Children's Resale Shops

Resale shops not only are great places to look for a bargain, but they also offer a way to make some extra cash while simultaneously cleaning out your closets! Children outgrow clothes so fast that it's easy to end up with bags of things that no longer fit, as well as toys and books that are no longer used. Instead of letting these unused items accumulate, why not try taking them to a local resale shop? Some of the items in highest demand, according to the resale chain Once Upon A Child, are clothing, specifically things like outerwear, costumes, and sleepwear, all kinds of electronic and activity toys, puzzles, furniture and bedroom equipment like changing tables, and other products like strollers and swings. Gather up your excess and outgrown children's items and clean out your home by visiting one of several Ann Arbor area resale shops:

-Once Upon A Child; with locations at 4559 Washtenaw Ave. in Ann Arbor and 5804 N. Sheldon Drive in Clinton. This chain specializes in the resale of brand-name products, all of which are screened for safety and quality before resale. Visit their website at http://www.onceuponachild.com/ for store hours and more information.


-Children's Orchard; located in the Colonnade shopping center on 887 West Eisenhower Pkwy., in Ann Arbor. Children's Orchard offers a "M.O.M.S Club," where you can sign up to receive promotions, coupons, and other discounts for buying and selling items at their store. They also have an online store on their website at http://www.childorchstore.com/default.asp


- Grow With Me; a local Ann Arbor "resale boutique" at 2521 Jackson Ave. (in the Westgate shopping plaza). This shop offers three different options for selling items (outright cash payment, store credit at 30% more than the outright cash value, or consignment payment of 40-50% of the selling price) on the days they buy goods (Tuesday - Saturday, 11 am to 4 pm). More information can be found on their website at http://www.growwithme123.com/index.html.

Be sure to check out each shop's specific guidelines for resale online before rounding up your items!

Free Shredding Event

In an effort to help protect members from identity fraud, the University of Michigan Credit Union is hosting a free shredding day on Saturday, July 24, 2010, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Not only is this a great opportunity to ensure that personal information is recycled safely and securely, but it also affords you with an excellent excuse to de-clutter your filing cabinets or home office.

The event will be held at the credit union branch at 4440 Jackson Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Members are allowed up to six bags of papers to be shredded on site. For more information please visit the UM Credit Union's website.

Submitted by Ms. Emily Everard, UM Student

Radical Idea for Clutter

I received a thank you note from a recent seminar attendee with a blog post from zenhabits attached. The blog talks about packaging away your clutter to create a clean slate. It sounds like a great idea in theory, the only trouble is that most folks probably never get to the boxes full of clutter that they packed away.

In fact, the seminar attendee noted that they essentially packed up the clutter when they moved 7 years ago and the boxes still sit in their basement "hidden by new clutter". In my opinion the zenhabits approach just delays the decision making process. Call it clutter procrastination.

Dexter Donations

Once again, St. Joseph Church in Dexter, Michigan will be holding their annual flea market July 8~10, 2010. This is a great opportunity to donate your unloved treasures. You can drop off items at the Village Parish Center until July 3, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

To learn more about what types of items the church is looking for contact Ms. Carol Klutchko at 734-663-0864.

Specials for Facebook Fans

I am now offering specials on last minute appointments through the Simply Organized Life Facebook page. Check out this week's special and become a fan by clicking on "like" in Facebook.

Hoarding

These days whenever I tell folks that I am a professional organizer, they have to ask me about the A&E show Hoarders. Generally, my clients are just regular folks with busy lives and basic levels of clutter (basement overflow, an unusable spare room or just an office with too much paper).

In May there was a very good interview with hoarding expert, Dr. Randy Frost, on NPR's Science Friday. Dr. Frost mentioned the OCD Foundation as a good place to find help in the form of therapists.

On a personal note, I only work with true hoarders under the supervision of a licensed therapist and I have only seen about 15 minutes of the A&E show.

AD/HD Conference

Every year Oakland Community College in Farmington Hills, Michigan hosts the Annual Michael Golds Memorial AD/HD Conference. This year's conference will be held on Friday, September 24, 2010. If you are interested, save the date and look for more information.

Pillows & Bedding

A seminar attendee recently e-mailed me to ask what to do with old pillows. Unfortunately, charities cannot take old pillows due to health concerns and Recycle Ann Arbor is not able to recycle pillows either. It is sad to say, but old pillows are destined for the trash.

In trying to help the seminar participant find a home (besides the garbage) for her old pillows, I contacted the Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV) thinking that they might be able to use pillows for the animals.

Kelly Schwartz, HSHV's Director of Volunteer Programs & Operational Support, explained that pillows, sleeping bags or comforters cannot be used by the Humane Society because "they are difficult to wash and disease amongst the animals is a concern for us." She went on to say that HSHV has a need for lots of other gently used and new items. Currently they urgently need towels and small blankets.

Like many local charities HSHV has a "wish list" posted on-line with up to date needs.

NAPO 2010 Conference

Here I am on April 23, 2010 at the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) Conference in Columbus, Ohio. I had a great time reconnecting with fellow organizers and learning new techniques. My husband also had a great time with the kids at the Columbus Zoo (thank God he didn't loose them!).

Check out the reusable grocery bag that was this year's freebie bag. I love it. It is already on the passenger seat of my car, so I don't forget to use it when I am out and about. If you see me shopping around Ann Arbor, Michigan with this bag, please stop and say "hello".

I have more photos posted on Simply Organized Life's Facebook page. Click on "Like" for more frequent quick tips.

Facebook and Twitter

I held out for a long time, fearing that Facebook and Twitter would be a huge drain on my time. However, I also felt I might be missing out on something. Look for Simply Organized Life on Facebook and SimpOrgLife on Twitter to keep up with the latest news. During slow times, I will post limited time discounts for Facebook Fans and Twitter Followers.

If anyone knows how to link this blog to my Facebook and Twitter accounts, please leave a comment (note: all anonymous comments will be rejected).

An Organized Closet

I really enjoy helping clients, especially women, organize their clothes closets. An organized closet can save a lot of time in the morning rush. Having only the clothes that fit correctly and make you feel good can do wonders for self esteem too.

I always try to practice what I preach, so I was so delighted when Amy Cattell of Amy's Elegance by Design came to my home last Saturday to pick up a few items for altering. Amy's main business is designing and creating custom wedding gowns, but she also does a great job with alterations. She is currently working on altering items for myself, my husband and my mom.

When deciding which items to alter, I focus on quality articles of clothing that have classic looks and will remain in style a long time. Items that I may never wear again can be donated.

Article on Hiring an Organizer

There is a great article in today's Wall Street Journal on hiring an organizer.

Just for Fun

It's Friday and I finally finished preparing for our annual tax visit to our CPA. The appointment was delayed two weeks due to sick kids, sick parents and my husband traveling on business. We still have plenty of time before April 15th, so all is good.

For fun this afternoon (yes, my life is pretty simple) I checked out a blog I had read about in a parenting magazine. This woman makes little bento boxes for her son every day. Since I lived in Japan, I was hoping for something a bit more Japanese (loosely translated, bento means "lunch box" in Japanese), but it's all fun and good. As for the lady's other posts and photos of her household, it looks like she could use the help of an organizer, especially since several of her 2010 goals include organizing projects.

Exciting Announcement

Carolyn is now a NAPO Golden Circle Member!

As of today, I am now a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers' (NAPO) Golden Circle. For more on this topic, sign up for my monthly e-newsletter by March 1, 2010.

Selling on Craig's List

For those of you that read my last posting on "Letting Go of Children's Clothes" I am happy to report that I sold my remaining kids' clothes on Craig's List within the day I posted. The most difficult part was finding a place and time to meet the buyer, but the whole thing went smoothly. I have sold other items on my local Craig's List and have a few tips if you are looking to let go of your things this way and earn a little cash.

• Always include a photo. When looking to buy on Craig's List, I won't even click on the item unless there is a photo.

• Set up your photos on a clean uncluttered surface (see photo at right). If the background looks cluttered or dirty, I won't consider an item.

• Arrange to meet the buyer in a public place. Let's face it, there are weirdos out there and this goes for buyers and sellers.

• Ask for cash and list at a reasonable price (similar to a garage sale). Expect buyers to want to negotiate. I think of Craig's List as an easy way to get rid of stuff that has some value, but if I have something really valuable or collectible, I will turn to eBay.

Happy decluttering!

Letting Go of Kids' Clothes

Since becoming the parent of two kids, I have been surprised at how hard it is to let go of some of my children's old clothes. However, I do let go and as a little consolation for myself I take a photo of favorite outfits on the kids as they start to outgrow them.

Lately, my favorite place to buy (and sell) children's clothing is the Grow With Me Resale Boutique in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I really try to practice what I preach and minimize the number of clothes I buy for my kids. Even though I do not buy or sell much at Grow With Me, they are always friendly and courteous. I should note that they are VERY picky with what they buy, but the stuff they sell is similarly priced and much nicer than the Children's Orchard store in Ann Arbor. Many of the items even have the original tags attached.

Recently I sold (or rather exchanged, because I turned around and bought some things with my store credit) some of my kids' clothes to Grow With Me. They took maybe half of the stuff I brought in and gave me a small store credit. It was easy.

I also recently took some children's clothing to Children's Orchard, as I had sold some maternity clothing to them some time ago. They didn't take ANYTHING and after I got home, I discovered they had lost a couple of small items. When I called the next morning, the lady at Children's Orchard remembered me, but couldn't find the items. She said small things get lost in the shuffle and either donated or tossed. So much for being organized.

So now, after both a good and bad experience with children's resale, I am going to try to sell the remainder of my outgrown kids' clothes on Ann Arbor's Craig's List and see what happens. I can always donate them to Purple Heart or Faith in Action. Next time I will skip the trip to Children's Orchard.

Winter Adult Outerwear Needed

Now is a great time to take a look at your coat closet and find out what you are really wearing. Wash or dry clean those coats that need freshening up, especially out of season coats that can be stored elsewhere during the off season.

While you are at it pick out the coats that you no longer wear to donate. Currently Ann Arbor's St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop is seeking out adult sized winter coats among the items they normally accept.

Donate Card Tables

Ann Arbor Rec & Ed is looking for square folding card tables to use for its bridge class. If you have a table that you no longer need, please contact Linda at 734-994-2300 extension 53203 to learn more. Your donation is tax deductible through the Ann Arbor Public Schools.

Keeping Resolutions

There was a great article on keeping resolutions in the December 30th Wall Street Journal. Of course, I particularly liked the example of the woman who resolved to get organized. She is quoted as saying "my life is so much easier" now that she is organized. I couldn't have said it better.

Organizing Medical Paperwork

Today one of my children went to the dentist for the first time. Thanks to Dr. Rice, Mickey, Kathy and Pam for making it such a wonderful experience for both of us!



Along with a visit to the dentist or doctor comes paperwork and sometimes lots of it! Here's what I do to organize the medical paperwork for my family:



1) Each family member has a three ring binder with their name on the spine. Mine is titled "Carolyn Health Care" and is stored alongside my husband's and children's binders.


2) We are basically healthy so one binder is sufficient for our medical, dental and vision records. I like to use Avery's write-on dividers that can be erased and reused, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Here are a couple of photos of my child's binder.


If you visit multiple doctor's or have a lot of medical paperwork, you might need several divider tabs or a binder for each doctor.


3) I organize the papers in reverse chronological order according to the date of the office visit with the dates highlighted in yellow. Sometimes the insurance companies will send explanation of benefit (EOB) paperwork with several visits on one sheet. In that case, I just take a copy or make a note of the coverage on the medical provider's paperwork.