Holding a great garage sale! Steps 1-5

So its been a rather busy summer so far. Last week and this week will be even busier.

This week I'm having a garage sale.

It's going to be huge!

Not only am I working on minimalizing my house, I've actually convinced my dad to get rid of some of things collecting dust in his house as well.   Everyone knows "man stuff" sells really well at garage sales.

So step 1: pick a date.

I decided to have mine this week due to the fact that there is a huge neighborhood across a few blocks away having their neighborhood garage sale.  (Their HOA organized it).

I'm going to try to get some of their traffic.

Step 2:  Collect your stuff!

Go through the kids rooms and declutter!  We put all my son's toys into trash bags, took them downstairs and sorted them in the living room. Everything that stayed he had to put away right away.
Whatever was left goes in the sale.  Of course he can use the toy proceeds to buy more skylanders!  Extra incentive for getting rid of stuff!

Step 3: Clean the stuff!   If its dusty, clean it off!  You'll get a better price that way.  If it looks treasured, it will be treasured.  If it looks like junk, don't be surprised if it doesn't sell.

Step 4:  Advertise!!!!!!!
I've advertised in the paper before, but this time I"m trying the digital route.
I'm going to post on craigslist, and facebook.  Not only on my page, but we have a local garage sale / personal items selling group on facebook that I'll give a shout out to.  That should help circulation.

Step 5: Coffee!  Its going to take an investment of time to get this done, so work away.  Put in the extra hours, it'll be worth it for the extra money.

So this is how far I am today, more posts and steps as I go along!

I would show a picture of my garage, but its so stocked full of stuff (aka messy) I'm too embarrassed to show that :)


So instead.... a giraffe doing yoga!

LOL

"Quick! Company's coming, hide it in the closet!"

I'm the queen of procrastination.  Here I am, slowly spring cleaning, distractedly going from one room to another. When I need to really focus on my living room, kitchen and dining room.  Why? Because company is coming!  My best friend and his family are coming into town, and are going to have dinner with me.  And my place is still not worthy of company, let alone a 2 yr old.  I need to clean and child-proof.  My deadline is Friday, so now I'm finally kicking it into high-gear.(And here it is Wednesday)

One of my allies in this mad dash to clean is a BISSELL Spotbot that I borrowed.  You set it on a stain, push a button and walk away for 5 mins. Presumably to do other cleaning (or blog writing).

I love this little machine.

 The next few pics are not for the faint of heart.... or weak of stomach.

 Doggy diarrhea is very difficult to get out of light carpet.

    

1st and 2nd pass at the stain

And here is the finally pass.  Not only did it clean the stain, but pulled up some latent pet hair from the carpet......

All the while I'm busy cleaning other areas of my house. :)  Win-Win!

And by cleaning I mean shoving stuff in the closet. ;)

Spring Cleaning - Day 3

Feeling a bit better today, so I got back to cleaning.

Helps to slow down the cleaning.

Now some of you may be wondering, "What's taking so long? How can it be that hard to clean a house?"  Well, I'm a notorious slow cleaner for one.  I always tend to have a movie on in the background. Although I find I do clean faster with just music.
In fact, I have a iPod playlist called "cleaning", filled with fast paced, up-beat music to get me moving and cleaning!.

But this time around, since I have the time, I'm doing a thorough go through cleaning.  I'm going through long lost boxes and bins and putting them either away, in a donation pile or in the trash.
All this while the spot bot is running and cleaning my carpet.

Maybe I need to add some techno lasers to my music.

 So my main focus the last couple days have been living room and my bedroom.  Since those are the worst offenders at collecting junk.  Oh boy, do I have junk. I'm a self-proclaimed pack rat.

This is why I'm trying to minimize.  Less stuff in, less stuff to pile up. And less stuff to clean around.

So cleaning tip for today, do it to the music.  Fast paced music gets you moving and your heart pumping.  Heart pumping = good cardio work out!

Hopefully after this is all done I'll take magazine worthy pictures and post them.  Then get back to a normal schedule of recipes on Friday. :)

Have a great and busy weekend!

Spring Cleaning - Day 2

Well the good news is I wasn't sore like I thought I would be after moving the dirt and furniture.
So today's workout included lots of bending over and picking up things off the floor, then hanging them up.  More stairs and laundry, then some soccer practice running.

It's slow going.  I'm someone who expands a mess to better clean the mess.

The closet is still a work in progress. I would put a before photo on here, if I wasn't so embarrassed/disgusted by it.  So I'll just settle for an after picture. 

On the other hand, my goodwill pile is growing exponentially :)  

To make myself feel like I was getting stuff done, I quickly cleaned up the bathroom.  Instant gratification.  I do have  a deadline in mind.... I'd like to get all of this done before my best friend comes into town next month. 

Now part of this cleaning, includes an area used to hold my litter boxes.  There have been some accidents that have stained the carpet.  I really do not want to get into trouble with my land lady, so I'm furiously trying to make the best of the area.  I've created a litter box - box out of an ikea cabinet and shower curtain.  

 

As you can see, 1 cabinet (no doors) shower curtain lining (spray adhesive to keep it in place), and a lack table top to separate the litter boxes.  I have very finicky cats, 1 use of the litter box and they snub it, so I've upped the ante and put a trashcan next to it to clean as I go.

The point of this is a beginning review of the Bissell Spot Bot.  So far, I love it!  It sits there and does the work for you.  Once I finish the area I'll finish the review - as to whether its taken out some serious set in cat urine stains.   But its definitely trying its hardest.