Monday, February 28, 2011

Top Tips from Helen Preston

Helen Preston with Rise and Organize shared some great tips for organizing your jewelry with the space that you have. If you missed the workshops, here are a few easy tips that she wanted to leave you with:

1. Give the jewelry you wear most often the prime location - and the same location - every time you take it off.
2. Keep everything in the same area so you don't have to check twenty places for where it "might" be.
3. Determine which approach works best for you: wall, drawer, or surface. Organize accordingly.

See more of Helen's tips on her website: http://www.riseandorganize.com/

Friday, February 25, 2011

Clean and sleek or shabby chic?

My house is divided in many ways: politics, favorite sports teams, etc. We also stand on opposite sides of the line when it comes to decor. I'm a fan of rustic, shabby chic, weathered pieces that look like they have a story to tell. My husband prefers clean lines and 90 degree angles. We're learning to blend and bend our different tastes, but we both loved these new arrivals that just came into the store. Check out pictures below!






New Store Hours beginning in March!

Beginning March 1st, Finders Keepers Furnishings will have a new schedule, and we think you're gonna like it! It's easier to remember, and it gives you more time to do what you love: save money, make money, and shop smart.

New Hours:
Sunday 12pm - 5pm
Monday 10am - 5pm
Tuesday 10am - 7pm
Wednesday 10am - 7pm
Thursday 10am - 7pm
Friday 10am - 7pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm

p.s. Did you know that we have a standard markdown schedule? Once an item has been with us for 26 days, we reduce the price by 25%. Once an item has been with us for 50 days, it is marked to HALF OFF the original price! How do you know how long an item has been in the store? We put the arrival date right on the price tag! Hey, we don't believe in keeping secrets from our friends like you!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Mix + Match: different ways to wear your jackets

Jackets are a great, versatile staple to have in your wardrobe. The can top jeans, skirts, slacks, and dresses - and can either dress them up or dress them down. A nude/neutral tone jacket is a key piece for any closet! Check out Jamilla's three easy ensembles for this "Look of the Week!"

(Outfit details, from left to right)
1. Red skirt: Size 10, Banana Republic, $12
Grey shirt: medium, $12
Jacket: s/p, Michael Kors, $23
Necklace set: $20

2. Jacket: Mocha, size 8, $31
Shirt: Ivory, Odille, size 4, $15
Skirt: Black, size 16, Talbots, $21

3. Belt: Brown, Banana Republic, size 32, $12
Skirt: mauve, Chloe, size 12, $34
Jacket: Chaus, xl, $20
Top: MC, New York & Co., xl, $14










Tuesday, February 22, 2011

An Organizational Wrap-Up Workshop with Suellen Germani

Making Room for Purpose and Passion: Certified Life Coach and Organizer Suellen Germani will discuss how to create room, literally and figuratively, for more fun, creativity, purpose and passion in your life. She'll cover everything from cutting clutter to dumping toxic relationships to reclaiming what YOU want more of in your space and in your day-to-day life.

When: This Saturday, 2/26 from 9:30am - 10:30am
Where: Finders Keepers Furnishings - 2753 E. College Avenue in Decatur
Cost: FREE, of course!

Monday, February 21, 2011

A HUGE thank you to NAPO-GA and a couple of its associate members..

It all began in the back of the room at the January re-scheduled NAPO-GA meeting. A new associate member, Doug from MonkeyBarStorage had set up an awesome display with before and after pictures from a garage overhaul. “I want THAT garage” I whined. There was nothing on the floor, everything was neatly placed on super sturdy shelving and versatile poles and hooks.

Doug and I set up an appointment for an estimate when my husband was out of town. My plan? To redo our 2-car garage that barely fit my husband’s 1973 Mustang convertible into one of these picture perfect photographed garages that would house 2 cars AND all of the stuff.

Day 1: Doug came out and listened to me. He gave me a quote. He rearranged his entire week so we could do this when my husband was out of town for the week.

Day 2: Doug planned to arrive at noon to begin the project. I had to have everything down off of the existing shelves and pulled to the center of the garage, leaving a 5 foot perimeter for his installation. I enlisted Kanu, who works for me, and we began at 8:00 am and had it all down by 10:00. I called Doug and let him know we were ahead of schedule.

I took a picture of the pile and regretted not taking a real “before” of odd assorted shelving piled with stuff and every inch of floor space covered by something. He started working. I went to Big Lots to get 10 matching bins….so my garage would look like catalog. Doug worked until about 5, taking down all of the old shelving and getting everything ready to install the Monkey Bar System.

Day 3: I enlisted the organizational help of Betsy (Parke’s sister) and Haji, who works for me. This was a day of many decisions:
What to
1. Throw Away
2. Give Away
3. Take to Charity
4. Take to Finders Keepers to sell
5. Keep and organize

To make the cut for #5, it had to pass the test of “do I want this in my “new” garage?” We touched every single item in the pile and made a decision on each thing. We made multiple trips to Second Life Thrift Store and Finders Keepers. We call in another NAPO-GA Associate member, Just Trash It, to come pick up the huge pile at the end of our driveway because I was not totally sure that the City of Avondale Estates would pick up so much junk at one time. Just Trash It was great! They told me to fill the partially full paint cans with kitty litter so they could take them….all 50 of them, along with old shelving, wood, broken items and an old hot tub that hadn’t worked in years. Yes, I was on a mission. Just Trash It made 2 trips and the fee was very reasonable for everything they did.

Doug continued to hang shelving in 4 foot sections. Each 4 ft. section guaranteed to hold 1000 lbs!

Our good friend David, a carpenter, came and picked up some items he could use for remodels or for “re-purposing” so those things didn’t end up in the landfill.

We sorted the “keeps” into bins:
1. magic (it’s Parke’s hobby)
2. camping
3. Finders Keepers paperwork for long-term storage
4. Sporting goods
5. Yard stuff and equipment

I even had room to bring up a lot of stuff that had been stored in my basement! Now my basement is much cleaner….but that’s a blog for another day!

Doug positioned various items in the “keep” pile unto the storage system to show me how to use the hooks, which come in about 8 sizes. We started putting everything onto the shelves and learned that the height was perfect for 2 bins high or 3 copy paper boxes high. Everything fit and everything is off the floor….and guess what….It looks just like the catalog picture….don’t you think so?

And finally I just want to say that I could not have done this without the inspiration from being an associate member of NAPO-GA, the help of other associate members of NAPO-GA, Just Trash It and MonkeyBarStorage, the brawn of Haji and Kanu, and the tireless energy and encouragement from Betsy.

Parke was thrilled and more importantly….totally amazed at his new garage which now houses not one car but 2!


stuff... stuff... stuff

yes, all of that was in my garage.

sorting begins!

MonkeyBarStorage to the rescue!

ahh, a nice, clean slate!

Just Trash It had their work cut out for them...


Y'all were amazing!

It's safe to say that I "Got Organized" with NAPO-GA :)

A job well done... and a really good night's sleep ahead



I love surprises!

Q+A with our fearless leader, Bonnie Kallenberg

Bonnie Kallenberg, owner of Finders Keepers Consignment Stores, gets asked a lot of questions. She was recently asked: "What's the most unusual thing anyone has ever purchased in one of your stores?" Here's her answer:

Tyler Perry, a movie producer, lives and films movies and television shows all around Atlanta so we have his set designers in the stores often. The most memorable purchase of theirs was a large amount of dressy and designer clothing, shoes and accessories to use in the closet scene of “Diary of a Mad Black Woman”. The YouTube link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJKkCkNjTZQ where you can see the actors trash a closet full of clothing from Finders Keepers about 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the clip!

p.s. winter clearance starts TODAY at the Boutique! All of our winter merchandise has been marked down, so come stock up on designer goodies at even lower prices.

Free Workshop: Closet Chaos to Closet Confidence

Our very own fearless leader Bonnie Kallenberg took a turn on the free-workshop stage earlier this month to teach attendees how to fall in love with the wardrobe again. The first step: Try every. single. thing. that you own on. If it doesn't fit NOW, it doesn't flatter you, or it doesn't make you feel good when you're in it, get it out of your active wardrobe. You pay for your clothing - which means that THEY work for YOU. And if they're not meeting your expectations, they need a pink-slip departure from your closet. Free up room in your wardrobe for clothing that makes you feel like the very best you, and remember that when it comes to clothing, less is more. A lean, mean wardrobe in which you actually ENJOY every piece of clothing that you're choosing from makes getting dressed in the morning simple and fun.





Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Taming your Jewelry Jungle

Jewelry is a great way to add a quick finish to any outfit. But it's not so simple to throw on a necklace when it's hopelessly tangled with two other chains and bobbles. And that perfect pair of earrings isn't so perfect when you can only find one of them. Jewelry may seem like a small thing, but when you can't find it or detangle it, that perfect touch can turn into a source of stress and wasted time. During this Saturday's free workshop at Finders Keepers Furnishings, NAPO member Helen Preston will give you simple tips to organize your jewelry with the space that you have, and will help you learn how to keep it that way. This workshop will begin at 9:30 am sharp. Learn more about Helen on her website: http://www.riseandorganize.com/.

Meet Helen this Saturday!

Did you know? Finders Keepers Furnishings has three large cases filled with fantastic jewelry: costume pieces, fine jewelry, gem stones, vintage, and more!

OMG - awesome new arrivals for spring!

The weather is heating up - finally - and the inside of Finders Keepers Boutique couldn't be hotter! Don't worry, our AC is working just fine. We've checked in some new arrivals that are steaming up our little store. Chanel sunglasses, Missoni sunglasses, Prada, Marni, and Akris dresses, Tory Burch, Burberry, and more! Price list and pictures below:

Red Burberry tote $180
Pink Marc Jacobs handbag $215
Pink Missoni sunglasses $72
Black Chanel sunglasses $145
White Prada dress size 48, $175
New Pink Prada dress size 48, $430 (NWT retail $2530)
Floral Marni dress size 44, $225
Tan Akris dress size 10, $150
New Ivory/Black Tory Bruch top size 12, $125 (NWT retail $395)

Burberry Tote


Marc Jacobs handbag


Missoni Sunglasses



Chanel Sunglasses


Prada Dress NWT

Marni Dress

Tory Burch top NWT



Akris Dress


Prada Dress (and my personal favorite!)