Happy New Year 2011 !!! Yikes!

Once again my mighty sidekick Dixie has cooperated, begrudgingly it appears, to humor me in my quest for silly dog pics.She should have been in festive New Year Party wear,my fault.I am trying to wear her out in the evenings with some dog training routines that seem to help tire her.
As for downsizing my life,I'm still working at it.After forty years in one home a lot of stuff has been acquired.Many things are headed off to Goodwill as well as ebay,hope to try Amazon too this year cause I have tons of books.It just all takes time,discipline and patience and some organizational skills,a plan and bags and boxes...

Parting is such sweet sorrow,but it looks so good!

After living in a home for almost 40 years I've accumulated a lot of stuff. I've been busy re-organizing and cleaning closets and cupboards so when I move it will be easier and faster.But at the moment the place is a disaster, as I go through clothes,books, and photographs.
I need a better plan.Clean 3 rooms in 3 weeks, a Thanksgiving deadline, sounds like a good goal and plan.

So I'm busy boxing up stuff for Goodwill and taking photos for ebay items.Cleaning out the book case and redoing old magnetic photo albums.The shelves and albums are looking so good! I am inspired to continue on.It's good to have goals.

What happened to...SUMMER????

I had the best of intentions and ideas all summer long but, my real life took over.My new grand daughter was the highlight!
All the rain keep me mowing, weeding and donating blood to the mosquito population.
Now that September is here its time for a do over. A mid year reevaluation of my thoughts, ideas and plans to guide me through the rest of the year and beyond.
For me it will mean buckling down and writing at least once a week,hopefully more.
Taking some classes,doing some painting,and downsizing my life....(I feel lighter already)
But still taking time as my Dad says to, " stop and smell the flowers!"

Insulating the Attic

My son insulated my attic this past weekend which meant I had a mess in my house.Not from the insulation but from all the "stuff" that came out of the attic,and it was almost empty,except for the crib, rocking horses,baby things from the 70's,sleeping bags...all big stuff.
A lot of things got pitched. A few were saved to be cleaned up and... disposed of in one way or another.
Still working on the eBay project...endless.Another thought to rid my home of "things"recycle! The post office has no cost envelopes to recycle items like ink cartridges and cell phones etc...
So I'm going to designate several boxes for things to sell,to give away,to recycle.

Getting organized to sell on eBay

Today was busy!Attended an eBay webinar,which means I had to download a program,Microsoft office live meeting.Whew! It took a while to figure out what I needed to do, but I did it. A double learning experience,the eBay webinar and using Microsoft office live.
To simplify my life and eBay selling I came up with a list of things to do to be more organized.And this weekend,I hope to follow my own advise.

1. Try to put all your items you are selling in one room or location.Having a large shelving unit to place the items on that you are going to sell.
2. Research what the items might sell for on eBay.
3. Make a simple photo booth or table and lights for photographing your items.
4. Learn about different shipping options..I think this is the toughest part.
5. The more different categories you're in,the harder it is to keep track of everything,try just a couple to start.
   

How to Start Downsizing

Ways to get started downsizing your life.

1. Get rid of things you don't need use or want.This is fairly obvious but hard to do.
2. You many want to go room by room or drawer to closet,depending upon how methodical and organized you are.
   
3. Donate items to charities,you'll feel better about parting with your "stuff" if someone else can use it.
4. Start looking at ebay listings and find categories that your "stuff" fits into and start selling.(I kinda liked this because as I sold items I got instant gratification,which made it more fun than work.)Money is a great motivator!
5. Try spending a few hours, a couple of days a week working on downsizing.It is not fast,but its a start.
6. Have a garage,yard or tag sale if you're in a populated area,otherwise follow me as I continue to part with my belongings.
   

Todays Success

Success! Changed my ebay store name and user name and about me info (had trouble with a picture,will try again tomorrow.)You can do and learn sooo.. much,but it takes time.Plus,I was able to link my ebay with this blog and a couple of my web sites!!.Tomorrows project will be linking this blog to ebay and my (very basic beginner) web sites.If I knew how to include a smiley face now I would!

Getting Started Downsizing

What if I lost my job and had to relocate?That's how I got started with this idea.Thirty five years of stuff! How can I clean house,break my ties,make some $$ and move on.This is a challenge.I've been dabbling in Ebay for a year now,it helps in the cleaning out and making a few bucks but....I need to work harder at it.So I'm going to try to list ten items a week and see what happens.
Getting started is always the hardest part of any project.The second hardest is getting organized.The third hardest is learning what you need to learn to be successful,which is an ongoing project.
I am lucky that this old house doesn't have much storage space,(though I have a loaded garage.)My adult kids already have taken all their belongings.So a couple of things taken care of,but much more to go.
What I really want to do today is go to a shelter and get a dog,but I'm waiting for a golden retriever rescue dog,so I'll just have to be patient.