Thursday, July 19, 2012

Thrifting and Reselling Storage: Where Do You Store Your Scores?


As a reseller your abode will occasionally mimic the soul crushing squalor seen on Hoarders. You're not alone, it's part of the process. As a reseller you can never stop taking in more merchandise, and it's tough to accommodate, especially if you're an apartment dweller! After I happily took in my best friend as a roommate it took me days to have a liveable home again! (The boxes! They were everywhere. Everywhere!)


The best solution I could come up with were storage boxes in my ample-sized closet and open storage in my living room. From here I'm going to go through each bin and separate unsold wares into Etsy, eBay, Donate, and Antique Store categories and document each one. It's a lot of work, and I'll be sure to do this one box at a time so my home doesn't get overwhelmed and messy again.

Almost all of the books in the tall pine bookshelf are books I'm selling.

I tried having my own "office/studio" where I lined shelves with my wares and kept craft supplies accessible, but that wasn't working for me. I'm feeling more creative and working better with a combined dining room/work space, it keeps me inspired and productive. There's better energy this way.


I'm enjoying the combination of vintage merchandise on display and vintage merchandise stored away. I'm going to keep working at it every day until I find the perfect balance in this organization game. Consider this a sincere warning from the inside as a reseller and/or artist, there's no avoiding the occasional monstrous disaster mess. At least every day is a new opportunity to practice slaying the mess-beast!

Where and How do you store your vintage and thrift finds?
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38 comments:

  1. I currently have two garages full of shelving, bins, boxes, and packing supplies. I also have taken up every available space in our apartment with shelves and bins.

    I grew up in very cluttered surroundings and my normal tendency is to have very clean, organized surroundings. The clutter/storage part of reselling has been one of the hardest parts for me. There are times when I have a whole dining room full of stuff to put away after a day of thrifting that I really just want to pack it all up and take it to Goodwill and reclaim my space.

    I love your space and organization! Very cool!

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    1. Thanks for sharing Adrienne. My whole apartment is finally super clean and box-free, it's so much more relaxing. Sanity restored! I am going to work on getting the bins in the closet labeled and better organized, it's a mess in each bin!

      Do you rent two garages as an apartment dweller?

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  2. I keep most of my stash in my garage on accessible shelves and some overflow in bins....I hate having things boxed away - I keep thinking, out of sight/out of mind and out of my head as far as plucking items each week to sell in my booth. We still park my truck and our bicycles in the garage so it makes it a little tight at times. Lately, I've come to storing clean and priced items in neat little piles in an open area in my dining room. When I make my weekly delivery I simply go to that pile first, package and inventory them and away I go. I also think it helps that I keep a weekly buying list of items I have found and the prices I have paid. Sometimes I forget that I bought that "Large Metal Wheel" for $5.00 because I've stashed it away. Seeing it on my list recalls my memory and when the time is right I go pull that item, clean it, price it and away I go. I hate having clutter and can only stand it for so long....keeps me awake at night....seriously!

    Your apartment looks great Van.....you've been hard at work!

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    1. Clutter keeps me awake at night too, it's maddening! I like your system, I can't feasibly keep my things on shelves because there's too much of it, but I like this idea of neat piles in the dining room for making easy deliveries!

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  3. Ugh where to store it all...it is always a challenge. It is sort of like fighting with your space and then warring with yourself because you ALMOST want to say screw it I'm dropping this stuff off at Goodwill. But....I pretty much do the something similar but instead of bins I use milk crates. Each crate is labeled with a number and stacked against a wall about six crates high. I have an inventory spreadsheet of all my stock and it is notated with what bin it is in...so I can always find it......Allegedly :/

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    1. That's the step I'm trying to get to next, detailed inventory so I can't find the wares when they sell before I set up shop. Meep!

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  4. my stuff is pretty much piled in the dining room, and my husband's ebay stuff is piled in the living room. it drives me CRAZY! i've got to get our front room organized (still some boxes from when we moved! so we can make ourselves a little office!

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    1. I feel your pain. The boxes in my living room and bedroom drove me crazy for a about a month while I got things into order. Good luck getting things organized, Rae!

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  5. HahaHoarders -is- soul crushing,isn't it?

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    1. Yes! I can say from experience having lived like one for a while ;) hahaha, not quite as bad but it felt like it.

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  6. I try to only buy tiny things that I think are awesome - I buy for people with my taste. We recently bought a house with a basement (!) that needs some work, so I put things down in the basement before they are listed. after they are listed, they go on open shelving in the living room where I can admire them and live with them for a little while!

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    1. That too is a good idea I need to keep in mind, hmmm... :)

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  7. I can SO relate to this. As I'm more of an Etsy seller, things can be "in stock" for a while before they sell. Sometimes by the time they do sell, I can't even remember where they are. That probably says sad things about my shop sales but hey, honesty. Mine are in closets in bins like yours. And in the garage in bins. I keep wanting to take photos of what's in each one and put the photos on the sides of the bins but that would be a huge undertaking. So meh...

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    1. It'll be nuts, but I guess I'll force myself to do the same thing, take inventory and label thoroughly! Thanks for being honest and sharing your storage situation.

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    2. Photos take too much time. I have some stuff stored in bins. I tape a piece of paper on the outside and note what is inside. It helps a lot.

      Store some pens right next to those boxes. That way there is no excuse for forgetting to write down that newly stored item .

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    3. The other thing you can do is group according to subject (kitchen, bedroom, kitschy, robots, wood) and then everything for that goes in that bin. I do that with my holiday stuff, because I can't display it year round.

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    4. I have my bins organized according to groups as well. I'll keep working at it until it's all documented and pristine :P

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  8. Your space organization looks amazing, Van!

    I'm ever-evolving my systems. I have a guest room with floor to ceiling bookshelves filled on 2 walls + the closet for online sellables. (and the packaging takes up SO much room!)

    My creative stuff is out of control in another room - we're doing some hard decluttering this summer - I can't function with all this STUFF around!

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    1. It is indeed a constant evolution. I need a find a label maker at a thrift store and get pedantic about it all...

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  9. I'm lucky to have a few storage and workspaces around home. One of our bedrooms is used as an office and I use the built in wardrobes as storage for vintage lothing finds fr resale. I have a corner in our garage which is my creative space a d I have a bookcase for books and other odds and ends for resale, and sutucases under my dek filled with things. Then finally I have my old rolltop desk in our dining/family area which is my blogging, writing, studying area, which I fill with inspirational stuff and favorite vintage pieces.

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    1. Lucky lucky indeed! Got pictures of these lovely workspaces to share? :)

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    2. I believe I do, I could share.
      Sorry about my above comment littered with errors. One should never trust iPad auto correct or themselves in the wee hours......go back to bed Trudie.

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  10. Most of it is in the dining room. It is a horrible horrible mess. I don't want to talk about it. LOL

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    1. I feeel your pain. My home was madness until recently. ;) I like working in my dining room too, which is why I went with the natural flow and made that my workspace.

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  11. I have no garage, and no real extra rooms for storage in my house so my bedroom sadly is part of my storage. However, I finally rented a storage unit and have moved a large amount of my non-listed wares to the storage unit. It's scary to think of how much stuff I have and yet to list!

    I have bins but I don't use them since I'm worried I'll place an item in there and forget where it's at. So right now, all my listed merchandise are on shelves in my office, fairly organized and readily accessible.

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    1. I feel you with no garage and no extra room. Good thing I don't have enough clothes to fill the large closet in my bedroom.

      I'm scared to rent a storage shed, it was an unpleasant experience driving to and fro when I had one temporarily before a move.

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  12. All over the *$#%ing place! I seriously have to get more organized.

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    1. I feel ya, Pam. I was there, it was maddening ;p Good luck, you'll get it all together...for your sanity!

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  13. I just found your blog a few days ago and absolutely love it! At this moment I don't even recall what exactly I was looking for information on when I came across it, but the 1st thing I read was the entry on how you make your own price tags. Loved the idea and have been busy working on that! I got my 1st booth back in November with the main intention of selling a ton of depression glass that I have collected over the years. As I took note of what others were selling and talked to other vendors I began adding a lot of different things and have "up-sized" my booth twice. Sales have been pretty decent, but I've had some major health issues that kept me from doing much the past few months, but I'm run and on the go again and anxious to spruce up my booth, spend time rotating the stock and hitting garage sales, flea markets & estate sales to acquire more! I love the whole idea of the hunt, the find & the sale!! I have quite a bit of clutter in a couple of rooms now and it will only get worse as I get out and about, so this was a very helpful post. Your blog is awesome and I look forward to reading more helpful tips from you and your readers!

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    1. I really appreciate this comment, thank you! I'm glad the blog has inspired and helped you :) !

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