond for example) you don't even need to peel the skin off the clove, but I usually do. It's all in the design. Nosuper human strength and it's easy to clean with the included little hole clearing tool!

MICROPLANE
You probably have this one, if not you need to. From Parmesean to lemon zest I also use it for chocolate shavings (not curls) and grating frozen ginger root. The results cannot be obtained from any substitute. This flat style is much easier to clean than the handled version.

I hope you find these tools and tips helpful as I do.
Thanks for stopping by.
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