July is usually the month that resalers catch their breath before jumping headlong into the fall season. It’s a good time to brush up on some…
Shop care tips
Get rid of annoying hanger screech and that dirt which turns your forefinger grey by rubbing metal clothes rods with a bunched-up ball of waxed paper. Keep re-bunching the paper: you’ll be amazed at the dirt it picks up! Bonus: your overloaded merchandise will move much more easily, allowing browsers to keep on browsing in comfort.
Replace tattered charge-card stickers and the like on your window or door glass. Sticky residue left after you peel the old ones off? Save elbow grease: Coat the area with liquid hand soap, let sit for ten minutes, then remove easily with a single-edged razor blade.
While you’re checking out signage in your shop, spruce them up, reword them to be more positive, and remove the unnecessary ones. Let your beautiful merchandise displays and interior shine out!
Do you scrub and scrub your laminate counter top, trying to get pen marks off? Before you use a cleanser, remove those marks with a pencil eraser. Works like a charm.
Dust off ceiling fans with a brush made for this job, that gets both sides of the blade at the same time. A fan brush is also good for cobwebs, but a broom covered with a old T-shirt from your charity rack works just as well, and you can toss the T in the trash when it gets dirty.
Is your carpeting dusty at the edges, where your vacuum doesn’t reach? Dampen a straw or plastic broom, sweep out the dust to where the vacuum can suck it up, and continue on your merry way.
Cut down on scrubbing dressing room walls by painting with glossy paint. While you’re at it, take a good look at the comfort of your dressing rooms. Do you need a scatter rug to keep toes from getting chilled? More and bigger hooks or, better yet, a hefty rod to hang try-ons on? A stool or chair? Better lighting? Nicer signs therein?
While you’re out buying nice sturdy towel rods to use in place of those stingy hooks in your dressing rooms, buy some plate railing to install on your shelves. Simple quarter-round can be nailed or even glued about an inch away from the back wall as a dandy way to display decorative plates, oversize platters, wall plaques and the like, without taking up valuable horizontal space.
Organize hangers onto hanger stackers, get a plastic tote to store furniture clean-up supplies all in one portable spot, check your paper supplies. And feel like you’re completely on top of your shop before those hoards come back next month!
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
Great advice! Though July has been my busiest month yet, I’ll make time to get on top of these tips!