YARD SALE AHEAD

Ever since I heard the word frugalista I knew that it described me.  I love a good bargin.  I love yard sales. They make me happy. 

I am becoming quite the yard sale queen. 

Some things to consider if contemplating a yard sale.



1. WHEN TO HAVE A YARD/GARAGE  SALE

Right after payday is the most profitable.  People have just cashed thier paychecks and think that they have extra to spend.  A bad  time to have a yard sale is right before payday when everyone thinks they are broke. Some areas/places in the country this is really important.

2. LOCATION

If you live in an home that is hard to find or your home is far off the beaten path, a sale at your place may not be the best idea. Find a freind with a better location.  You could even knock on doors in a good location and see if someone would be willing to let you yard sale there.  You never know until you ask

3.  SIGNS
A few well placed signs can guide people to your sale.  Make sure the signs are readable from a distance. People will not stop and take time to read a sign, but an easily readable sign with an arrow will do.  Just point me in the right direction. Do a practice drive by. Did you see the sign? Could you read it? Does it do the job?

4. BE VISIABLE/ EASILY FOUND
I have driven right on by past sales even when  I had the address and was looking  for them. They were hidden from view of the street.  Have items out where people can see that you are having a yard sale.  A big sign that says "YARD SALE HERE" and a some balloons can do the trick. make sure that people can find you.

5. BE ORGANIZED

If I pass a yard sale that looks like a hurricane blew through and deposited a buch of junk, I am less likely to spend any real time looking. If it looks like you cleaned out the attic or garage and just dumped it into a pile. I am not that interested.  Clean up your items. Dust off the cobwebs and wipe off the dirt. Organize like things together. Toys in one area, tools in another etc. Get things up off the ground. Ask your neighbors if they have some tables you can use, or create some. An old door thrown over a couple of sawhorses for example. A makeshift clothes rack made from an old broom handle and two stepladders works wonders. Get stuff out so that people can see what you have for sale. People are not real intersted in digging through big boxes or totes to see what is in it.


6. DO SOME RESEARCH

find out things like:  Where to advertize online?  Where are the hot spots to place your signs? Where do people look for yard sales?  What is the going rate for items similar to what you will be selling?  When do yard sales in your area usally start?  Is your area prone to early birds?  Attend a few yard sales in your area. Observe what goes on there.


If you want a sucessful yard sale you have to put in at least a little bit of effort.    With a bit of effort you can have a very sucessful sale. 

How we made three meals out of a couple of steaks

Being frugal is something that comes a bit natural to me. I love a good bargin expecially when it comes to the grocery store. Recently I bought some good steaks for a fabulous price.  I wanted to make  good use of them. So I was able to create three meals from these steaks.

1. Steak dinner.  We had a really nice steak dinner with some freinds.  I seasoned up the steaks and grilled them outside. I cooked more steak than we really needed. It made it look and feel like we had an abundance of food, and everyone was able to have thier fill. I have an abundance of good things in life, and I want others to feel of that. We were able to sit out back and enjoy the nice weather at the picnic table that my husband built out of scrap wood.  It was enjoyable.



My beef stroganoff as it was being finished

  2.Beef Stroganoff.  From those leftover steaks I was able to create a beef stroganoff dinner. (excuse the bad picture it does not do the food justice)  It was a good way to use up the mushrooms and sour cream in my fridge. My kids and husband ate it up.  We made a big pot so that there was enough leftover for meal #3

3. Beef noodle soup. The leftover stroganoff became the base for a nice lunch of beef noodle soup.  My kids love my soups. Soups are so easy to make with many kinds of leftovers in the fridge. I once worked in a place that any leftovers (and I mean any) went into the soup pot.  To me that is disgusting. I am not that kind of a cook.  I am careful about what leftovers go together.  With time I have become quite good at it. My son who is 6 is learning to cook with me.  He likes to create soups. We talk about what would go good together.  He will ask "should we put this in?" we will look at it, smell it, sometimes taste it; then decide if the item will go in the soup.  It is a fun learning experience with him.

We create soups quite often, my children love them and they are a frugal way to feed a family.  You can take a few items and stretch them to fill hungry tummies. My biggest problem is that when I make soup I serve it hot. The kids hate waiting for soup to cool. We have started putting frozen vegetables in the kids soup to cool it down.They love it!  My kids now think that every bowl of soup should have an extra serving of vegetables added from the freezer.

This is how we do and who we are.  It is something that we have found that works for us.Take from it what you will. Being able to create meals from leftovers is a simple thing for us. What is simple to one person may not be so for another.  To each their own.  For me, Freezer meals do not make sense. It does not work for me and my world. Throwing leftovers into soup makes more sense for us. Find out what works for you;  Find your own path to that place of simple abundance.

PS. For you that are interested in finding out if freezer cooking may be of use to you and your family you can check out money saving mom's freezer cooking 101