STARTING a new school year! All the kids are once again at the same school. It’s fun that they span in grades from Kindergarten to Seventh, and yet all still be together and see each other off and on throughout the day.
{M} was extra excited for her first year of full time school! She has been pretty tired though, so we are careful to make sure she gets naps in on the weekend.
CELEBRATING birthdays. Both of the girls have September birthdays. We decided on a new tradition this year by taking each child out on a date, with just with mom and dad. This one on one time has been awesome and means so much more to the kids than any presents could!
The girls also were able to choose a small gift. They went for art supplies and snacks. Nice choices!
PLAYING a lot of football. Both {D} and {L} are in leagues. This is {D}’s first year of true tackle football. His real passion though is, of course, kicking! He has already had quite a few chances to kick extra points during the games, and hopes to get in a field goal or two before the season is over.
{L} is doing flag football and is learning the basic skills of the game.
In the evening, and on the weekends, Craig is busy with all three boys – outside playing two on two games. They have so much fun!
TAKING family pictures out at the new house. With the house starting to look a lot more like home, we thought it would be special to take our Fall family photos at the site.
We absolutely can not wait to live here! I’m sure we will cherish these pictures for many years to come.
This is just a glimpse at what our family has been up to. If you’d like a closer look, be sure to check out our weekly ‘mini vlogs’ on our family YouTube channel ARROW HILL FAMILY. Be well everyone!
Join me today as I share a full tour of our framed house! So much has happened since I last posted about the progress at the site, and I’m excited to show you everything!
Last we left off, on construction update no. 5, the second floor trusses were just being delivered to the site. Boy have things changed a lot since then!
PROGRESS IMAGES
Here’s a quick photo recap of all the little steps that have happened from then until now.
The large scissor trusses for the second floor were delivered. They are massive! With no dormers on the roof, they were able to get everything in place very quickly. In just a few hours they were ready to put on sheathing!
Next, the concrete for the porch was poured. They did beautiful work, and applied a broom finish. Because the posts needed to rest on the concrete, the porch floor needed to cure a bit before the next step.
They finished sheathing the front gable end and began to set up the framework for the front porch. The posts are only temporary, until the thicker cedar posts are ready to be installed.
Once the porch roof was on, it was time for the shingles! We were more than excited for this step, as our area has experienced heavy amounts of rain for most of the Fall. It was finally time to get this huge asset of ours protected from the elements!
View from the front of the house with the shingles finished, windows framed out, and temporary porch posts. We will be doing some grading so that we don’t have so many steps to the porch.
The waterproof wrap was added to the exterior, and the windows installed! This step really helped to brighten up the entire exterior of the house! Since our final siding and trim will all be white, it is fun to see it this way.
FRAMED HOUSE TOUR
While all this was happening on the outside, a ton was also going on inside the house. In fact, the inside framing process is essentially complete! The HVAC crew has started running ductwork, and the plumbers have been coordinating as well. I thought it might be fun, before all the walls are covered with drywall, to take you on a full house tour!
Below are a few pictures from the interior of the house. Scroll through to the bottom of this post for a link to the video tour, and see every nook and cranny of our future house!
View of the living/dining space
Looking toward kitchen and stairway, from the living room
Master bedroom
Mudroom/ laundry room space
View of upstairs hall space and vaulted ceiling
Girls bedroom space
Boys bedroom space
View from hallway space into boys bedroom
Basement family room
View from family room into the ping pong table space
FRAMED HOUSE VIDEO TOUR
Join me on the first full house tour of Arrow Hill Cottage!
In today’s post, I share the simple light fixtures we have chosen for our new home. The clean lines and basic color palette of these selections make them the perfect compliments for the minimalist home.
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This has been a very exciting week at Arrow Hill Cottage. The interior framing is just about complete, the house wrap is on, the windows are going in, and the mechanical duct work has started! Now is the time to begin ordering the light fixtures for each room.
Over the past few months, I have been searching various websites and stores for simple light fixtures that would complement the overall feeling we are trying to achieve with our home. Classic, clean, and minimal, with a bit of a vintage industrial vibe.
INTERIOR LIGHT FIXTURES
We will be using quite a few canned light fixtures, especially in the open spaces – such as the dining/ living room and basement family room. However, in many of the other rooms there will be a need for various types of task lighting.
If you are interested in any of the light fixtures we have chosen for our home, be sure to click on the links below each picture!
Flush Mount Ceiling Fixture
This ceiling hugging fixture has sleek lines, and gives off a good amount of light. We will likely install in the downstairs office and possibly in the upstairs mudroom/ back entry space.
In rooms where we want a bit of an upgraded look, we will be placing these semi-flush mount fixtures. The master bedroom will have one, as will the main floor powder room.
We searched for a special light fixture to be used above our dining room table. This eight light pendant fixture is the perfect fit for what we were looking for. The linear design will mirror the long farmhouse style table we will be building custom, from trees felled on our property.
In the master, basement and upstairs bathrooms, this simple wall pendant will give just enough character. Using the same light fixtures in multiple rooms will help keep the continuity throughout the house.
This pendant will be perfect, hanging above our large cast iron sink in the kitchen. In such a clean and minimalist space, this accent will really shine.
With the vaulted ceilings upstairs, we will be using larger pendants. These farmhouse style industrial pendants have long cords, which will bring the light lower into the room – allowing for better coverage.
Three identical pendants will be set upstairs. One for each bedroom, and one for the hallway space.
In each of the boys sleeping nooks, they will have small reading lights as well. The multi-directional quality of these trumpet style lamps is really nice.
In the closets, we will be using smaller wall mounted fixtures. This is a bit of a splurge perhaps, as some of the closets really don’t need any lighting. However, the larger closets in the kid’s rooms will benefit from the extra illumination – especially in the dark storage space behind their hanging rods!
The light fixtures for the exterior of the house will follow the same style as the interior of the house. There are two different styles we are going to incorporate. Barn lights, which will be placed in feature positions – above the front door and above the garage doors.
Garage sales are a lot of work, but they can also be quite profitable! Read on for tips on hosting a successful garage sale and maximizing the profit from items you no longer need.
Our family has been busy the last nine months decluttering our rental house, in preparation for our big move to our forever home, Arrow Hill Cottage. Through this process, we have come across many items that, although in great shape and of good quality, we don’t plan to bring with us when we move.
Faced with the decision of what to do with these unwanted items, we have a few options. Throwing, donating, or selling. While there were a few broken things that made their way to the trash bin, ultimately we much preferred to get the quality merchandise into the hands of people who could use it.
IS A GARAGE SALE RIGHT FOR YOU?
There are a variety of reasons you might question if a garage sale is your best option. Weighing the pros and cons can help you make the decision more easily. Start by asking yourself the following questions:
Do I have enough to sell?
If you have only a couple boxes of items to sell, it may not be worth the hassle to set up a sale. Consider instead placing an ad on social media with descriptions and pictures of the items you have available. You may have better luck pin-pointing buyers in this fashion.
Are my items current?
Decluttering storage closets and other rarely looked at spaces in your home may yield items that are many years old. Although clothing and home decor styles do tend to eventually cycle back around, it is possible that the items you have been holding onto are no longer desirable to others at the current point in time. If so, donating might be your best option.
Is my location appropriate?
You might have a house-full of good, quality items. But, with a poor sale location, you could struggle to find paying customers. A garage sale set at a remote country house off of a gravel road might not be as successful as one in a quiet city neighborhood, for example.
PREPARING FOR A GARAGE SALE
If you answered ‘yes’ to the above three questions, chances are you will be able to have a successful garage sale! With the proper preparations, your sale can be the go-to place for good deals.
Months before the sale
Begin sorting through your sale items early. We found it helpful to declutter our entire home before our sale. Every room, closet, and cupboard was scoured. This ensured that everything we wanted to sell was available to our customers. And once these items were out of our house, we knew they wouldn’t be coming back in!
Ask relatives or friends if they would like to go in on the sale with you. Sometimes, advertising a ‘multi-family’ sale can draw a larger crowd.
The week before the sale
Allow yourself enough time to clean and organize your garage in preparation. Take extra care to cover any items that are not going to be included, to avoid sale-day confusion from customers.
Borrow long tables if needed. The more organized the setup is, the easier it will be for people to find the things they might be looking for.
Price the merchandise. In the past, I have hosted fundraiser garage sales, where none of the items for sale had price tags. Customers were asked to simply make a donation of any amount. If you have a specific cause that people feel passionate about donating toward, you may do well without price tags. However, as a general rule, most shoppers prefer to know upfront how much you expect for each item. Price tags can help customers avoid confusion.
Think about advertising. If you plan to place an ad in a local newspaper or shoppers guide, be sure to contact them early enough. One week ahead of the sale is usually sufficient.
The day before the sale
Prepare the money box. Starting the day with sufficient change is a good idea. For our sale, we used the guidelines from bizfluent to set up our cash box. Within the first two hours of the sale, we were able to take our ‘seed money’ out of the box, for safe keeping.
Create clear signage. It’s a good idea, even if you took out an ad in the local paper, to place signage the day of the sale. They can help direct customers who might be looking for your sale, and also draw in a few others! The night before the big day is the perfect time to whip up those signs. Be sure to use large, block letters that can be clearly read from cars driving by. Place them at popular intersections, and along the road. Adding streamers and balloons can also be effective!
Consider supplemental advertising. If your community or neighborhood has a way to digitally advertise, such as through a group Facebook page, or Craigslist, take advantage of the free publicity. At least half of the traffic to our garage sale came from an ad I posted on Facebook Marketplace the night before.
EXTRA GARAGE SALE TIPS
Through the years, we have hosted quite a few garage sales. Some more successful than others. These are the things we have learned that have helped us run a smooth and successful sale.
Set a goal
If your family has a specific goal that the garage sale proceeds will go toward, it may motivate everyone to declutter as much as possible. The money earned from our latest garage sale will be applied toward a sectional sofa for our new home’s family room. Anticipating a family movie night together was a huge motivator for all of us.
Price in quarter increments
It can be stressful trying to make change for a fifteen cent item. Speed up the process by pricing everything with the basic quarter in mind. Twenty-five cents per book, or four for a dollar, for example. It’s easy for the customer, and easier for the cashier!
Allow bulk deals
If you have a large amount of any one type of item, consider allowing a bulk deal. We have had a lot of luck selling bags of clothing for three dollars apiece. Knowing they can buy each piece of clothing for fifty cents, OR spend three dollars on an entire bag, customers might choose to bring home more.
Last minute sales
For the last hour of so the sale, when you want to get the garage cleaned out, allow greater discounts. Everything half priced or ‘make an offer’ are a couple of ideas that have worked well for us.
After the sale
Once the garage sale has ended, you may find yourself with quite a bit remaining. I will usually try to sell the high quality items through Facebook Marketplace. Remaining items can then be donated, or offered for free curb-side.
OUR CLUTTER TO CASH TRANSFORMATION
Our most recent garage sale was a major success. With the clutter now out of our house, and the cash in our pockets, we are ready for our move! Watch the video to find out how much we earned!
TIPS FROM OTHERS
Everyone has different ideas about how to plan for and run the best garage sale. Consider checking out the tips from these other bloggers for more ideas on how to cash in on your clutter.
Girls bedroom space
