eBay inventory — before
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I made the decision to go full steam with decluttering my eBay items and donated around 75% of everything. This gave me the opportunity to organize what was left and make room for things that’ll sell better. Most of what I donated was stuff I got for free or paid very little for. Mind you, it was all very organized, but there was just too much stale inventory.
I made sure to list out each donation, so I’ll be able to get the full tax credit come next April. And yes, it was very cathartic.
Organizing the eBay stuff motivated me to give attention the rest of this spare bedroom, as it had become filled with artwork from my late in-law’s estate. I was paranoid that something would get stepped on or cat damaged, so everything is now either properly displayed, (so much pottery!) or safely in the dry area of our basement. I was also worried about not being able to keep this room appropriately clean, as I’d seen a moth in there a few days ago and wanted to vacuum my wool rug before it became an all-you-can-eat buffet. So many of my in law’s valuable items were destroyed by moths and rodents. If you can’t be an inspiration, at least be a cautionary tale!
eBay inventory — after!
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I sold another Wii guitar through eBay, (this time for $40) although sadly not as local pickup this time. Kind of a pain to package, but the time would’ve passed anyway so I might as well be productive with it. I had both these guitars listed for over a year and then they sold in the same week, which was odd but welcome.
I also sold a wooden accordion style wine rack for $15 through Facebook Marketplace.
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On top of everything else, our 2005 minivan is now having problems, something to do with the ignition and how the car recognizes the key. This happened when my husband had the car crammed full of the last of his parent’s belongings and was finally on his way home from the Oregon coast and stopped at a rest stop to use the bathroom. I got a 9 P.M. phone call and drove his father’s car down to him and together we waited until 2 A.M. for the tow truck before driving home. Our insurance paid to have the car towed to the house and then towed to the mechanic this morning and we’ll pay to get this issue fixed.
Why are we spending money on a 19-year-old car? Because it’s an otherwise great car and neither of us are interested in buying a new or even a used a car, especially when used cars are selling at such high prices. Maintain what we already own instead of using this isolated issue as an excuse to buy new.
Update: $960 repair!
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• I slapped a piece of duct tape onto a torn reusable grocery bag that my son handed down to us. I had a moment of being tempted to toss it, but am glad that I didn’t.
• I listed three picture frames on Facebook Marketplace that my son no longer wanted. These were ones that I rescued from a neighbor’s garbage can earlier in the year. There were six frames originally and I sold the other three in February or so.
• I created an ugly but functional Franken-box to ship the Wii guitar using supplies I already had on hand. I protected it with second hand bubble wrap that my husband brought home from work.
• I continue to eat the chicken soup that I made over the weekend, although my husband and I did share a well deserved plate of fish and chips at a local pub last night. -
No Lear Jets, bought or chartered.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Whoo, that room looks miles better! Got fingers crossed hard that your van will be okay and the in-laws’ house sells without a hitch.
We asked for a bid on extending just a bit the concrete path across our backyard and got one of those “you must be joking” style quotes. For only about $200, we can repair the damaged parts of the lawn and lay down stone slabs we already own.
I used a can of juice-packed peaches bought with a coupon and a handful of elderly strawberries to make a week’s worth of peach-berry baked oatmeal for my breakfasts. It’s packaged up in our motley collection of bowls with lids and is in the freezer.
Thoroughly cleaned my house today, hung a load of laundry on the rack to dry, inventoried the upright freezer again, mended two dog toys and took up the neckline of another blouse that was too floppy. Modern fashion seems to assume that all women want low-cut tops, but my meager assets prefer to stay covered up! 😀
The person a) did not really want the job and b) they have a minimum number of yards they’ll send out. Fixed cost is the same. Be thankful you don’t need a crane.
Starting almost fresh sounds like a great plan.
1. Back to Walmart to pick up yet another prescription pre surgery
2. Had an estimate on replacing buckling floors that cannot be repaired.
which we will postpone as long as possible
3. Using one of our Hello Fresh meals tonight
4. Reviewing our Medicare Advantage plan changes. Premium will go up $5/mo
5. Listed another item online
Kathy, are the buckling floors wood? If so, it’s a moisture problem and quite possibly fixable.
Katy, oh man, so sorry to see the addition to your streak of bad luck. You’re bound to catch a break soon.
1. Needed to spend more money on our new roof after more leaks and rotting fascia boards were found. The roofers are working above my head as I type. A pottery bowl that was too close to the edge of a shelf broke during all the rattling. Our fault. It was lovely and we enjoyed it for many years. One less thing for our heirs to eventually clean out of our house!
2. The gutter bid came in much lower than we expected. That’s a first and we’ll take it!
3. Gave the roofing guys $200 to demolish a deck that would have cost much more if done by the new deck company.
4. Spending money to have our dog stay at the kennel while work is being done at the house. She loves it there as she can play with other dogs (for an extra fee), so we’re happy that she’s happy. We’ve been thrifty forever so we’ve got cushion to splurge.
5. Repurposed a produce net from a bag of onions as a washing machine catch thingy at the end of the tube that drains into the utility sink. You get extra points if you can follow that sentence!
#5: Couldn’t you use the whatchamacallit instead?
Katy, oof! That long wait for the tow truck had to be rough in the wee hours of the morning. Fish and chips were totally deserved, as is all the good that is bound to come your way once you’re out from under this cloud. Egads!
I too have franken-boxed (and bagged) many eBay sales!
I hope life calms down for you and yours soon. <3
1. I’ve reduced the price on some things I have listed to sell, just to get them out the door. I don’t have a space as big as yours for stale inventory. I bet it felt so good to let some of the stuff go.
2. I did my usual volunteer shift at the community garden. I brought home some free apples, figs, turnips and bell peppers. Also some leafy green starts for my garden. And had a free snack and good company in the fresh air. A win on so many levels.
3. I have partially painted a child’s chair that I’m listing for sale. I’ll have it done and listed today. I also listed a little side table. Made one sale on Ebay today. Sales there seems so dependent on listing regularly.
4. I potted 4 free spider plants from my buy nothing group. I received a hiking backpack that a baby rides in-for my son and his family.
5. Received a free half gallon mason jar on FB marketplace.
Here’s hoping your car issue can be solved while not using too many $$$.
1. Sweet and generous neighbor gave us a container full of cherry tomatoes. I’m not a tomato person but DH devoured them.
2. Another wonderful neighbor gave me ivy to root from her yard. I’m hoping to choke out the invasive bamboo in my yard with it.
3. Made my own iced tea using store brand tea bags and a tablespoon of dried mint. So good!
4. Finished another library book, True Gretch by Gretchen Whitmer,the Michigan governor who was almost the victim of a kidnapping and execution. She’s a very positive minded and forward looking governor. Interesting life story.
5. The Raspberry bushes in my yard are still producing like crazy so lots of free, healthy snacks
lately.
I like Gretchen (so unlike my classmate named Gretchen lol). Did not know she had a book out so on my list it goes.
Reading your hubby’s troubles, I could hear Ray Charles “If It Wasn’t For Bad Luck” song playing woefully in the background. Such luck!
After participating in the Mudgirl run, preparing for the funeral – all the same weekend. I was rewarded with a wicked case of pleurisy. I was kindly reminded by my 20 yo niece and 39 yo daughter that I was almost a senior citizen (whaaa?Stamping feet, I’m not even 60 yet). They scolded I should probably not tackle the course like a 20 yo. I ran the course with my age group and tied my time with the 30+ age group.
Nice job on the ebay inventory.
I think we have a Wii guitar somewhere. I will have to look. One of the kids might have taken it.
1. I do senior care and I got a new client. More money in to pay the mortgage off faster.
2. I did a $20 mystery shop. It was a phone call so I didn’t even spend gas.
3. I finished organizing my cellar pantry. It’s so nice to have the basement put back together mostly. There were a few things I knew I had but couldn’t find. Well I found them.
4. I needed pitas for dinner tonight. I went into the store on my way home and that is all I bought. I did look at the clearance wrack but there wasn’t anything I wanted or needed.
5. I made chicken noodle soup with some leftover chicken. I cooked the bones for stock for next time. We had homemade bread with it.
1. I work very part time as a “rabbit wrangler” at Family Pet Shows with a friend. We do rabbit and guinea pig agility. Today I drove to pick up brand new cat tunnels to sell as agility equipment. I got them off of marketplace for $2 each. I bought 30. They each come in a storage case and had a cat toy included. I’ll sell the tunnels for $5 each and the cat toys for $2. Nice profit. Also connected with my rabbit agility friend who lives in the area. My son came along and we all got 50 cent double cheeseburgers at McDonald’s for National Cheeseburger Day. We ate at a park with a lake. I brought my own beverage but I did buy fries! What a fun day!
2. Found more free items on my walk last night: Lodge cast iron skillet, a Revere Ware pan I’ll keep, another nice sauce pan, new DVD player, new unopened puzzle I’ll give to a friend, new cargo pants with tags already listed on MP, an ugly Christmas sweater I’ll list, a few books, 2 DVS for my son, 2 mugs, a quilted table runner, 2 green “velvet” curtain I may keep, and 6 IKEA curtain panels I’ll wash and list, 2 modern wall sconces. Most of the items came from someone moving out and just so happened an old friend had come to town to help him move so I got to connect with her! Crazy. I love our city. And I love that folks put things out for others to take rather than just trashing them. My Marketplace tub is full to overflowing! I now need a second tub!
3. Dinner was baked potato bar with everything on hand.
4. Currently sitting on my porch in my new to me glider rocking chair with my DS on the thrifted porch couch waiting for friends to drop by at 8:30 for a glass of wine.
I never heard of rabbit and Guinea pig agility! Off to look it up.
1. I’ve canned endless jars of tomato, vegetable sauce to be used this winter. My own home grown tomatoes, peppers, onions, celery. Some will be in the Christmas baskets I make up each year for gifts.
2. Made pear jam today with, yes, our home grown pears. George and I have been eating them daily but had lots of ripe ones for the jam. It smelled so good as it cooked. And another item for my Christmas baskets.
3. Freezing wax beans, lots and lots. I had four rows planted plus some in the modified square foot garden beds that make up most of the garden and had so many I put it on my local buy nothing group and had five different people over to pick. One lady offered to bring me heirloom tomato seeds for next year.
4. Digging my potatoes, washing them and putting them in the bin for another winter staple. I bought seed potatoes to plant the first two rows but the last 2 and a bit were all planted with the small potatoes left over from the previous season. Because I try different varieties each year these are a mix.
5. Making a birthday gift for my niece that called for fusable batting. Since I am trying to use up things I already have, I used fusable web on the fabric portion (a panel I purchased on clearance years ago) and cut the batting and am fusing that to the fabric. Seems to be working. The batting was also purchased on clearance.
6. Found out my favourite sewing magazine is not going to be published after the Holiday edition so am downloading all the free files, one year daily as they will no longer be accessible. These are patterns and embroidery files so worth a lot!
7. Used three overripe. bananas to make banana muffins, oat and bran. I have some steel cut oatmeal that I bought and hated, it tastes like dirt. but works fine in the muffins. The milk for the recipe was skim milk powder, only needed 1/2 cup so made a cup and half went into the milk jug. I worked out the price and skim milk power costs 50% less than regular milk.
8. Made a batch of yogurt using, yes skim milk powder and a half cup of yogurt. My husband used some of it tonight in his enchiladas along with a jar of my tomato sauce.
9. My husband took my car in for a safety inspection and they said I needed back brakes. We did not get the work done there. He got the parts and repaired it at home.
10. Got a book embosser so when I lend someone a book it will come back to me. I designed it so the I can emboss invitations, stationary, etc. One use will be gift cards for my Christmas baskets.
11. Finished knitting a Christmas stocking for my daughter’s significant other. We all have knit stockings in red and white made by my mother in law so I used some red yarn I already had, and will duplicate stitch his name in white. I have a big stock of yarn as everyone knows I knit and crochet and gives me yarn they no longer want.
#4 – to wash or not to wash. We always did but some say DON’T. Not that I’ll ever have any in storage as better half makes it a mission to use ALL up with days of digging. I’m eyeing another area to turn into a tater patch – taters that will go into storage while the others are consumed fresh. Lost one plant because better half insisted on digging it despite me saying “nope, too early”. But you cannot beat home grown potatoes.
Hi everyone I’m decluttering and have listed stuff on FB market place. This was Sunday. I’ve had some interest but no one has bought and it’s Wednesday. I’m thinking that come Sunday I would lowers the price on most. I would appreciate some advice on how I can drum up interest.