Friday, February 24, 2012

R L time

I started consigning with Rhea Lana last year, and have shopped their sales for the past 3 years. I keep going back because I keep finding cute stuff for way less than store prices. Plus, I truly LOVE to shop and find a bargain. 

Here are some of my past finds that get me super excited to go back again this year.




Yep, I even got there Easter outfits from RL last year! That dress still had the tags from Cupcakes and Caterpillars on it, and the jon jon was 5 bucks (woohoo!) and then I had it monogrammed.  Maybe I'll get lucky and find another Easter jon jon for Charlie this year.


These were my two best finds last season. I found these matching brother sister outfits with blank white panels across the front. IN THE RIGHT SIZES, TOO!! My lucky day for sure. I think they were each around 12 or so dollars. I had them monogrammed and look how cute they turned out! Wish they were looking at the camera here, but at least they are both in the same frame.


These BBTN ric rac pants are from RL. I found a white t and had it monogrammed to match. She's worn this twice. Only because she says that it is not as cute as a dress. I guess I won't be buying many pants for a while. At least not for her.

This vintage (can it be considered vintage if it looks to be about 15 years old?) Monday's Child dress was also one of my favorite finds. It was 5 dollars. And oh how she LOVES this dress.  She wears it about once a week, which makes me happy.



I think one trick to finding good stuff is to shop early and shop at the half price sale, too. When I go back for the half price sale, I always look at the size below and the size above what my kids are actually wearing. Why? Because, many times the reason something hasn't sold yet is because it either runs too small or runs too big. Like the dress above, it was in the size 5 section, but fits like a size 3-4.  I'm kind of mad at myself for sharing this tip, because I'm worried it will leave less treasures for me:) BUT, I know I have the patience for bargain hunting that many others don't... so hopefully that will keep me safely rolling in the bargains!

To earn some money to buy these finds, I consign a bunch of our clothes that we didn't wear that often, or that I'm not hugely attached to. I can NOT get rid of things easily. I am holding on to TONS of my favorite girl and boy clothes for when we have another baby on down the line. Yet, there are things that I know I can re-sell now that don't pull at my heartstrings too badly.

This is what my closets look like. Pretty embarrassing.


All that stuff at the top is stuff that I am going to consign or donate.


Here are some things I've already started hanging and pricing...


As I sort, I have a huge to-donate pile full of things like pj's that are starting to look really worn, or things that aren't even worth a couple of bucks. I also throw away clothes that have stains or holes.  Sometimes I'll be resourceful and make rags with them, but usually I just chunk them. Otherwise, my small house would turn into a hoarded mess. This is my best motivation for spring cleaning.


Books that aren't our favorites, or that we never get to reading because we have SO many MANY other hundreds of books all over the house, will be sold in groups like this. These always sell and help free up bookshelf space for new books : )


I price and tag my items. It takes some time, but it motivates me to clean out my closets and make a bit of extra money. I do eBay and online consignment too, but this RL way is nice because I can sell a whole lot all at once and don't have to worry about boxing/wrapping things up and shipping. Plus, I get an early shoppers pass. Big bonus for me:)



Wish me luck in cleaning out the rest of the closets over the weekend! I have my work cut out for me, but can see the cute bargains at the end of the tunnel : )

1 comment:

Lauren said...

What a great way to be resourceful. I should really look up some consignments like that in our area as I have a TON to give away including big things, like johnny jump ups and walkers. Would love to more about how yours works!