must have for an at home business

photo by kellyn boyden // letterfolk letterboard is one of my favorite accessories

I thought I would share some of my favorite tools + things for running a business from my home. Some of these will depend on what kind of business you are running, but as an etsy & squarespace seller these have been the most helpful things to me.

There are so many easy ways to shop these days…AHHEM - amazon, target, etc. SO EASY!

If a person is choosing to shop handmade with you or just with you in general, they are making a choice to do that when something else might be more convenient.

Here are a few things to personalize + professionalize your shop to give your customers a positive experience + make things run more seamless for you as you may be squeezing in work time while your kids are sleeping.

work time

I have been working from home for almost eight years and seven of those have been with kids. I occasionally have a sitter so I could get a little work done. I cannot say enough good things about having a set of bluetooth headphones so that you can tune out whatever is happening - since you do have a sitter after all.

Now my kids are often at school while I’m working, but I still love these headphones - walking, working out…while working…there are so many ways to connect to bluetooth and I love these.

P.S. I would have got this version, but didn’t know if I was cool enough for them and chickened out.

letterboard from above here // get yourself a pegboard at home depot - great functional + inspiring space

pictures

I use my iphone for a lot of photos, especially when I was selling Lularoe and moving a lot of product quickly. If you are usually a photo that you can reuse - brightening it, using a higher quality lense attachment - like this one is a great option.

packaging

I love some personal touches to make packages special. Here are a few things things I have enjoyed.

Shipping tags is something i have used for years & love having as a part of my packaging. I’m glad they don’t seem to be out of style yet.

I make my stamps using a stamp site like rubberstamps.com - but I feel like getting the Ipad pro & procreate app - its been so much more to add a real personally touch with hand-lettering.

I also loooove washi tape. There are so many great uses for washi tape. Not all washi tape is equal. Some have very little stick to them. MT is one brand I have been happy with. I also like 3m brand as well (pictured and linked above).

ship from home

This is a beautiful thing + a must! You save money by printing labels at home (they charge less online than at the PO) & its a time saver. You can even order for FREE shipping supplies from the post office (priority mailers).

To ship from home, you’ll need a scale to know how much things weigh - I have had this scale for years and have not had any problems with it.

This Dymo Printer is not a MUST, but it is a great time saver & great luxury item if you are shipping enough items to need one. I love that it doesn’t need ink & it prints super fast. It also gives a professional look to your packages.

Every once in a while your dymo will act weird and this is the best tool I have found to get it to start working correctly again. DYMO also suggests you use their labels - so I always have though I know others do not and have not had problems.

If you are not going to get a dymo printer, these labels are a good time saver.

I love fun mailers like these. There are so many fun options on amazon!

If you do not have a printing service, but do have a PayPal account - you can use this handy link to buy postage.

Choosing a Platform

If you are just starting out, etsy is a great place to be on for handmade or supply shops. Many people are familiar with it and have accounts for easy shopping. BUT you can also get lost in the crowd & you do not want to send your customers to etsy. I have always had both running, but have usually directed customers to my own site. I have used big cartel in the past and am currently on squarespace. Shopify is awesome & has a ton of great features too!

Etsy also gives you the ability to ship from their system which I think is a great feature as well.

Those are these things that jump out at me!

I’m sure there are more & I’ll try to update this list as I think of them.

**these do contain some affiliate links / but I love & highly recommend all of these products and receive a small credit for sharing them.

the truth about an airstream renovation

How can you not love all the fun renovations you see on pinterest & instagram?

why renovate an airstream?

As our family has been navigating our life this year, pursuing a more simple life, we came across the idea of fixing up an airstream (or camper of any kind) so that we could airbnb our house on weekends.

This seemed like a great solution to me. I easily convinced my handy husband. More on that on our podcast.

where did we shop?

So we began our search. Facebook Marketplace seems to be the new craigslist. Craiglist, of course. Then rvtrader.com.

We started searching beyond our community because it seemed like most airstreams in our area were starting at 10k for a complete gut job.

So we found the airstream pictured in Virginia - my husband must have been searching around where he went to college. There we found the best price we had seen for a working one. It was a 1976, but the family was using it actively so we thought so great…we can just clean it up, paint the cabinets. Fix up the interior.

Until…

I started to get skiddish about the whole things & wanted to get it checked out by an rv professional person. My husband drove it up to get it checked out.

We NEEDED a quick flip project. We did not have the TIME or SPACE for a long project.

As you can see here, we have a small driveway with an incline. We can do a lot of DIY work, but we did not have the space for it here.

When my husband told the RV repair men what we were trying to do…he said…

You don’t want any part of this.

Lol. Okay. Eye roll.

He went on to say…an airstream renovation like this is a labor of love. It would take about 6 month of hard work.

Maybe that is the timeline that is okay with you.

That was not going to work for us with our life right now.

I just thought I would share our experience if anyone is considering taking on a project like this. I still hope this is something we can do in the future, but under our current constraints it was not going to work for us.

takeaways…

If you buy an old airstream you are PROBABLY going to have to replace the floor & the walls.

We learned the floors are connected to the entire integrity of the structure staying together. If they are soft, it needs to be gutted.

An airstream restoration is a labor of LOVE, not just a romantic quick DIY project.

If that’s what you are looking for, maybe this is a great project for you, but we may just go with a typical camper in the future to save the money.

Best of luck!

how to declutter anything

how to declutter anything. 

we really believe decluttering is so hard, but so simple. 

here is a printable worksheet to help guide you through the process. 

get access to this + our printables library here. 

one delightful style tribe

Do you love instagram? Do you love one delightful shop? 

We have an exciting opportunity for you to get some free products in your hands just for sharing about our little shop! We launched our clothing & accessories shop of made in the USA items a little less than a month ago and have some exciting new things coming for this fall. 

As we prepare for fall, we are starting the search for a few of our Instagram-loving friends to be selected for the one delightful style tribe.

perks of being in our one delightful style tribe

+ Free item of your choice from our shop for every month you are selected & early access to new items

+ 10% off any other purchases for yourself

+ affiliate link for you to share with your peeps earning you cash money back in your pocket

how to enter the one delightful style tribe search:

+ Must follow @onedelightfulshop on IG & have a public account

+ Tag 1-3 of your photos with #odstribe so i can find you

+ choose photos that give me a sense of your personal style & vibe of your account

+ Leave a comment on ig to let me know a little about you or tag a friend that might be interested

+ Search ends July 22nd when i will select the ods tribe

 

fine print EXPECTATIONS if chosen as part of our style tribe

• Permission to share any photos you take of yourself and ODS products on any of our social media accounts or website (you will receive photo credit)

• Thoughtful sharing of our products that fits your brand & ours (the more photos you share of ODS products, the more likely I will share your photo and link to your account, but no guarantee that I will share your photos) 

• Minimum of two photos on your instagram photos & stories within the month of receiving product from me with my handle @onedelightfulshop tagged in the photo and the comments

• More details will be spelled out as the search closes

Excited to hear from you! Please don't disqualify yourself just because you have small following. I would love to work with people that are sincerely interested in partnering together :) 

P.S. If you are not chosen as a stylist - please know we love you & are just choosing a few. We will have an affiliate program available soon open to anyone interested & will be re-evaluating our stylists every season.

5 ways to thrive (not just survive) on vacation with kids

We just finished a family vacation in Virginia & I really wanted to make sure we enjoyed it rather than just barely surviving it. Vacation with kids can feel like it begets another vacation sans kids...ya feel me??

Our kids are four & six and I have often felt like vacationing with kids is harder than just being home because we are breaking our routine. Our kids are not at the hardest age to travel with - my six year old is a good swimmer and I can pretty much let him roam free around the pool, but my sister's son is around a year... that stage is real hard: constant movement, can't sit at a table for a meal, & just want to explore. Every stage of parenting has its challenges.  Hopefully these tips are broad enough that they apply to any small kids!

I think this was one of our best family vacations. We were at a resort hotel called the Homestead in the mountains of Virginia.  Nice room.  Good eating.  AND A POOL WITH A LAZY RIVER!  

I went in to our vacation with this goal: to balance my need to relax with my kids' needs for fun ... & to create some memories for them. So here we go!  These are the 5 things we tried to do to thrive (not just survive) on vacation with kids:

choose your vacation spot wisely

If it is within your control some places are just easier to be with kids at than others. Are there things everyone could enjoy? Is their childcare if that's in your budget? Will a time change make the first three days be a nightmare? Just weigh these things out.

play tag team 

If you are not vacationing alone with your kids, is there someone that you trust that could watch them so you get a break? My husband and I learned when my son was around a year to take turns giving each other a morning to sleep in. On our recent trip, my Dad took our son to play mini-golf. My dad loves to be with his grandson and I get a break. #boom 

say yes to a few things to make it special

shirley temples. unicorn straws. the waterslides. Is there something that you wouldn't normally say yes to at home that would make it special for your kids? How about special for you? Treat yourself to a new book (for me ... after 2 weeks working out of town with bad internet, I caught up on the bachelorette at night).

talk about expectations

I want my husband to read my mind. He is possibly the least intuitive person the planet. Skip the assumptions & have a conversation about things that would make it feel like a vacation for you. Give each other a little time off to do something that feels like a break.

uplug if you can

I love my work & maybe you do too. It requires me to be on my phone & connected to technology.  Sometimes, though, when I say I'm 'working', I am just zoning out on my phone. I took a pretty big break from computers, etc while we were traveling and it really felt like a mental break. I can't recommend this one enough!

So, What would you add? Let me know if these tips help you! 

p.s. I made this FREE, fun printable as a reminder for me to try to THRIVE during the summer with kids, rather than just survive. Download it from our shop by clicking here.