How I Talked My Friend Neighbor into Hosting My Yard Sale

When I half casually mentioned on Facebook that I would pay a person to come host a yard sale for me, I thought I'd get a few likes, a couple of funny comments and the moments would pass.

However, within 15 minutes I had a buyer.  Srsly.

So for anyone trying to play this game at home, here is my step by step instructions to DIY this at your own house.

Thrown together in 24 hours, this yard sale is ready to go!

Step 1:  Have really awesome friends on Facebook

Step 2:  Have a great location to have a yard sale.  Also have plenty of stuff already in piles in your guestroom.

I was told there was a Ph.D in those boxes...

Step 3:  Make sure that your Facebook Friends are already planning yard sales. (I skipped this step, but found out later that this was vital.)

Step 4:  Sweeten the pot by offering to pay not only part of the days earnings, but also homemade pickles and fresh eggs.

A sampling of what I picked while the yard sale was going on.

Step 5:  Be incredibly thankful that you have wonderful people around you and toast to a day's success!

Using What I Keep

I have been cleaning house for what feels like months. Last week I gave away all of our chemical-y cleaning and bath products. I have ruthlessly culled cthockies, fabric, unused jewelry, things in triplicate... On and on until I can finally feel a little more space. I saw somewhere once, probably on Pinterest, to not have anything in your house that you do not find truly beautiful or useful and I am running with that thought.

So now I am at the part where beautiful and useful things are left. Time to start using them and displaying them. This can get very tricky however, if I find that I do not have a place for my beautiful/needful thing.  Stuff can still get culled if I can't find a place to put it.  Nothing goes back into "storage" unless it is holiday/time of year specific.

For years I have told my family, "why have it, if you never see or use it?!" Well here is where I start living the walk. Or something like that. And I'm going to start with an item that I have refused to part with since 2006, even though my last 3 living places did not have places to use it. It has been stashed in the back of our linen closet for nearly two years now and every time I reach back there I pull it out and consider whether or not the time has come to part ways.  I still love it, it stays.  But before I get into what exactly "it" is, let's back story a bit shall we?

This is our "new" half bathroom. I call it new because it isn't original to the house- we added it last year. And I use quotes because it's been there for a year now.

But anyway- when one is using the facilities, this is what one would look at:

Charming huh? You can see I was actively doing laundry during this photo. Well, now it looks like this:

A little short, yes, but very shiny? Very yes.  Let's get a better angle.  Excuse the weird lighting, that curtain is shiny.

My Nanny bought this polyester curtain for me when I moved in with my college roommate sophomore year and I loved it. I love it now. I will love it forever. And now it hides my laundry when guests use the guest bathroom. Using what I have success!  I'm not 100% sold with the gold on gold action, but I have been unsure of the gold paint in that bathroom since the very beginning.  It is the same color of our dining room- and I love it in there, but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by it in this tiny space.  I am sure we will figure it out- but until then, and probably after, the curtain stays!

Have you dug anything out of your closet's depths lately? I'd love to see it!