Spring Cleaning

Todd and I have decided to do some major Spring cleaning.  We don’t have just one house, we have TWO.  The house next door has been used as a “shed” since we bought it, and it’s just too much.  We (meaning Todd) lose things all the time because these items are transferred from one house to the next, and then back again.  I had enough and am determined that we are going to go through the house next door (along with our primary residence!) and get rid of anything we don’t use and don’t need!

The main goal for the house next door (or the “crap house” as we call it) is to be torn down.  We don’t want to do that until we have CASH to pay for the demolition and have money to fence in the yard as we have right now.  So, needless to say, the “crap house” may be there for a little while.  But that doesn’t mean we need to keep filling it with JUNK! 

Todd’s father gives us stuff all the time.  Some items we use.  Some items, we don’t.  The light in the dining room is something that Todd’s father salvaged and we made to be a little more modern (with the new sconces.)  Also, some of the wood that Todd is building the chicken coop with is scraps from his father.

We also have two metal sheds behind our primary residence that I haven’t been in for over 2 years!  It’s time to purge!

Todd and I both work very well on a deadline.  We procrastinate, and then knock things out at the last minute.  In the past, we never cleared out the house next door because we didn’t know how much trash the garbage company would take, and a lot of the items are in perfectly good condition.  I hated throwing things away.  But I found out that the Salvation Army will come out to our area and pick everything up!  I am happy that it will be picked up so that we don’t have to worry about making 5,000 trips to Goodwill while they are open, and the fact that these items will be used by someone makes me so happy. 

Now, we have no reason NOT to start working on it.  I need to check my hoarding behavior at the door when we go in and clean it out.

I had a goal to chuck 2 items a day, every day, for the entire year.  Well, I have only sold 8-10 books, but when we start to clean out our primary residence and the house next door, the 730 out of the “house” will not be a problem. 

Selling Books Online

In the month of January, I sold 8 books on Amazon.com.  I am thrilled that they have sold, and look forward to selling many more in the future.  I currently have 5 books that have NOT sold, but the way I see it, I’ve sold more than are sitting on my bookshelf (OK, it’s not a bookshelf.  It’s my clothes armoire and there is a stack of clothing next to the books that have not sold.)

I got a book from the library entitled, The Home-Based Bookstore by Steve Weber.  I started reading it, and it is really making me excited to sell more books!  Weber’s book gives recommendations on what type of books sell and which ones don’t.  Where to buy books, and where to stay away from them.  He also provides a slew of websites that are great references!

Where do I go from here?  Well, at the next book sale I come across, I will definitely be looking for books to sell and I will use the profits I made from the books I’ve sold thus far.  Weber’s book states that it’s easy to get into this business to make a passive income up to $40,000/year or more.  He started with $80 from his “meager savings account.”  He states it took him 3 months to make enough income to replace his j-o-b.

I informed Todd that I would eventually like to get a bookshelf to house the books I purchase and are selling.  Until then, the armoire is doing a fine job of housing my few books. 

I am interested to see where this “venture” takes me.  For the first time, I am not “over-the-top” infatuated with making big bucks from books.  But I AM anxious to see where this avenue takes me.  

I've Sold My 7th Book on Amazon!

I have sold my 7th book in the month on Amazon.  No, selling books on Amazon is not going to make me rich and be able to quit my job, but it's a nice passive source of "play money."    It really only took me a few minutes to list the ISBN numbers and put them online.  It is nothing like Ebay or Craigslist.  Amazon does it all.  The only thing I DONT like is the amount of "commission" Amazon gets.  If I get into selling books in a larger quantity, I think I'll pay the monthly fee and not have to pay the "commissions."  I havent hit the "break even point" yet to justify doing that.

Another great thing for those unsure of if you should sell books on Amazon.
1.) You can use their Media Mail rates and ship the books from your home.  You just print it and put it in the mailbox.
2.) You pay NOTHING to list the books until they sell.

So, book #7 will be going out in the mail.  I will get my $6 for the sale. One more book is out of my armoir and everyone is happy. :-)

6th Book Sold on Amazon!

I sold my 6^th book on Amazon.com.  Again, this is one that I got for FREE and sold it for $12 on Amazon.com.  Todd mentioned that this is a nice little “side business” to do.  I’m glad he is realizing that.  Because I’d like to do it much more!

I want to purge 2 items a day, and I will admit, I have only sold the books online.  That means I have to get to it and start going through the closets and start getting rid of items I no longer want/need.  My closet is a complete mess.  There is a lot of items I could get rid of in there.  Lets see if I do it by the end of the month.

Wish me luck!

Hoarding

I go through times that I feel like I’m hoarding.  Sometimes, it is with plastic milk jugs.  Other times, the plastic sour cream containers.  Lately, I have been hoarding several things.  I guess it’s not hoarding, but probably just obsessively compulsive about keeping things.  One is plastic containers (like the sour cream containers.)  We buy large jugs of salsa and split them into smaller containers to freeze so they don’t go bad.  They are also the perfect size for lunches.

Another example: Egg Cartons

Why? We will be getting chicks in the next 3 months, and when they produce, we will need cartons, right?  May as well start saving them up now (or so I try telling myself.) 

Last thing: Library Book

Yes! I have been hoarding library books again.  But this weekend, I decided that I’d write down all the titles (because they are all books I want to read,) but when I get a chance, I will take them out one by one to read them.  Right now, I have 2 books from the publishers to read and review.  Once those are gone, I will get a book to read from the list.

Am I the only one that does this?

I Sold A Book!

It has been less than two hours, and I already sold a book on Amazon!  How awesome is that!?!

I am not sure how I am going to keep track of all of this stuff that I'm purging/selling, but I'd like to keep a tally with the amount of money that we've sold some of these items for.

One down...6 more to go!

YAY!

The Purging Has Begun!

This morning, I logged onto Blogger.com, and was tired of having to search through the blogs I wanted to read.  I didnt realize this, but I had 87 blogs that I followed.  8-7! (I warned all the readers that I have OCD tendencies.) That's ALOT of blogs!!!   And I always frequented the same ones over and over again.

So...I decided it was time to do a little house-cleaning per se. 
I stopped following over 60 blogs.
I am down to 25 right now, which will help me with my time-management, and will keep my Dashboard clutter-free. 

Out of the 25, I may get rid of a couple of more.  We will see. 

But it feels good to go to the Dashboard and see who has posted from blogs I regularly follow.

I also listed 7 books that I am done reading on Amazon.com as "used."  Only one book was not recognized, so that will be a gift to a friend for her birthday.  Now, I am waiting for people to start buying them.  It's amazing, the ONE book that I was able to list at the highest price was one that I bought at a library sale for a quarter.  I have it listed at $9 used. I undercut everyone else by nearly a dollar.  Go figure.  We'll see if it sells.

All in all, I think it's been a productive start to the morning.

Have a great day!

Purge

I was looking through my armoire trying to find something to wear to work last week, and I decided that it is time to start purging. 

  

Rachel at Frugal and Simple worked last year on the declutter-challenge from Amy’s Finer Things.  Bloggers were striving to get rid of 2 items a day for the entire year.  I am not sure if Amy’s Finer Things is doing this again, but I have decided that this is something I am going to do this year.

I have so many clothes that I have not worn in ages.  They either don’t fit right, or I just don’t like them any longer.  Also, in my armoire, I have stacks and stacks of books.  Why?  Because we don’t have a single bookshelf in our home!  I am working with 5 or 6 publishers receiving free books to read and review, and then they sit there on top of the books that people give to me.  I have many of my own books that I’ve purchased at garage sales or library book sales for next to nothing that I’ve wanted to read, but haven’t had time to get to them.  So, this year, I am going to try to read all of these books and sell them.  There are only a couple of books that I want to keep.  Everything else is clutter.  Not only will the books be out of my hair, I will have extra money to put toward my allowance money and use towards the chickens or the items I want to get from Amazon.com.

Would anyone like to join me in my monthly purge sessions?