Time Saving Tips

I hope everyone had a great weekend. If your weekend was anything like mine you were  slammed with kids activities, house work and other time consuming things. So working on your consignment items was probably the last thing on your mind. In the spirit of being busy I have decided we will focus on some of my never fail  time saving tips.  Here's what I personally do to save time and to make consigning easier!

1. Get all the items you wish to consign together in one place.  I keep totes in my hall closet labeled with the For Every Season sale names (Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter).  So when I am reorganizing a room or changing out my kids’ clothes (when seasons change), I can place the items I know I will be selling into the correct tote. This way I will not have to sort through the items again when it is time to start tagging.  I also do a quick spot/tear/wear inspection and start a donate pile so I do not to take up precious space in my sale closet. If I think a spot treatment or an extra wash/wiping down will fix the issue I take care of it then rather than waiting until I am tagging and pressed for time.
   You can view a list of accepted items for the Winter Sale HERE.
2. Keep all sale supplies in one place.  I also keep these items in my hall closet next to my sale totes.  I have a smaller tote I use to keep all the sale supplies I will need together.  Think of how much time you would waste if you were looking for your hole punch or the twine you need to tie an item together if they were scattered around the house. I also keep a list of items I use regularly inside this tote and update as needed.
3. When it is time to start your tagging, organize your items.  If you followed my advice in step one you are ready to start in minutes.  I start by grabbing my seasonal and supply tote and find a comfortable area to start working. I then take all of the items from my tote and separate them by like items and then by size (clothing/shoes/accessories).  If you are going to make sets/outfits I do so at this time. By separating my items it makes it easier when I use the computer system to enter my tag information.  I enter all of the similar items before moving on to the next group.  I do this because the computer system drop down box will stay on the same item category/size until you change it. (Ex. I enter all girls’ clothing size 6 before changing to size 7 or moving on to shoes).  If the items were not in order I would continually be changing the item description and size every time I entered an item therefore wasting valuable time.
   You can view tagging information HERE.
4. Choose a tagging option that works best for you.   Once you have entered your items and printed your tags the next step is to hang/package your items and attach the tag. With For Every Season you have the option of hole punching the tags and applying them with safety pins/twine or using a tagging gun. Until recently I have always used the hole punch/safety pin method but have just started to really enjoy using the tagging gun.  I found one on Amazon for $10.00 and it does seem to save me some time and I believe will also save me a few dollars in supplies.
   You can view information on attaching tags to consignment items HERE.
   You can watch How to Videos on the website HERE.
5. Pack like items together for drop off. Now that all my items are tagged, it’s time to get ready for drop off. To save myself time at drop off I pack up all the like items together in paper boxes. This allows me to drop the boxes off and not have to wait around or remember to pick up my totes before leaving. I also keep all my clothing together by size so once the items have been inspected I can place them on the rack and be out of there quickly. 

  Hopefully these tips will help save you some time. If there are any tips that work for you that I am not trying, please let me know. I can always use a few extra minutes in my day! Next week I will give you my tips that will help you make more money on your items. Hope you will stop by.