exciting news!

becoming minimalist has moved.  please visit us at our new address: http://www.becomingminimalist.com/

also, don’t forget to update your bookmarks as all new posts will be entered on the new site.  we hope you’ll like the new look even more as we don’t change any of our content or stated goals.

the quickest sale on ebay – books

i love selling books on ebay. first, it gets them out of my house. second, i like turning my old stuff into money. and third, it’s so easy!

if you have never sold a book on ebay, i highly recommend it. ebay (as a minimalizing technique) can be very time-consuming. taking pictures, writing descriptions, and shipping packages tend to be a hassle for only a $4 profit. but ebay eliminates nearly all the time-consuming hassle when it comes to books.

when selling books, all you need to enter is the isbn number located on the back of most books. ebay automatically registers all the information about the book (title, author, description, etc.) leaving you to enter just a one sentence description and your shipping cost. not to mention, shipping books is easy (one manila envelope, please) and cheap (usps parcel post).

i hopped on ebay today to list some books that i found in my basement. i was surprised to see that ebay is offering a special 5cent listing fee on books until the end of the year. got a shelf full of books (or a box in the basement)? go grab a few popular titles and turn them into cash today (or at least in 5 days…)

related posts:

• what to do with books
• my junk drawer on ebay

minimalista

if i could start all over and money wasn’t an issue, i’d buy my furniture from minimalista.

but because money is an issue, i put my junk drawer up for sale on ebay.

my junk drawer on ebay

this evening, i stepped up to cross another cluttered area of my home off the list – the dreaded junk drawer.  i began the process using the steps that i have learned from the experts:

1. identify your clutter area
2. take everything out
3. return only things that need to stay
4. sort the rest into three piles: relocate, sell/donate, discard

as i pulled the drawer out of its slot, i had a change of heart.  instead of following the 4 step process, i reduced it to one step: 1. sell everything on ebay.  i kept everything - and put the drawer up for auction.

you can find the listing here: my junk drawer (untouched).  it’s your chance to own a little piece of my family.

ebay – round 3

we’re 7 out of 9 on ebay sales totaling $38.23.  not exactly funding our next vacation, but it beats throwing things in the garbage.  round 3 is currently underway.

donation day

we finally got around to donating our unsold items from our garage sale last weekend.  8 boxes in all – mostly clothes filled up the whole minivan.  we took the maternity and baby clothes to carenet pregnancy center.  and all the rest went to the new goodwill store that just opened last month.  as always, felt good.

garage sale

yesterday was our garage sale.  to increase traffic, our entire neighborhood chooses a saturday in june for the “pinewood manor garage sales.”  this was the first year that we participated.  and our first since determining to become minimalist.  garage sales can be a lot of work.  it’s not so much the putting things on tables or marking with prices, it’s going through every room in your house and collecting things that you no longer use.  but the good thing is regardless of how the garage sale goes, you have gone through every room in your house removing things that you no longer use.

we sold nearly 100 items and made $100+.  we would have been disappointed about the income if we weren’t so excited to just get rid of some of the stuff in our home.  we were able to sell several pieces of furniture, numerous decorative odds and ends, and countless toys and baby items.  the biggest non-seller was clothes – not sure what that says about our style.  everything else we are dontaing to charity, including:

• 22 sweaters/sweatshirts
• 55 shirts
• 18 pairs of pants
• 7 ties
• 6 coats
• 21 pieces of maternity clothing
• 12 hats
• 17 pairs of shoes
• 20 stuffed animals
• 8 blankets
• 3 decorative pillows
• 33 household items

it looks like we’ll need to make the mini-van to the local goodwill to donate this many boxes…

ebay – second round

last week, we entered the newest century and sold 2 of our first 3 items posted on ebay.  today, we listed our next 5 auctions.  you can check them out here (you may find something you need – especially if you are expecting)…

finally getting started for the garage sale

we finally started getting ready for our garage sale this weekend by going through one of our closets.  i pulled out 39 shirts, 9 ties, and numerous pairs of pants.  my wife threw up some similar numbers (although not quite as big).  we have purged our closets before (2 boxes of donations are still sitting in my basement), but this time it was much easier to decide to get rid of clothing.  instead of my typical “well…i might wear that again” response, i opted for a more minimalist “i don’t need a shirt that i never wear around my house” approach.  nothing to it.  they’re just waiting for sticker tags now.

ebay

for the first time ever, i put some items up for sale on ebay.  my wife is planning a huge garage sale for next saturday (june 7) so that we can start getting rid of some stuff in our house.  my mom has been selling things on ebay for years and has been consistently telling me to try it.  so, finally, i did.  the thought process was, “if i can sell it for more on ebay, then i should sell it on ebay.”

i’m starting simple – some children’s shoes.  easy to part with (they don’t fit), easy to describe, and apparently “they always sell.”  you can track all of our ebay sales right here as we continue to become minimalist.