Spring is one of the most labor-intensive times to own a home. There’s so much to do! Your yard is springing into bloom and there’s a lot to clean up from those harsh winter months. But never fear! This home maintenance checklist will help keep you on-track and keep your home looking beautiful.
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One of the best ways to unload a large amount of junk and make a few extra bucks is to sell your wares at a local flea market (or as some call it, a swap meet). In my experience, we’ve had much more success at a flea markets than at yard sales. Yard sales require the customers to drive to your house. Yard sales don’t have as many vendors, so they don’t attract as many customers. And people also seem to want you to offer you .10 cents for everything at a yard sale.
Over the past couple of years, George and I have sold a large chunk of our earthly wares at the Raleigh Flea Market. During this time, we’ve also acquired an array of tips and tricks to the flea market game. Here’s what we’ve learned:
1. If your flea market is outside, check the weather report! People will not shop if it is raining, super cold or very windy. It is also a total bummer to sit outside in harsh elements all morning. Bad weather can also ruin your stuff. For example, if you sell books, even a little bit of rain will completely ruin your stuff. Bring tarps or a large tent even if the weather report is in your favor.
2. If your flea market takes reservations, call early in the week to book a good spot. Scope out the best spots the week before and ask for those specific spots. Look for spots near a bathroom or an entrance. These areas are higher traffic, therefore, your items are more likely to be seen.
3. Know your competition. Visit the flea market a couple of times before selling to scope out the competition. What is everyone else selling? Are their prices high or low? What can you offer that other booths may not?
4. Know your market. In the beginning, it is hard to figure out what sells, but by bringing a variety of items, you’ll be able to quickly narrow down your scope. For example, we’ve found out that vintage clothing does not sell at our flea market, but I’ve been to huge flea markets, such as the Rose Bowl, where vintage clothing sells like hotcakes.
5. You’ll want to narrow down your scope a bit, so you don’t have to haul your entire house to the flea market, but keep things diverse. We’ve had weekends where only our furniture had sold and we’ve had weekends where only small knick-nacks sold.
6. Create an appealing booth. Put your best items at the front of the booth to draw in customers. Spread items out and display them in a shop-like way. Go to the mall to get inspiration! No one likes to get on the ground to sort through junk. Put your items on tables, display clothing on racks and play music that reflects your style. Check out the picture below of our last set-up. We put our most eye-catching items towards the front of the booth. The painting of the pig drew in so many customers!
7. Price your items slightly higher than you the amount you would take. Some people at the flea market like to negotiate. Some don’t. If you see someone is hovering over an item or you can tell they may be a bit shy, let them know your low price.
8. With that being said, don’t take a price that is less than you feel comfortable with. People will always try to get something for nothing. Someone else will come along and you’ll sell that item eventually. Don’t worry too much.
9. Don’t take it personally when someone balks about the price. You know what the item is worth to you. Some people don’t see the value in it and never will. Ignore those people. When we bring George’s art out to the flea market people balk about the price and try to offer us less. The pieces are original and often take hours, if not days, to complete. We price it fairly. The end.
10. Have fun, talk to people, put on sunblock, dress in layers, bring a chair, lots of snacks and relax! Selling your old junk is easy money.
Have you ever sold at a flea market? Got any tips? Leave ’em in the comments!
love,
melanie
I like my milk heavy on the coffee. Is that how that saying goes? No? What I’m trying to say is a big glass of plain, dairy milk makes me cringe.
The first time I encountered horchatas was when I lived in L.A. I was scared to try them because I thought they were a big ol’ glass of watery milk. But we ordered one anyway and boy was I was wrong! Horchatas are refreshing, delicious and made from rice water and almond milk– which I actually enjoy. I also enjoy a little refreshing nip of rum–if you know what I’m saying.
Here’s my recipe for the perfect adult horchata.
Ingredients
Pour the rice and water into a blender. Blend the rice until it breaks up, but isn’t total mush– about 1 minute. Let rice and water stand at room temperature overnight.
The next day, strain the rice water into a pitcher. Discard the leftover rice. Whisk the almond milk, vanilla, cinnamon, maple syrup and rum into the rice water. Serve over ice.
So much more refreshing and relaxing than a glass of milk!
What is your favorite summer drink?
love,
melanie
It seems like everyone is juicing lately. I have to admit, I’ve been on a couple of juice cleanses and I absolutely hated it. Let’s be real, ya’ll. No green juice is ever better than a real bacon and egg breakfast. And to be honest, I feel better eating high protein, low carb instead of the other way around.
But George loves apple juice. He is such a little kid sometimes. And I do worry about the boy’s sugar intake. I can be a real mom sometimes. So, I was looking for a way to make a healthier, lower sugar, apple juice. Here’s what I came up with:
Ingredients
I don’t have a juicer, so I made this one in my blender. It works well, but it would be smoother if you choose to make it in a juicer.
Peel, core and cut the apples into bite-size chunks. Peel and cut up the ginger. Add the cranberry juice to the blender first, then add the apples and the ginger. Blend until smooth and pour over ice. Enjoy!
Tart and gingery! Have you ever tried a juice cleanse? Do you think it lives up to the hype?
love,
melanie
It seems like the ombre trend will never die, huh? Oh well. I love it and I’m not afraid to omber-ize everything– including my sunglasses.
Here’s the how-to:
Supplies:
Step 1 (Optional): (Enlist your husband) to drill small holes into the ends of your sunglasses. This will allow the ombre effect to be carried to the ends of the sunglasses. If you skip this step, you will just have to end the thread earlier on the sunglasses and leave the behind-the-ear-part empty. (Fancy terminology, huh?)
Step 2: Place a piece of tape sticky-side up onto the back of the glasses. This makes the process much easier because the thread won’t slide around.
Step 3: Tie a knot on the end of the of glasses closest to the eye.
Step 5: Begin neatly wrapping the thread around the sunglasses. This is where you can be creative with the process and switch up your colors.
Step 6: End the thread by neatly wrapping through the hole drilled in the end of the sunglasses. Tie a knot and dot the ends with fabric glue for extra strength.
Step 7: Repeat on the other side!
Annnnnd done! We’re ready to hit the beach!
love,
melanie
Have you ever heard of saffron lemonade? This idea blew my mind in the best way. This drink came about while I was watching the Cooking Channel and running on the treadmill at the gym. I should be embarrassed, but I’m not. No shame in my game.
Mo Rocca was on and cooking with two adorable, little Indian women. I absolutely love the flavors of Indian cooking, so I was enthralled. Before the ladies began cooking, they served Mo saffron lemonade. My head nearly exploded. I quickly typed it onto the notes on my phone and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.
I googled their recipe, (which has now been removed from their site! Boo!), but I modified their original recipe a bit since I try to watch my sugar intake. If you don’t need to watch your sugar intake, feel free to up the sugar to 1/2 a cup.
Makes 16 oz.
Squeeze the lemons, add the sugar, water and saffron, then add a handful of ice and shake. The longer you let the saffron steep in the lemonade, the stronger the flavor will be. I let mine steep about an hour and it turned a gorgeous orange color.
If you need to make this in advance, this could be refrigerated in the fridge overnight. I haven’t tried it but, I’d love to see how that flavor would develop overnight.
The flavor kind of reminded me of kombucha, but less tart. Saffron lemonade is the perfect spring drink! This would also be the perfect base for a cocktail or mocktail too.
For another spring drink, I recommend a Peach Mint Julep!
love,
melanie
I love a classic mimosa, but for brunch on Sunday I wanted to try something a bit different. So, somehow I got the zany idea to substitute grapefruit juice for orange juice. Here’s what you’ll need to recreate this bright, delicious drink.
Ingredients:
Mondays call for a cocktail, don’t you agree?
love,
melanie
Last night George and I painted eggs. We didn’t feel like spending money on dye, so we painted them with some cheap, non-toxic watercolors we had around the house. George did an amazing job, of course. He painted our faces on the eggs!
Supplies:
I kept my eggs more abstract since realism isn’t my talent.
I don’t condone eating the eggs after painting, since the watercolors aren’t technically edible, but it was nice to do something other than just sticking the eggs in some dye.
Hope you all have a relaxing holiday,
love,
melanie