decision made.

after doing some research and thinking it over, i finally made my decision. i found a really great camera website that compared both the canon rebel xs and the nikon d3000 that helped me differentiate between the two cameras. i have been dreaming of a nice camera for about 4 years now, and it is so exciting to finally have one and be able to take better quality pictures. i did not buy any extra lenses; i just got the basic nikon d3000. i have a lot to learn about photography, so please bare with me as i explore the very complicated nikon world!ladies and gentlemen, the nikon d3000

let's make a deal

my first yard sale...what an experience! after hours of going through our stuff, pricing, cleaning, organizing, and advertising, the yard sale day has come and gone. my day started at 4:45 AM and then i was off to jenny's to set up for our 6 AM opening. the hunters started arriving at 5:45 and they came all day until 12:30! we loved having our friends stop by for a visit and talking with the shoppers. we met a lot of interesting people and experienced some crazy things. we had some thieves, scammers, and witnessed some interesting family dynamics. despite all of that, it was fun to see how excited the people were to be there and get great deals. it was hard at times to let great things go for next to nothing, but at the end of the day i have less to pack and money in my pocket. i am really glad that i did a lot of research on yard sales before going through this. i learned a lot of great tips that helped me to have a great first experience.

if you have never done a yard sale before, or you just want to prepare for one, here is a list of my top ten yard sale tips:

1. start planning and preparing 2-4 weeks ahead of time

2. advertise on craig's list a week before and tell everyone you know!

3. put up colorful posters around the area with arrows directing your customers {focus on what, where, when}

4. clean things and arrange them in an aesthetically pleasing way {hang clothes, use tables...people don't like digging for things on the ground}

5. get lots of change {quarters, $1, $5}

6. start early and prepare for early birds

7. keep a money bag on you or set up a paying station

8. price things 1/4 of what you paid for them to start with, but prepare yourself to "make a deal" on almost everything {if doing a multi-family yard sale, you can color code your price tags so you know who gets the money}

9. provide your shoppers with grocery bags when checking out

10. remember the goals: #1. get rid of stuff #2. make money {and don't sell anything that you will regret!}

Hope these tips help you in your next yard sale! Here are some highlights from the day:

pricing fun


lots of great finds!

half way through {9 AM}

good morning baby girl!

precious little helpers!

it definitely was worth all of the hard work! now i am a lot closer to getting a new camera. my friend sarah told me about the Nikon D3000 and how Nikon's lenses fit on all of the camera bases, so i am leaning towards Nikon now. i am going to continue researching and saving!