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Simplify by Sara

Simplify by Sara

Category Archives: Tips

Tag Sale 101 …

17 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by Sara in "Green", De Clutter, Ideas, Money Savers, SALE!, Tips

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Family, Flea Market, Garage sale, Green, Money, Tag Sale, vintage

I am getting ready for a Fall Sale!

Tage Sale 101

Have you ever had a tag sale? No.  Why?  I bet that if you looked around there is some stuff you are not using … dishes, glasses, clothes, shoes, purses, toys.  I’ll wait, go look … SEE! 

Here are a few Dos & Don’ts to help you get started …

DO

  • Price Everything!
  • Price everything TO SELL!
  • Have change (quarters, and dollars especially!)
  • Have plenty of newspaper, boxes and bags
  • Advertise!  (craigslist, local paper, local online paper, post about it on your Facebook Page, Tweet it, Instagram it)
  • Hang nice, clear signs … signs that can be read from the car (check your local code, sometimes you are responsible for removing all the signs too!)
  • Plan on a 1/2 Price Sunday Afternoon!
  • Schedule a charity pick up for your leftovers.

DON’T

  • Take any of it personally. There will be a few bad apples …
  • Try to sell anything that is broken ~ especially electronics! (have an outlet, or an extension cord accessible)
  • HAVE FREE STUFF! A bowl of hard candies, or Hershey Kisses is OK, but no FREE TOYS!
  • Advertise too early ~ a Saturday & Sunday sale should be advertised on Thursday & Friday … you don’t want to get pushed to the bottom of the list.
  • Be unrealistic with your prices.  If you saw something online or on TV that is NOT the tag sale price!!!
  • Take anything back in!  If you are willing to sell it, then you should definitely donate it!

There is nothing nicer, in my opinion, than sitting around on a Sunday night, drinking a cold beer and counting your money!  Pick a weekend, give it a shot …

~ Peace

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Something Simple … My New Friends

19 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by Sara in "Green", Cleaning, Family, for the home, Money Savers, Tips

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Bar Keepers Friend, Bon Ami, Cleaning, Home, Pyrex, vintage

Do you know Bon Ami & Bar Keepers Friend?  You should meet them … a little old fashioned, but hard working, sharp looking, and they do what they say they will.  All the qualities of a true friend, no?

Cleaning

In my vintage world I clean A LOT of things … rusty things, sticky things, scratched things, shiny things.  You name it I have probably had to find a way to clean it.  Working on a Bakelite Telephone right now … Really!

vintage things

I had heard about Bon Ami & Bar Keepers Friend, great for this, amazing for that … no idea why I never had any in the house, until last week.  See last week I was prepping some vintage, stainless steal kitchen utensils and they had been loved (loved in Vintage world means used) … these were loved good!  A little stickiness, some rust, some grease, etc.  I used some castile soap, I used baking soda, vinegar, all worked, just not as well as I would have liked.   At the same time I had read a thread some where, probably a vintage board on Facebook, about using Bar Keepers Friend on Pyrex … LIGHTBULB!  Trip to the hardware store, because around here that is where they sell all of the GOOD cleaners that actually work, and brought my new buddies home … since then we have been cleaning everything!

My favorite thing … Bar Keepers Friends cleans utensil scratches on your plates.  These are utensil scratches … you have them, I know it.

Cleaning (8)

This is the after … I know, right?

Cleaning (3)

Now I know, who really cares about utensil scratches? Me (hangs head in shame) … In a real world normal application the bathroom sink and the tub look like this too!  With no chemicals, no smell and no bleach!

Happy Cleaning!

~ Peace

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Something Simple …

03 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by Sara in Family, for the home, Ideas, Money Savers, Tips

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Family, Home, Home Making, homemaking, Shopping, tips

The answer ~ Q-tips, bar soap, coffee filters, garbage bags …

The question ~ What are the things you ALWAYS forgot at the store?

A simple idea that we have been using here at SbS HQ to avoid the trip back to the store  …

simple trick

If you take the last of anything, or preferably the 2nd to last … tear off a piece of the box, bag, packaging and leave it out where we make the shopping lists.

What simple tricks, or ideas, do you use to make it all work?

~ Peace

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Sara Style … Spring Wreath

22 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by Sara in for the home, Ideas, Money Savers, Tips

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

antique, Ideas, Pinterest, Spring, Wreath, Yarn, Yarn Pom Poms

I decorate my wreath for EVERYTHING!  As an apartment dweller it is the only public display of Sara Style …

I have a very simple, well made, store bought grape vine wreath.  I have had it for at least 1,000 years, and it is a wonderful canvas … some sparkle for Christmas, Forsythia for Spring …

I am like a wreath stylist, here is my wreath decoration box … each season (month) has a little baggie with some flowers, a ribbon or two, fake fruit, leaves, garlands, outdoor décor, seed pods …

Wreath

But alas I was bored by my go to Spring things and as I am prone to do, I took a look around the house to see what there was to use … I have a GIANT bag of yarn!  Have you looked around Pinterest at all lately, it is just full of Yarn PomPoms … just check THIS simple search.

So I made PomPoms!!!!

Wreath (2)

With my girl …

Wreath (10)

We used the Antique serving fork method … you all know that one right?  You can also use your hands, a hair pick, a cardboard template …

Wreath (13)

I had thoughts of making enough PomPoms to cover the entire wreath, PomPoms are not as easy to make as I thought!  We made this many …

Wreath (21)

I wired them, using florist wire which I keep in my wreath box, and …

Wreath (24)

I know, my door looks chartreuse, it is not.  I wish it was … it is really just apartment building green.

That is enough craftiness for me for a bit … I will be decorating the house for Spring this weekend, in Sara Style as well.

~ Peace

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Confession … Monday Morning Truth

18 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by Sara in Confession, Family, for the home, Tips

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Clean, Clean House, Confession, Family, Home, Monday, Weekend

This is what my house looks like this morning .  No special set up, no proper angles, no streaming sunlight … just a real home, on a Monday morning, after a fun and busy weekend.

My Dining Room

for reals

The Kid’s Room

for reals (4)

The girl’s side …

for reals (7)

The boy’s side … Imaginating!  Imaginating is messy …

for reals (6)

… and my “BedroomOffice”

for reals (5)

Happy Monday!  What is your truth this morning?

~ Peace

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Make Lemonade!

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by Sara in Family, Ideas, RePurpose, Resource, Tips

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

challenges, cover ups, Decor, design, Home, Ideas, repurpose, vintage

Any lemons around your house?  I have a few … a lemon is a spot or a thing that HAS to be there, but has “aesthetic” challenges … so now, do you have any lemons?  An outlet in the middle of the wall, thermostat, fuse box, steam riser?

This is my kitchen lemon, a GIANT, white outlet, in the center of the wall over my bar cabinet, and under my beautifully accessorized (if I do say so myself) cookbook shelves …

My Lemon (2)

This is my lemonade …

My Lemonade

A fruit crate brought home from a Tuscan Market, yup that’s it! No more eyesore outlet …

Here are a bunch of great ideas for your lemons, and the rest of mine.

Exposed pipe in the living room?  I have one in my bathroom … love this solution!  Adding porch post to my flea market list.

Source ~ Ethereal Plus What I Love

Giant, ugly, air vents? Kelly at Eclectically Vintage made lemonade by using an Antique crib side rail and ribbons to cover it up.  I love outside the box solutions …

Source ~ Eclectically Vintage

These 2 cover ups deal with all that techy crap we have to have in our homes … the router and the wires.

Source ~ Anamu

Source ~ Lushome

Cover that stat!  Cute idea & a great tutorial …

Source ~ Frankfully

Or …. we can embrace them and make them as beautiful as their surroundings

Source ~ Refinery29

So many different ways to make lemonade of the lemons our homes can toss our way … thanks to the creative bloggers that share their wonderful ideas!

~ Peace

Click on the photos and jump to the source!

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Thrifty Thursday ~ Paper Bag Valentines

07 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by Sara in "Green", Family, for the home, Ideas, RePurpose

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

1st Grade, Craft, DIY, Hershey Kisses, Paper bag, paper lunch bags, Valentine, Valentines Day

Why reInvent the wheel, right?  I used brown paper lunch bags for Kindergarten Valentines … so I tweaked the idea a little for the 1st Graders.  A few less kids, means a little more money in budget, so I can include a pencil for our new little writers …

2013 Paper Bag Valentine (3)

Same as last year … a heart on every bag

2013 Paper Bag Valentine (10)

Color, Color, Color … cut, hole punch and a mock up that doesn’t work.  It’s droopy …

2013 Paper Bag Valentine (11)

Second try (with some input from my Girl) … no cutting, fold the bag, 4 layers, not droopy anymore!

2013 Paper Bag Valentine (6)

This year Anthony wrote his name IN MARKER on all of the bags …

2013 Paper Bag Valentine (3)

$10 for a great big bag of kisses, $2.98 for 30 pencils, had lunch bags on hand (always do) … and my grand total for 19 Valentines $0.68 each!  Loving that!

~ Happy Valentine’s Day!

Related articles
  • 10 Valentine’s Day gift ideas for school (mnn.com)
  • 20 Homemade Valentine Ideas (abeautifulmess.com)

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A Safer Lunch …

07 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by Sara in "Green", Family, for the home, Ideas, Organize, Tips

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Family, Food, Ideas, kids, leftovers, lunch, lunch bag, money saver, plastic wrap, soup, tips, trick

Free of leaks & spills that is … I pack lunch for 2 kids and 1 husband everyday.  The husband lunch is usually leftovers, leftovers has meant soup A LOT lately, and after a lesson learned last week this is how the soup gets packed now.

Lunch Safety (3)A little plastic wrap BEFORE the lid goes on and we are safe from spills and leaks … for the husband that is.  Still get a lunch bag full of water from the boy every day, even after my love note …

Lunch Safety (4)

What tips and trick do you have?  Thought I would share mine …

~ Peace

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Vintage Pennants …

09 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by Sara in Etsy, for the home, SALE!

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

AMNH, Arkansas, Disney, history, Kansas, Michigan, Niagara Falls, Ohio, pennant, Quebec, souvenir, vintage

The predecessor to the shot glass and the t-shirt … a memento of a family vacation, proof of allegiance … a school, a team … A memory,  the pennant.

Amazing, cool looking, kitschy little pieces of history … anything familiar?  Did you go to Niagara Falls on your honeymoon?  Maybe you know a Central Catholic alumnus?

Quebec, Chateau Frontenac
Quebec, Chateau Frontenac
Kansas City
Kansas City
Michigan
Michigan
The Hayden Planetarium
The Hayden Planetarium
Disney!
Disney!
Hot Springs AK
Hot Springs AK
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
Central Catholic HS Toledo OH ~ STILL THERE!
Central Catholic HS Toledo OH ~ STILL THERE!
Quebec Aquarium
Quebec Aquarium

These are all available, for you, at Sfuso …

~ Peace

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Food Triage …

07 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by Sara in "Green", Food, for the home, Ideas, Money Savers, Organize, Tips

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Food, Home, Ideas, kitchen, Money Savers, Offbeat Home, Organize, Pantry, perishables, prepare, Triage

Not meal planning … The Chef does not do that.  He decides everyday, on the way home from work, what is on the menu for that evening.  That said … we still have to plan a little.  I mean come on, I live here too, and I plan!

Our compromise, inspired by the Offbeat Home article Make better use of your kitchen’s resources to waste less food and save more money … specifically THIS picture.

Photo by Cat Rocketship

Here’s mine …

Food Triage (6)

Here’s how …

Take stock of the perishables …

  • Crisper Bin … see the leftovers too!

Food Triage (10)

  • Cold Cuts

Food Triage (13)

  • Check your freezer, any prepared meals in there?  Anything that really should be cooked soon???

Food Triage (11)

A well stocked pantry combined with keeping track of your perishables means less waste,therefore, more money!  Who doesn’t like more money?

~ Peace

Other Pantry Posts …

Simplify your Pantry …. An Experiment

Simplify your Pantry … Follow Up

Pantry Lists & Shopping Strategies

Pantry Experiment … Eat ’til It’s Empty

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