Easy Ebay Listing

A friend of mine was listing some things on ebay and she complained it took her forever. I feel her pain. I used to struggle through listing auctions only to find out I didn't know what I was talking about. Or I forgot to upload my pictures. Or edit them. Or any other myriad of reasons it was painful to list anything.

But then it got easier for me to list things and I didn't even realize it. I was pondering what to say to my friend, how to help her and it made me see my own process very clearly. I thought I would share with you all, in case you are struggling or want to get started on ebay.


I work in three distinct phases

• #1 research--I can't say it enough, know what you are selling, usually the first thing I do is see what things are worth--through current auction prices on ebay and past/closed auctions these are a wealth of information-I also read lots of thrifting and selling blogs, these posts share tons of information on things that sell and the blogger's research too Late Night Coffee, Parsimonia and Apron Thrift Girl to name a few
• #2 clean up and photos--I clean things that need cleaning and take a slew of pictures, in good clean daylight if possible, I wipe down the table or lay out a cloth and snap away, I pack the items in a "To Be Listed" box, then load the pictures and edit as necessary
• #3 then I list items when I can take about an hour, if I have done steps 1 and 2 then step three is a breeze, I get the "To Be Listed" box and cup of coffee, I work through the box and list as much as possible in one sitting,
• #4 I know I said only 3 but I have a step 4 that is to be avoided, do not hover over your auctions, don't check them every ten minutes, watched auctions never get started, I try to check twice a day and occasionally I will tweet or link to an auction to drive traffic that way, ebay is no fun if you haunt it

 Happy selling!



Peace and Love--

Just Another Meatless Monday

Speaking of singing livers, oh wait were we talking about singing livers? No? Dang, such a good opening line too!




Speaking of using up a 1 1/2 pound beet, no listen up I was talking about that, I know it, I finally figured it out. Ohhh yummy we juiced it. Along with a pear that needed to go and banana that was too ripe. I found a juicer last weekend on our thrift crawl and bought it up so fast it made my head spin. But hey 3 dollars for a Jack LaLanne Juice Tiger is a great price and since I killed the last one I was very happy to find this. I am saving pennies for a VitaMix but that day is very far away.



Basically Beet Juice is just that, the juice of a beet root. MMmmm I love beets and so do my boys. I love them for their taste, they love them for other pink reasons...


Now that I've made and drank the beet juice I read that you should definitely juice another vegetable with it, to combat the possible negative side affects which the article I was reading didn't go into detail on. The side affects listed were: pink urine...which is a plus for some of us around here, kidney stones, vocal chord trouble(??) and fevers chills and rashes. Hmmm Seeing as how they don't tell you how mixing in another veggie helps out I tend to think this might be bogus, but that's up to you to decide for yourself. Thoughts?

The positives far outweigh the negatives: lowers blood pressure, cancer fighting powerhouse and it's packed with  vitamins and minerals. Check out WHFoods for a great article on beets.

SO if life ever hands you a huge beet, make beet juice with it.

Beet Juice
1 1/2 pounds of beets
1 very ripe pear
2  ripe bananas

Steam the beets until cooked through, you want to cook them but not over cook, you can cut any large beets into quarters and steam time will be considerably less
let the beet come to room temperature
feed the beet, pear and bananas into the juicer
cut the collected juice with water to make it thinner and easier to drink
you won't need any honey or sweetener with this juice, it is fabulous

 Just out of range here are my two smallest boys having a silent deadly battle for this cup of juice, me I'm waving my arms windmill style to get them to stop.

How was your week??











Peace and Love--

The Penny Worthy Project

 It's been a busy thrifting week around here, the resell bug bit and I was off and running. Lots of sales on ebay, I also worked on budgeting my time so I can work, keep the house clean AND not get sucked into the internet. It's working well I'd say.

I have a secret project I'm working on, I can't show you yet but it's cool and it's upcycling. I hope to be done SOON, I'm getting kind of tired of it.

Last chance to sign up for the Homemade Valentine Swap, send me an email to jinxyjune(at) gmail(dot) com. If you signed up be on the look out for an email from me with your valentine exchange address list, it's time to get working on them.


Here are a few of my thrifting finds from the first Thrift Crawl last week. Good grief that was fun!

A friend found these

but didn't snatch them up, I did. I have a great idea for wrapping them in a little wrap bag mat thing for presents for kids. I saw the idea here and I have a feeling they'll be a real hit at birthdays. Stephanie don't look, Gabe's getting one next week.

Micro crock--small California Pottery was a dollar. These can hold anything you can think of, this one is currently holding acorns.

 I bought this and sold it the same day, apparently Boynton is a big seller. Good to know.

I have this one listed on ebay, if you're interested make me an offer!

 Spanish books sell well! These sold in less than a day. I have another lot I'm posting this weekend and I'm hoping it sells as well.

This is probably my favorite find of the week. I walked by it twice and debated it for a while before finally picking it. I don't need more stuff,(HOARDER) but I love it.

What is making your heart sing? Your etsy store? Your ebay auctions? Your decorating style? Your thrift finds? Couponing? Leave a link and share your inspiration.








Peace and love--

Staying Focused

I'm a stay at home mom, not a SAHM that "word" makes me want to gag,  I'm a mom and I don't have a paying job outside of my house. I get, yes GET, to stay home and keep everyone centered. This means I need to stay focused because no one is watching me during my time when the kids are in school. That time can so easily slip away from me that I really REALLY need to have a list(and we all know how much I love a good list) and a schedule.

Yes a schedule, or even better, more hippie, is a rhythm, my morning, my day, my jobs, my week and so on.  I have to know what's coming up, what needs doing now, what can be shoved back a day or indefinitely and how to make sure everyone has food, clean clothes, coats that fit, matching mittens and the like. To do this I make a pretty concerted effort to create and stick to a food rhythm, a weekly rhythm of chores and the same basic routine for each day and night. I've been jamming on this for a while and it was working really well.

But then interenet alone time came along, kids are school, I can veg on the couch and do nothing, while pretending to work. Time just started slipping for me, I wasn't spending horrible amounts of time online, it was certainly more than I need. The guilt caused by this shoddy mothering scheme was immense and crushing I could look around and see so many things undone and feel crappy about it, so crappy I went straight back to the internet to feel better. Tough cycle.

The other day I was inspired by late night coffee and my friend Luna to set a schedule for myself during my time at home. I come home and set the buzzer and cleaned up the house for 30 minutes. I was all a hustle and bustle and got so much done. Then I set the timer and packed ebay sales for shipping. Whew! done before the time was up. I worked in my studio for a bit setting up my ebay 'office' and felt great. I worked online in 15 minute intervals to make sure I did the 'work' I needed to do.

And I've kept it up, third day so far and I've got my 30 minutes of housework done and this included getting the vacuum into the drawers in the kitchen to suck out crumbs, not a BIG job but a little guilt inducing thing. Dinner is planned. I have an art project lined up for myself. I have some thrifting planned and I'm almost ready to leave.

I feel on a really even keel. I've not cut out internet altogether, just made a time slot for it. I don't need to check in on facebook 20 times a day. I don't have to tweet that the dog is snoring and it made me laugh. I can be me, here in my home and be really simply happy with it. All those little niggling things I need to get done, are getting done and that feels really great.




Oh Hey THE DOG IS SNORING #mastiff #lol #puppy



 Peace and Love--

Out My Window

To the east.

  To the west.

 To the south.

   To the north.

Peace and Love--

The Failing Septic: A Geek Tragedy

The last 10 days have been spent in heart attack mode. I went to work in my studio and stepped off the bottom step into a puddle. Now the puddle was only water from the washing machine, nothing nasty or gross, just bubbles. I've lived in this old house long enough to know that occasionally the washing machine will do this to you, especially when you least expect it or need it. It serves as a reminder and cleanser in one--don't leave things you love on the floor and if you do you'll be getting rid of them soon.

Now usually the the water just sucks right down and we're fine or we need a pump out because I never remember to get it done until it's. time. right. now. But NOOOO the water just stood there, mocking me, refusing to go away so I could do things I wanted to do, like anything else at this point. It eventually trickled away.

I called my husband and let him know, I was met with silence, which means nasty words I shouldn't repeat. You see we'd just had the septic pumped so the only other alternative to the water in the basement problem, snake. ARRRGHGHGH. Just the way NO ONE EVER WANTS TO SPEND THEIR WEEKEND, what a perfect Friday night.

So the snake was rented and it didn't fix it.

So we called the drain cleaner and for 140 bucks they "took care of it"

Which was a lie because within 72 hours we had water in the basement AGAIN. I tried to play it off like a fluke, but no it kept happening. DAMN.

And in the midst of all the chaos our furnace went out, all four zone valve brains fried out. It had been 25 below, luckily it warmed up and we didn't freeze. The furnace is fixed and will be fixed better soon.

But we still had water in the basement, which still sucked and seemed like an eternity of not washing every dish so we don't flood the basement. No taking a long shower, it was get in with cold water, get out as the hot water hits because godforbid you don't want to be the jerk who floods the basement.

Now along about now I decide our septic is failing because we pumped and it flooded. We snaked and it flooded. We professionally snaked and it flooded. THE ONLY POSSIBLE THING LEFT IS WE HAVE A FAILING SEPTIC. To be sure I had to know if the line could still possibly be blocked?

I called the drain cleaners back and asked them, nay told them, to "please come back I don't think you fixed it and I need to be sure you fixed it." To which their receptionist said "sure for 140 bucks..."At which point I relayed some vile mutterings and said "seriously? No I'll call someone who'll stand behind their work." 20 minutes later the owner called me and said his boys would be right out. When they got here the kid who came last time told my husband they never snaked to the tank but this time they did.(yeah I'm all over this on Angies List!!) Long story short, they did it properly this time and we don't have a failing septic just a house with very old, cruddy pipes.

Cheer! Rejoice! The angels of cleanliness are singing in my house! For the first time in 10 days we have clean laundry, clean dishes, clean children and no soapy water in the basement.

So what does anybody know about greywater recycling? During my "the septic is failing" mode I started thinking seriously about reusing the washing machine water for toilet water or lawn water. It can cut water consumption up to 20,000 gallons per year. Oh! I really need to do more research and find out all I can.

Some of the things I need to do find out:

is it legal in Alaska? can I use my wash water on the lawn? does anyone even care?

is it feasible in Alaska?

are there any plumbers (MY SON??) who work on or install greywater recycling units?

what will the best soaps for our family to use?


So much to think about, you know, now that the septic ISN'T failing and my brain can function, mostly.




Peace and Love--



 

Just Another Meatless Monday

First things first, I have 5 winners for the Paper Window Star giveaway! Coleen, Jods, Domestic Diva, Steph and Christina! Send me your address and I'll send you a star. Also tell me what color you'd like.

We started working on the house today, the never ending remodel will not kill us only make us stronger, and I needed a power lunch for us. Something to fuel us up and keep us going all afternoon. I made the wise decision to reach for lentils and make a vegetarian stew for us. I served it with a dollop of yogurt some garlic flatbread. Kept us powdered until snack time, which was a glass of beet, apple, and banana juice. Guess I finally figured out what to make with the 1 1/2 pound beet, that post is coming soon.

Vegetarian Lentil Stew
2 TBSP good oil
1 whole onion, chopped
4 ribs of organic celery, chopped
2 cups red lentils
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon garlic granules
1 teaspoon cumin
pinch of cinnamon
6 cups of water
2 cups frozen organic corn
2 cups frozen organic peas
3/4 cup plain yogurt-more for topping if desired
salt and pepper to taste

 heat a dutch oven over medium heat, when hot add the oil, onions and celery
cook for five minutes then add your spices and cook for another 30 seconds
add the water, deglaze the pan and bring to a boil
reduce heat and cook for ten minutes
you may need to add an extra cup of water here if the lentils get too dry
add the vegetables and cook for another 5-10 until the lentils are done
stir in the yogurt
taste for salt and pepper, adjust as needed
warm through
serve hot with a dollop of plain yogurt on top if desired

A note on spices; this was perfect for us but definitely feel free to spice it up for you. Extra curry powder or fresh garlic would be excellent or even more yogurt would have been wonderful.









Peace and Love--

The Penny Worthy Project

It's that time of year when I invite bloggers and non bloggers to participate in my Handmade Valentine Swap. It's very simple: make one, get one. You can send me an email to jinxyjune (at) gmail dot com and let me know how many valentines you would like to make. I'll send you a list of folks to send a Valentine to. I will try my best to make sure we all get to make roughly how many we signed up for. Though do be ready I may send you and extra name to send one to. They don't have to be huge, or fancy just heartfelt. The best part is playing with all the glue, tape, glitter, feathers and paper...oh and that moment you open your mailbox and it's got a card made just for you in it. Anyway I have two folks signed up already and we need more because I have a great idea for my valentines this year.

oh and grab the button for your blog!

<center><a href="http://heywhatsfordinnermom.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt10/laura70inak/valentineswap2-1.jpg" /></a></center>


OH! also I will be drawing for the winner of the Paper Window Star, leave a comment on that post to enter! I'll announce the winner on Sunday, well probably Just Another Meatless Monday.

Last week I showed you all my goodies for Murder at the Juice Joint, make sure you check out my photos. I'm wearing a dress, that's near as good as a Sasquatch sighting.

Woohoo Saturday I'm off on my first thrift crawl with some of my best friends. I love these ladies and we are going to have the best day! I'm sure you'll see the results of my thrifting day soon enough.

This week I jumped back into reselling big time. I read a post by Mom's Paycheck, she linked up last week, and I just got inspired. So with my eyes open I hit the thrift stores. I picked up some Le Creuset

sold already

sold already!

Some Dansk

listed not sold

I also hit up my closet that has lots of things left to resell too.

Like three pairs of crib shoes, the very last of a100 pair I bought a few years ago

Some Figgjo plates I never quite got around to listing

listed unsold

And a Royal China Blue Heaven Bowl

I also picked up some things for us
Like this cool stamp from 1976

gold green yarn

and two shirts for mr 8 year growth spurt

Why don't you join the fun and link up to the Penny Worthy Project? You can link up etsy stores, ebay auctions, thrift find, giveaways and art projects. Anything that makes your heart sing and your soul happy.








Peace and Love--

Menu Planning

Our box was full to brimming with lovely fresh beautiful produce from Full Circle this week. What a beautiful picture this is, it certainly brightened up my day.

--I'm seeing BLTs with that gorgeous lettuce and I still have home smoked bacon leftover from our pig last fall or I might make a wilted lettuce salad, akin to this Wilted Swiss Chard Salad

--Mmm roll your own sushi with fresh frozen red salmon and avocado or maybe a winter Gazpacho? yum
 --The nice big bag of Bok Choy made me think of Singapore Stew, which I haven't made in years.

 --Lamb kabobs with peppers and onions, no real recipe; olive oil, garlic salt and pepper marinade and saute quickly. We butchered a lamb last year but you can find pretty decent lamb at Costco.



--Lots of fruits for lunches and I do believe I'll be making some Orange Cranberry Upside Down Cake. I subbed in some mandarins for something else, I can't remember what, but now we are flush with orange goodness. 

 --I think I'll make a carrot and millet loaf, we got a bag of carrots and it's a recipe I want to try out. Er make up as I go along?

--Dry Fried Green Beans are on the list yet again, I can't get enough of their garlicky ginger kick.

What am I going to do with one giant beet, this thing weighs one and a half pounds. Well maybe the Grated Raw Beet Salad or I might just pickle it. What would you do with the worlds largest beet?

Are you getting a Full Circle box yet? What are you waiting for?


 Peace and Love--

Murder at the Juice Joint

WOW! Never thought I'd like to wear a costume and go to a party but I did. Here are some photos to prove it.

 My {real} husband even shaved his beard for the party. That's ALMOST as big a deal as me wearing a dress.
Everything I wore was thrifted, borrowed, made or already owned except the flower and feathers in my hair. Oh, and the tights because all I owned were leggings tights and those didn't work with my outfit.

 I hope they do another murder mystery party next year, this one was too much fun. And I never even figured out who did it.


Peace and Love--

No Post, I'm on Strike

SOPA and PIPA need to be stopped. Here's what the EFF have to say about it.

And the internet engineers too.

Read it.

Think about how we use the internet. No wikipedia. No etsy. No facebook. No twitter. No craigslist. No youtube. NO PINTEREST!!!

Basically it boils down to if a fellow blogger quotes another blog with proper links to the appropriate blog they could be shut down. Without review. One complaint could shut ALL of blogger down, not just the blog but the ENTIRE domain. This is insane and it needs to stop, contact your senator or congressman to let them know we don't need censorship in America.

These companies support SOPA and PIPPA--TimeWarner, Walmart, Nike, Tiffany, Chanel, Rolex, Sony, Juicy Couture, Ralph Lauren, VISA, Mastercard, Comcast, ABC, Dow Chemical, Monster Cable, Teamsters--BOOOO

In fact Go Daddy called my husband to re-up a few domains and he told them nope, we don't want to do business with a company that supports censorship. The customer service rep quickly explained how the ABSOLUTE UPRISING of their customers changed the company's stance on the issue. They supported it and when folks like you and me let them know how WE felt they changed their minds.

WE HAVE THE POWER. WE ARE THE POWER. WE CAN DO ANYTHING WE SET OUR MINDS TO DO. We just have to set our minds to it. 

Call you senators.
Call your congressmen.
Call freaking Juicy Couture and tell them to STOP THIS INSANITY.

Look if people in Libya can overthrow Mohimar Qaddafi then, we the people of the United States can get off our asses and stop our government, they don't even have guns pointed at us.

How to Make {another} Paper Window Star {giveaway post}

 My friend Nadja over at Willing Thinking Feeling sent me the directions to make this star. I love the way it turned out and asked if I could expand her directions and make a post about them. Lucky for you she said yes. You really should hop on over and see all the lovely stars she has made.

I will not kid you, the first time I made one it took 2 hours. Now I think I have it down and it's easy. But I cried a bit, cursed and kept at it until I made it, I expect you to do the same. 

 You will need 5 sheets of kite paper to make this star. I bought mine off of ebay for a pretty good price and the shipping was quick.

 I chose to use all purple but you can use any color you want.


 fold in half diagonally

 open and then fold in half again

 open and lay flat in front of you like so

 fold one half over to the center line like this

then unfold 

 then fold that piece in half over to the crease you just made

and fold again on the crease

repeat on the other side

then it's time to work on the other end-you'll be folding it the same way just smaller on this end-fold it over to the center

then open, fold it to the crease and then again

repeat on the other side

it will look like this

then fold the left point up to the center fold line

fold the right point to the center

then to make the points on each side-take the flat ends and fold each side to the center line

 on each side

 admire with the sunset coming through it

I glue down the tips and fold to keep them nice and tight-this one needs it's tips glued

now that you've cried, cursed me and come back for more, just make four more of these and glue them with a glue stick and you'll have this

leave me a comment to win your own paper star-- I'll pick a winner on Saturday!

Peace and Love--