Laura and Kelly, two close friends who share their love for shop yard sales and thrift stores decided to start a blog where they feature their adventures of turning trash in to treasure. 

A great blog that clearly reflects their creativity of beautifully turning unexpected things in to something very fascinating and useful. 

We requested both the ladies to spare some time to answer couple of our questions, read further to learn how they both collectively create magic in their wonderful blog:

To begin with, tell us about the concept behind 'My Dear Trash'.

The idea really started from a philosophy that as a society we are throwing away much in our lives and not finding value anymore; including things we consume to relationships to ourselves. There is greatness in our lives if we just take the time to look for it. My Dear Trash, the blog, features Kelly and Laura, two dear friends take this concept into their shop yard sales and thrift store shopping. Together, they feature the treasures they find and what they do with them. Follow their adventures as they find value where others may not see it.

Finding treasure in the trash...wow..what a cool concept! What or who triggered such an interesting idea for a blog? What was the inspiration?

Laura had been trying to get a young adult manuscript she’d written published. At the time, her publicist recommended she start a daily writing blog. There were a lot of blogs out there about mothering, homemaking and crafts. Hoping to attract a large audience, she started to think about what most of my friends like to talk about with her and she realized it was her eBay sales. Her family and friends always wanted to know the story. “Where did you find it, how much did you pay for it, what did it sell for?” She realized there was a lot of potential with not only sharing these success stories, but also teaching others how to do it. She couldn’t find any other blogs writing about making money on eBay so My Dear Trash was born.

The title “My Dear Trash” actually came to Laura in a dream. Trash has so many different connotations and impacted Laura on a personal level. She’d heard the slang when people using the word “trash” to describe a person or an idea they don’t like. Ultimatlely, the idea is to find value in your own ideas and potential, your dreams and goals. The title My Dear Trash incorporated all this and more. She asked her dear friend Kelly to join her about 2 weeks starting My Dear Trash and the blog just took off.

What I loved about your blog is that it's very interactive and the products are fascinating too. So who handles what between the both of you?

Kelly and Laura have never set guidelines or rules with their daily blog posting, they just write about whatever inspired them. At first, Kelly was really into fixing up and reselling furniture while Laura was mainly doing clothing.  Their tastes are constantly evolving and dabble now in both. They try to give back to the community through neighborhood benefit yard sales, thrift store donations and an annual Earth Day book drive. Both ladies are familiar with the ideas of social networking, including a My Dear Trash Facebook fan page.  Recently, a producer of the hit show “American Pickers” (shown on the History Channel) contacted Kelly and Laura. They were impressed with the concept of My Dear Trash and offered a season one collection of American Pickers to be given away on the blog. 

Kelly and Laura...we are curious to learn a bit more about you lovely friends.

Kelly is a stay at home mom to six beautiful daughters age 2  to 21 yrs. She taught theatre arts for over 16 years, is a published playright and has created a collection of children's stories told by her original character, "Mateda". When she decided to give up her career to be at home for her children, Kelly had to turn her garage sale shopping hobby into a source of income. She now has an estate sale company, successful ebay business and regularly flips merchandise on Craigslist. Kelly's husband, Mr. Right, supports her bargain hunting, decorating, party planning, house remodeling and non-stop projects.

Laura is a published author in newspaper and magazines. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in Communication at Arizona State University specializing in environmental issues; including oceanography and eco-feminism.  While there, she worked as Environmental Issues Director. During this time she fell in love her husband Derek, a marriage and family counselor. Later, as founder and president of the Village Connection Nanny Agency she produced Under the Stars, an Earth Day event at Scottsdale Center for the Arts featuring Grammy-nominated musician William Eaton. All proceeds went to the Children's Health Environmental Coalition, at which time she was named Arizona Outreach Coordinator. She is a member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Arizona Night Writers Association and the Rachel Carson Homestead.

As neighbors, Kelly and Laura met 7 years ago. Their friendship grew into a partnership of ideas and dreams.  Kelly worked as Laura’s editor on her YA manuscript. My Dear Trash is a combined effort of their friendship, talent and passion for all things re-sale.

I read about some projects on your blog which are under construction..would you like to share something about them with us?

The list of projects under construction features items Kelly finds at thrift stores and yard sales, that will receive a make-over. Imagine a $1 wood box turned into a complete costume closet on wheels for her 7 year old’s birthday. View that post here:  http://mydeartrash.blogspot.com/2010/10/costume-closet.html. Always looking for more re-sale items, their goal is to make a serious living selling as much trash as possible.

You both are a great inspiration for other ladies who wish to 'work-from-home'. Few pieces of advice and tips for them? 

With a commitment of being home full-time for their families, the idea that they can make a serious income from home is a blessing. Their kids get involved, helping with photographs and shipping.

Advice for others who wish to work from home is to set aside time to work for every day. Stay motivated by shopping at thrift stores and garage sales as often as possible. Keep things organized.  Bringing home 100 articles of clothing a week can go from fun to crazy in a hurry. Stay organized and find a system that works for you. Make friends and talk about what you’re doing. Those around you will be amazed at what you’re accomplishing and keep up motivated. Network and reach out to people you meet. Most importantly, give back and share. Karma is everything in this business.

Other than collecting wonderful products, what other interests do you have? Tell us about your favorite books, movies, artists, music, blogs or websites?

Kelly loves to decorate, party plan, cook, spend time with her girls, browse through pottery barn, attend theatrical events, and treasure hunt with Mr. Right.

Laura is working on her second young adult novel and actively trying to get published.  She enjoys cooking healthy food and spending time with her family. A passion to help the environment is of most importance. She loves anything ocean and paints images of sea life.

What's your take on eCommerce? And according to you, how has it helped in revolutionizing trading and retailing these days?

Our expertise with eCommerce is from eBay and craigslist.org. In this economy, both are great venues for resale. It’s wonderful to know something I’m trying to sell has a worldwide audience. That’s what makes their business so successful.

Thanks Laura and Kelly for taking the time our for us and our readers. We wish you all the success in the future. :)

Visit My Dear Trash.

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