Cleaning house

One thing that makes me sad is neglected blogs.

People blog. I like to think they blog for a reason. I also like to think they enjoy blogging. But whenever I come across a blog that hasn't had any recent postings, I wonder, what gives? What has happened to that person? Why aren't they blogging? Do they not care about their readers?

In my case life has gotten in the way. This is the first time in a week since I've found the time to log in and write. I've been busy, busy, busy, mainly dealing with decluttering and other house issues. It is time to clean house, so to speak. I've been packing stuff away, going through stuff, sorting stuff into piles, giving stuff away on freecycle and selling stuff on kijiji and usedottawa. Right now, I can deal with the organized chaos of my basement. What I can't deal with is the mounds of paper I need to shred. This is no word of a lie, but I have two big garbage bags filled with shredded documents. And I'm not done. I'll likely fill another bag before I'm completely finished.

Anyway, I thought I'd take a little break between shredding sessions to pop on and say hi. I'm sorry that I've neglected the blog. It has been very much on my mind, but I need to deal with the clutter first. It is time to clean house.

Just because you like your stuff doesn't mean everyone else will

On Saturday, me and two fellow mommas and friends, organized a charity garage sale. From gathering donations, to organizing and pricing, this sale was a huge undertaking. But all the work we invested into it was well worth it as we raised more than $450 for the CIBC Run for the Cure.

For the last two months, I've been slowly getting rid of darling daughter's baby things. It has been a work in progress. I sold a bunch of stuff in July through on-line classified ad sites. I've taken a break because that it was a huge undertaking in itself. Dealing with strangers, including those who can be classed under the random category, can sometimes be an exercise in frustration.

I decided to put darling daughter's clothes in the garage sale because I have painfully discovered that selling baby clothes is nearly next to impossible. Some stuff I sold at the garage sale almost broke my heart. Parting with baby clothes is hard as they are a reminder that the baby age is gone she'll never be that small again. Despite the fact you are ready to let go, it is hard to divorce yourself from these items. Throughout the sale, we sold the clothes at bargain prices. Again, this broke my heart (and injured my ego a bit) as I knew they were worth more than what we were selling them. I tried to remind myself that (a) this was a garage sale, not a consignment sale and (b) selling this stuff was raising money for charity. I think at one point I agreed to sell a clothing lot consisting of seven sleepers and two pajamas for $5. That was hard.

Despite having my heart broken a bit, my ego was injured when people rejected darling daughter's stuff. The thoughts of What do you mean you aren't going to buy this stuff? My kid look darn cute in it? ran through my head as people pawed through the clothing bins. Despite trying, I couldn't win.

I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with the leftover items. I guess I could keep them. Or I guess I could try and sell them again. Between trying to sell baby and maternity clothes, I think I've given myself a massive headache.

Sell, sell, sell! Everything must GO!

I'm not much of a salesperson, but lately I've been in full sales mode.

I'm cleaning out darling daughter's closet. All baby items and related baby gear must go. I don't have the room to store it anymore. Plus, we've pretty much decided that we won't be expanding our family any time soon, if ever.

Selling stuff online isn't as easy as it looks. It takes a lot of time to gather up items, take photos, price and post on various websites. The work doesn't end once items are posted. Dealing with inquiries and arranging pick up times, I'm finding, is the most time consuming. Although some potential buyers may show interest, four times out of five, you'll never hear from them again. I'm new to the online sales game, but I do have some tips for those who may be considering going down this avenue.

* Photos do work. Photos of the actual item are likely the best. Yes, it is time consuming to take photos of your items, but people want to see what you are selling.

* If it comes from a smoke and pet-free home, state it in the ad description. It is a selling feature.

* Price reasonably, but not outrageously. Although I do price my items reasonably, prepare to bargain. Many times, people will ask below the selling price. You may want to price items with bit of a bargaining cushion.

* Don't give out your address right away. Like I said before, I'm finding that four times out of five inquiries I get, I won't get a response back. I only give out my address once we've agreed on a date and pick up time. If you aren't comfortable giving out an address, meet in a public place. If a potential buyer is coming over to your house make sure someone else is home with you at the time they arrive.

* Have items handy at the front door before potential buyers arrive. This will make transactions go quicker and easier. You also may consider having change ready, just in case you have to provide change.

* Since online selling is a bit like fishing, don't be afraid to negotiate with various interested buyers on one item. The whole purpose of the exercise is to get the item sold and out of the house.

* Get leads from friends. I won't lie: selling through online classified listings can be frustrating and time consuming. Ask friends, acquaintances and even buyers that you've had positive experiences with in the past if they have any leads of people who may be in need of the items you are selling. You never know, you may get lucky.

* Creating a new email account directly for dealing with online inquiries may be a great idea as all inquiries will be in one place, not mixed up with your personal emails.