Applicant #47: Marla Barhoum

Marla Barhoum is a mom from Mukilteo.

My video application:

A bit about me:

I adore my family and am a happy, stay at home Mom to 3 kids: Isaiah is almost 16, Hana will be 3 in November and Leila just turned 1. We just moved from Greenlake to Mukilteo and love it here.

I love my husband. He’s a smarty pants physicist and I adore him; we make a great parenting team.

In our 5-year whirlwind, we were married, had several career changes (I went from full-time at The Seattle Times to a contract writer, working about 3-4 hours a week), a lay-off at Boeing and a rehire (thank goodness!), had two baby girls within 20 months of each other (I met Erek when I was 34 ½ when we were married and we both wanted to get a jump start on having a family…and that we did!), 5 months ago, we sold our condo in Greenlake and bought a home in Mukilteo. Whew…breathe…exhale.

I learned to be frugal and to live “below my means” at an early age from my Mom. We used to garage sale together and went to thrift stores before it was cool to "recycle" things.

I want this blog to encompass being a savvy consumer and guide you, whether you’re a Mama or not, to find the very best deals in the Seattle area. Whether it’s preparing an inexpensive meal for the holidays, decorating, planning your kid’s b-day parties, creative date nights (got to keep that flame alive!), local NW adventures and family-friendly activities, favorite parks, kid-friendly restaurants and shopping on a budget!

Of course, I'll be writing about the daily ramblings of our families haps and mishaps of our family: the good, the bad and the ugly. I'll share it all.

We have quite the age spectrum, 1-16, so I'll have alot to blog about, from teething and finding the best pre-schools to homecoming, dating and driving!

I’m a big talker and a big sharer. I hope to make this blog a 2-way conversation. I want to learn from you, too! Share your stories. We can learn so much from one another.

My blog post:

I'm back in the 2nd grade. I absolutely loved playing store with my sisters. I had my little cash register and play money. "Dayla (my little sister), I'll give you 10 cents for that new unicorn and rainbow t-shirt you just got." She would hand it over (eventually my Mom would hear about the deal and take it away).

Bummer...bottom line is that I've always loved getting bargains ;)

As a side note, I still have a note in which my other sister, Kylene, wrote that she'd babysit up to 10 of my children for $1.00/hour. Really, I still have it. It's sitting in a Ziploc bag in my cedar chest my parents gave me on my 16th birthday. I've always kept it. With two kids down, I guess I have 8 to go?!

Ok, back to playing store. I decided to consign with "Just Between Friends," a large warehouse type of event that happened last weekend in Lynnwood. My very first time. Basically, Mamas that consign make 65% of what they price their items for (if you volunteer, you can make up to 75%) and a charge of $10 is taken from your final total for selling your items. It’s a 4-day sale. On the last day, you can choose to have your items sell for 50% off. I chose that option!

I'm sweating and panting. Can I substitute this as my workout for the day? I wish.

Heaving bins downstairs and out to the garage for my "store" staging area. Cleansing always feels so good.

It was a pricing frenzy. Inputting each item online and printing tags with barcodes on heavy cardstock. Tagging items. Hanging clothes on hangers. Bundling books, toys, winter beanies.

179 tagged items. I could seriously open my own consignment store in the garage. My husband would NOT appreciate that.

Doing this, the last 3 days in-between naps, was a daunting task. I thought impossible. I tackled it! I should have a Superwoman cape tied around my neck as I deliver my treasures.

I hauled my 6-huge plastic bins in and then organized the clothes in sizes and hung them (didn’t know that before I got there, lesson #1 learned) in sections. Every item had a special place to be. It was organized, but still overwhelming for a newbie.

I got my special “consignor pass” to go and shop that night…Isaiah’s curriculum night and we couldn’t find a babysitter, so Erek had to go solo and I stayed home with the girls. I’m sure it was a blessing in disguise. They don’t need anything right now.

Each night, I would log in and see what my totals were for the day. Day #1: $35, Day #2: $90, Day #3, $115 & Day #4: $176.75…82 items sold!

Things were organized by consignor number, so when I went back I had one bin and one bag to take home to donate. Great experience and I’ll definitely do it again.

Marla

Comments

[Bonita]

Thanks for the blog about Just Between Friends! What a great resource on finding new baby & kids clothing and toys, as well as an easy way to consign outgrown kid stuff as well! I think you would make a fantastic Verity Mom!