The Budget Makeover

We are in the midst of creating a nursery for our first baby and I must say, Pottery Barn Kids is just nursery GOALS. Everything on their website is stunning, and can provide so much inspiration in planning our nursery style. That said, their pieces come with a hefty price tag. I've come across some great dupes for some of their popular styles and compiled them all into this list. I hope you love them and have a great time creating your dream nursery!

Campaign Style Nursery Dresser

Mid-Century White Crib

ABC Round Rug

Wall Mounted Bookshelves

Wingback Rocking Chair with Wood Runners

The Classic Kendall Crib

Mid-Century 3 Drawer Dresser

Animal Shaped Storage Basket

First Year Photo Frame

And lastly, while this one is not a dupe for purchase, here is an amazing IKEA transformation of the Hemnes dresser by Made 2 Style. Looks incredible and cost less than a third of the Pottery Barn Ava Regency dresser. Her tutorial is linked here.

I recently started selling clothes on Poshmark and I love how easy it is to use! I've previously sold on other websites where you need to calculate your own shipping costs and there are hidden fees, and Poshmark eliminates both of those! They calculate shipping costs for you and tell you exactly how much you will earn according to your listing price for each item.

If you haven't tried Poshmark I highly recommend it, I love finding items from designers I love at steep discounts and supporting other Poshmark sellers. You can join here and use my referral code alishmais for $5 off your first purchase!

1) Share your listings often

Sharing items on Poshmark will do 2 things. First,
it will cause the item to show up in the newsfeed of everyone you share the item with. Second, if someone searches for an item matching yours, it will show up earlier in the search results because the default sorting method is by 'Just Shared'. Share your items frequently to get more eyes on them and increase the chances of selling!

2) Stock up and organize your shipping supplies

Shipping and listing are the 2 main time commitments you have as a seller. To make shipping easier, I recommend stocking up on tape, paper & ink for shipping labels, and reusing shipping boxes you may have at home. Whenever I buy an item online, I remove the shipping labels and packaging tape and will save the box to reuse for shipping Poshmark items. You can also check out stores like Walmart, Target and the dollar stores for inexpensive shipping envelopes or boxes if you don't have any at home.

3) Show pictures of the items being worn

For listings that sell, try to find a picture either of yourself wearing the item (in good lighting), or a picture of a model wearing the item. For example, if you are selling a Rails plaid shirt, you can use Google Images to find a picture of a model wearing one for a store website. Add these types of pictures to your post to give the buyer a better idea of what the item looks like on a person's body rather than a clothes hanger. Sometimes the hangers really don't do the item justice.

4) Answer questions quickly

Many Poshmark buyers ask questions about your items even if you feel your description was thorough. I have had instances where I will list the item as 'excellent condition' or 'perfect condition', 'worn once', etc. and buyers will still ask me about any flaws the item might have. My best advice on dealing with this is to simply answer their question in a timely manner so that they will know you are serious about selling the item. Even if they are not really interested in purchasing the item, other buyers will see that you did not answer questions about the item and might assume you are not a serious seller.

5) Price the item slightly higher than your minimum selling price

I recommend to price items slightly higher than the minimum offer I would accept for the item so that buyers can make offers and receive discounted shipping prices. I like to make offers on items I like because I feel like I'm getting a better deal than what the seller is asking, so I price my items knowing that other buyers might feel the same way. Don't list the item price too high, though, because most people will assume you wont accept more than 20% below your listing price and will be deterred from making an offer.

My coffee addiction started in my freshman year of college. It started as a fun thing to do with friends on study dates, a morning treat at my dorm's breakfast buffet, or a pick-me-up between classes. Over the years it's developed to a 3 to 5 cup a day habit that I'm actually just fine with. One of my favorite things to shop for at the grocery store is, you guessed it, coffee. It's always fun to try new K-cup flavors and I also love items like coffee presses and milk frothers that make me feel like an at-home barista. I thought it would be fun to put together a list of my favorite K-cup varieties, mugs, coffee grounds and other accessories. If you're looking for new stuff to try out, or if you're a coffee lover yourself, I hope you enjoy this list and come across some now favorites!





Coffee photo credit: subsetsum via photopin cc