Grunge Queen Stuff Sale success

Ever had a garage sale in your apartment?

I did this past weekend.

I donate a lot of stuff to charity and hold an annual clothing swap for the gals, the leftovers of which are also donated. But I wanted to clear out a whack of nice stuff so I invited my gal pals over and sold my hoard at rock bottom prices.

I gotta say, it took hours to set and clean this up, but it was fun and worth it.

The jewellery, which I sorted into categories on my dining room table of $2, $5 and $10 (I separated each by a ribbon) was a real hit.

Some surprises: the $2 bag chair, pictured here, didn't have any takers. And I had gorgeous new BCBC and Jones New York leather purses for $10 and no one bagged 'em!

And no one was enlightened by a $5 lamp shade (do you know how expensive lamp shades are?).


The clothes were a real hit.

My gal pal Andrea happened to look fab in all the dresses that have never worked on me, like this 100 percent silk Planet dress I paid $300 for and wore once!

Next time I may do a few things differently: forget about the loonie ($1) and twoonie ( $2) knic-knac table - people looked but didn't really buy and I thought that would bring value, but I was wrong.







I also had a pile of free stuff - not as nice items, true enough - but not too many took advantage of that either.

Here's my sis trying on some Essex Made in Canada costume jewellery peals that someone else snagged! She ended up getting a fab silver-tone necklace instead, though.

My pal Parm, who took all these great photos, bagged this $2 'gold and ruby' ring that looks great with her skin tone!

All in all I think every one walked away happy, and I made a couple hundred bucks (good for the low prices I was selling stuff at) to pay down my painting (see post below).

Exhausting, but I'll definitely do again. I've even had some gals who couldn't make it ask me if there's any jewellery left!

TIPS:

I believe in good Karma so I don't sell gifts given to me, nor do I over price thrift shop goods I picked up for a few bucks.

New items that are in mint condition and still in style I priced more. My Planet dress was $60 and one suit was $20, but those were the priciest items.

In truth most of the clothing went for $5 a piece.

My man dropped off a French cake (the sweetie) and I served that with sparkling mineral water - easy peasy! Every one just wanted to shop so don't worry about feeding people much; just make sure they stay hydrated!

I scheduled it for 4 hours from 1-4. Every one came at the beginning and no one stayed or arrived past 3:30. Next time I'd make it 2-3 hours tops.

Let me know if you try this!

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Reunion outfit was second-hand!

So after obsessing about my highschool homecoming outfit for months and purchasing SEVERAL dresses, grunge queen ended up wearing a largely second-hand outfit to the first night of her big reunion....

Go figure.

It worked out pretty well. The jeans were thrifted at Stretch Thrift a few weeks ago for a mere $5.99 and they're now my fave summer jeans.

The top was given to me that day, a castoff from my very well-dressed best pal Di. Under it I wore a bodysuit I bought at Costa Blanca (column coming soon on that shop).

The necklace you may recall from my garage sale dig a few weeks ago, and the square gold-tone 1970s hoops were dug up at a thrift shop for a couple bucks.

The purse and shoes were bought new months ago.

My sis (the one that looks like me) has followed the thrifting bug too: she bought the Mexx pants she was wearing at Stretch Thrift as well for a few dollars. Her top and jacket? Let's just say Di-Di came to the rescue again, this time with a loaner.

God bless best pals for their great wardrobes.

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The Day After: Clothes Swap Clean Up

Ok, so I'm still doing dishes and it's after 2 p.m.

Look, even my kitty is exhausted.








You would be too if you woke up to this.

The bonus of a day-long prep and a day-long clean up: I've got tons of food and booze in my fridge!

A good time was had by all at the potluck/clothing swap last night. The number system for first round worked like a charm, and having bags for people was a good idea. We all got a few good pieces and we have a whack to donate to charity. The housewares stuff was off the radar though - with clothes and brand new unopened lip glosses (beware, women and lip gloss), there was just no time for candlesticks.

One of the neat decor-related outcomes of my post potluck-clothing swap clean up was the fact that I had to wash my black tablecloth right away 'cos it had food all over it.

And though this table, given to me by my ex (see Dumpster Love post), is slightly beat up, I have to say I really like the look of it without the tablecloth - it opens up the space and looks so Spring-like, especially with those drippy bohemian tulips (given to me by a friend and guest last night: the poor things froze on the way so they opened up as soon as they were in the vase).

I like the high-gloss finish on the table but am thinking a different colour may spruce it up a bit. Any suggestions?

Don't you just love the criss cross detailing on the side rim?

Excuse me, I must go finish my dishes.

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Clothing Swap in 3 Hours!

Ok, it's 50-50 for the pink chandelier, below - one resounding no, one yes (I think) ... and both from pretty stylish gents. Get yer votes in so the Grunge-Queen can end this wishy-washy hell!!

No, this pic isn't a style experiment - it's my set up for my clothing swap tonight! In a few hours I'll have 15 chicks in my one bedroom apt!! I've been doing potlucks forever - before they became hip - and sometimes I combine one with a clothing swap. It's heaps of fun - we eat well, drink well, and laugh like mad as we try clothing on and visit. An added bonus: we clean out our closets (that sometimes, for me, contain the odd thrift store mistake) and take home a few new things to refresh our wardrobes. Whatever's left (there's always a ton) is donated to a charity of our choice.

TIPS:
1). WHO: It helps that most of my pals and me are the same size. If you have a swap where there's a few people who aren't the same size, make sure you include housewares, jewellery and accessories, even makeup in the swap - one of my pals is a teacher and she gets hoards of new makeup from her kids that she's never opened! In other words, make sure there's something for everyone.

2). WHAT: Anything goes except undies and used makeup, I think. The first time I hosted one I thought some of my stuff was too junky - but the gals loved it! I go through my closet the afternoon of the swap and am pretty ruthless: if I haven't worn it for a year, chances are I'll never wear it again, so into the pile it goes. And that undie thing? It can be stretched slightly. Last year I picked up a lovely cotton spaghetti strap nightie by Robin Kay, a Canadian knitwear designer. I joked with its owner that she better not have done anything dirty in it, then I washed it and my beau at the time loved it!

3). HOW 1: Displaying masses of clothing can be hard, especially if in a small apartment like me. I'm lucky to have a brass bed: scarves hang over the head bars, pants over the lower bars, and sweaters and tops go on the main portion. I ask people to bring extra hangers and hang dresses, jackets, and nice tops across the shower bar in the bathroom - if there's room that's where we hang peoples' coats too, except you need a clear dividing line so people don't swap each others' coats by accident!!

4). HOW 2: Wine, women and clothing: you can see how things may get out of hand fast. You want every one to walk away with at least one good find, and you want it to be fair, yet fun. Since I'm having 15 gals in tonight, my plan is to let everyone sift through items as people arrive, have drinks, and visit. Once every one gets a chance to get a good gander, we'll draw numbers and have every one pick two things they want. After that, let the games begin: it'll be a free-for-all! I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

NOTE ON FAIRNESS: I'm not too hung up about who brings what, so long as every one contributes something in the form of food or drink and clothing. The point, natch, is to have fun, and that's exactly what we do!!

5). HOW 3: I get tons of big store bags in press kits (ok, and from my shopping column) so I store them up so the gals can take their new duds home in a nice bag.

Gotta go make meatloaf! If I've missed anything you'll find out tomorrow, and Lamp and Lighting Week starts Monday!

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