With Labor day marking the unofficial end of summer, it’s a good time to start tidying up and making your home ready for fall. It’s always hard knowing where to start so we have a few quick tips to make your home look as charming as the fall leaves outside.

Accent With Throw pillows

One of the best ways to change the theme of your home is with throw pillows. They’re an easy way to bring color into your home in a simple yet decorative way. Accentuate furniture or bring some quirky flavor to the room with creative throw pillows. You don’t have to settle for plain or store-bought pillows, create your own with DIY pillows.

Spruce Up Your Closet

The fall is a great time to rotate your closet. Put away those summer dresses and tops in storage and bring out your fall sweaters and jackets. See what still fits and what doesn’t. With any old clothes you can list them on Listia or even donate them to Goodwill. The money you save can be used to buy some new fall clothes!

Change Your Bedding With The Season

Fall is another great time to change your fall bedding. In the fall, colder temperatures at night will make you shiver and can make it even harder to wake up in the morning. In the winter months you’ll want warmer sheets like flannel or fleece. Match your colors in the living room or go for something different. If it gets especially cold in your area, an electric blanket is always a great investment for the home and bed.

With these tips you’ll be all set to start the fall with a great look for your home and closet. What are your favorite fall tips? Let us know in the comments!

From summer clothes to summer games, it’s time to say goodbye and welcome the back-to-school season. Getting ready for school doesn’t have to mean taking out your checkbook or tightening your belt. There are a few easy, quick ways to help your kids get ready and start the school year off right.

Take Inventory of Clothes and Items

The first step is to take stock of last year’s clothes and see what you really need. Some of your children’s clothes may still fit and other items can be restored with little effort. You can even make it fun for your kids by turning it into a fashion show and asking them to try on their old and rarely used clothes. Once you have a good idea of what you do or don’t need for the upcoming school year, you can start planning your shopping so you don’t buy unnecessary items. Any items you no longer need you can donate to Goodwill or even list it on places like Listia where you can save even more.

Find Coupons Right Near You

With the power of your smartphone in your hand, there’s no reason to buy at retail price. There are many apps you can use to help you find the best savings on any item. One favorite is RetailMeNot, an app focused on shopping deals and coupons. One of its best features is a local deal section that helps you find deals from stores near you. Incredibly useful when you’re at the mall or shopping at a store.

Create Price Alerts on Items Not On Sale

For school items that you can never seem to catch on sail, there’s one great tool you can use so the savings come to you. CamelCamelCamel allows you to set price alerts on any product on Amazon and get an email when the price is right for your wallet. You can even see the price history of a product to see if you should buy it now or wait a little bit for it to come down.

It can be daunting to see the long list of back-to-school items you need for the school year but with a few taps you can find great deals and save. If you follow some of these tips you’ll be the savviest shopper in the aisle.

In the second edition of our Listia All-Star series we have Lital! The Listia All-Star series is a new series where we highlight the amazing people and stories that happen on Listia everyday.

Where are you from?
My husband and I are from the Greater Bangor Area in Maine. My husband George Adams is a CPA and I help him as his executive secretary in our family owned and operated boutique firm.

How long have you been a member on Listia?
I found Listia on March 2013 and have been a member ever since. I am so blessed and fortunate to be a member of this amazing place.

What has been your favorite thing that you’ve won on Listia?
One of my favorite things that I bought on Listia is Disney’s Wolf Collectible Figurine from the Three Little Pigs Story.

My favorite thing to sell was a Kindle Fire, which just sold for a million credits! I also have to boast about my 5MIL badge and being an all-star member. I have 57 badges and I cherish each and every one of them. Every badge is a testimony of the great milestones I have passed being a loyal member.

What do you enjoy doing for fun?
My hobbies include surfing the net, thriller movies, classical music concerts, travel, homesteading as much as possible (we have fruit trees and bushes and I hope to have a veggie garden one of these days soon), photography (mainly of our adorable 2 fur babies-both are King Charles Cavalier Spaniels in the tri-colors). I regularly share with my husband what I sell and buy on Listia and he is always duly impressed. Mail calls have become an attraction for me!

Have you made any friends on Listia?
I keep in touch with the friends I’ve made here via Facebook. I value them all. It’s priceless and a huge bonus. Listia has inspired me to help people in need via its charity programs. It also has helped me with honing my marketing skills.

How has listia inspired you?
Most of all Listia has inspired me to learn about new places, the places where other sellers and buyers come from. My family knows me to be a Listian and I am so proud of that.

I really cannot imagine life without Listia. When I need a time out from work or house chores I turn to Listia and always find neat stuff to boost my morale. Thank you Listia for being so good to me. Happy Birthday! I am looking forward to more games and badges.

Thank you Lital for sharing your story! If you’d like to share your story about Listia email us at ilove@listia.com . Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more stories and announcements!