No-Spend Month Series

Hello again, savvy savers! I hope you are all well rested, and ready for a new No-spend Challenge! So, for today we will tackle selling on Facebook.

So, why Facebook? Well, it’s super simple to sell your unwanted stuff on Facebook local Buy, Sell, or Trade groups. So, today I am challenging you to look for Facebook sale groups in your area to post, sell, and profit from your household items, clothing, sporting goods, and baby items.

You might consider the following great benefits to selling locally on Facebook:

• On Facebook, you set your price and there’s no one taking a cut of your sale price or charging you to host your listing.
  You can set your own preferred method of payment.
  You also have the opportunity to become part of a community where people are looking for bargains as much as others are looking to declutter their homes.

So, if you decide to start selling, here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Search for your state or region and the word “sell” or “buy” to find local buy/sell/trade groups.
2. If there are none, you can always start one and get the word out in your community!
3. You may find that many of the groups are closed, so you’ll have to ask permission to join, and others only accept certain types of listings.
4. Many have strict listing requirements and limits on how many items you can try to sell per day in order to stave off spammers and scam artists.
5. Be sure to check out each group/administration rules prior to joining.
6. Once you are a local group member, list your own items for sale, and set your own prices.

Once you have items listed for sale, here are some pointers to keep in mind when negotiating locally:

• Be sure to note whether you’re willing to ship something, or—in the case of furniture or large electronics or appliances—whether you’d rather the buyer come pick it up.
• Be specific in your pricing and listings; do not use vague terminology, such as “make me an offer.”
• Be prompt in answering questions, commenting on posts, as well as taking down notices for sold items.
• Always check your “other” folder in Facebook messenger; those whom you are not friends with, will have messages posted to this folder, so be sure to check it often to not miss out on any awesome offers of sale!
• Every 24 hours you can “bump” a listing, an action which will automatically move a listing to the top of the groups wall by typing “bump” in the comment section under your listing; this can be done once per item, per group, per 24-hour period.
• Be courteous. Allow users to ask questions, and then try and sell to the first inquiry before continuing down your list.
  Don’t be afraid of offers or hagglers. Know your items worth, not it’s sentimental value. In order to make a sale, you must be willing to negotiate on price; this doesn’t mean accepting insulting, low-ball offers, but reasonable offers.
• When scheduling a pick-up time, schedule your drop offs in a well lit, public place, and bring a friend or family member with you. Also, if selling multiple items, have your buyers come in 15 minute increments to avoid wasting gas and time waiting on buyers who may be no-shows!
• Have fun! This goes without saying you should have fun, even when selling goods!

So today, I challenge you to start selling your items on Facebook using these steps:

• Set a small goal, say $100.00 in value, or ten items to sell.
• Find a local Facebook Group.
• Join your group.
• Prep your items for sale; make sure items are clean, ready for pick-up, sorted, and photographed.
• Be patient! Sales take time.

So, for today’s challenge I did the following:

• Overall, I set a goal to sell $100.00 on Facebook.
• I listed ten clothing items, several new with tags (NWT).
• I have also already made arrangement for pick-up, and so my items are now listed as pending pick-up (PPU).
• I made sure to set my Facebook setting to notify me of all new messages, so that I can quickly check messages on my pc, laptop, iPad, and iPhone quickly. I am a third done selling, and have thus far potentially earned $78.00! 
• I feel that I am quickly going to make my selling goal! 
• I also cross listed items into several other local groups, and a local vintage group, too!

As well today I was also able to accomplish:

1. As part of my #Choose30 Daily Challenge, I woke up at 7:25, walked my fur babies, showered, & dressed to my shoes. (Thanks, Flylady!)
2. Worked on my daily Motivated Moms Planner.
3. I finished a day’s worth of clerking assignments ahead of schedule!
4. I cooked from my pantry for each meal.
5. Read my daily devotional.
6. I waked two miles.

Yesterday I saved:

• I eat at home this evening for dinner, saving our family $6.95. 
• I recycled, upcycled, and composted one bins of deluge, and saved $0.25, the cost of 1 trash bag. 
• I cooked three meals from my home pantry, saving $6.81 in the process.
• My family drank water today, and saved $0.69, the cost of a 2-liter of soda.
• I also did not watch cable tv, and saved $3.68 by doing so.
• I lost a half day’s worth of electricity costs, and saved $3.00! 
• I earned a $200.00 tax receipt from donating goods to local charities. 

Total amount I saved my family: $21.38

Here’s to saving,

Hello again, savvy savers! I hope you all are well rested, and ready for a new daily challenge! By now, you’ve probably heard of, purchased from, or price matched by way of Amazon.com. It is currently the largest retailer in the world, and honestly one of my favorite shopping venues as not only to they sell everything under the sun, offer free shipping  with Amazon Prime, or on orders of $35.00 or more, they also do not charge sales tax! Woohoo! Amazon makes the act of shopping in your slippers, a state of mind! 

Moreover, the Amazon’s seller program, similar to Ebay, doesn’t offer auction-style selling, but instead offers sellers everyday items such as textbooks, books of all values, conditions, and print-type, dvd’s, music cd’s, collectibles, and more to a larger, more managed audience! One aspect of Amazon selling I like is the FBA (fulfillment by Amazon) shipment method, where you can send all your inventory to Amazon and let Amazon do the shipping for you; for those who frequent the post office, this can be a major time-saving system.

So, why Amazon? 

1. Registering an account is free is you sell under 40 items per month; if you are selling more than 40 items per month, there is a monthly fee of $39.99.
2. Simplicity: You can watch movies, listen to music, and then sell for profit, or Amazon gift cards, to buy more of what you want, or apply to monthly groceries, by way of Amazon Pantry and Amazon Subscribe & Save! 
3. Extras: Somehow you ended up with two identical books/kitchen utensils/wall clocks. Rather than keep both, list one for sale.
4. As a profit-driven venture: Thousands of businesses use the service to sell products.

What Can I sell:

• Anything! Books, video games, movies, craft supplies, kitchen accessories, …the list goes on.
• Keep in mind that some categories are off-limits, such as “adult products,” and if your item is on the off-limits list, you’ll be notified. 
• An item may be in “acceptable”, “good”, “very good”, “like new” or “new” condition.
• It’s a good idea to be honest about the condition, accurately describing it as best as you can.

How to Sell:

1. Click here to sign in with your Amazon email address and password.
2. Next, enter your legal name and read the “Agreement”. Accept the terms and select “Continue”.
3. Add your credit card information: Amazon needs identity verification, so it asks for valid card information.
4. Choose your “Display Name”, aka shop name. Enter your mailing address.
5. On the next page, agree to be called or texted, as a  verification step.  A PIN will be provided, which you will need to enter before registration is complete.
6. Congrats–you’re a registered Amazon seller! 
7. If you have not already set-up two or more payment methods, on a buying account (one of which is a bank account), or if you have changed your payment method in the last 7 days, you will have an additional 7 day wait before payments are directed deposited into your bank account. 

How To List An Item For Sale:

1. From the homepage of your Amazon seller account, go to “Add a Product” (in the lower left sidebar). This takes you to another page where you can see if the product is on Amazon already. If not, choose “create a new product”.
2. List your item. Be sure to use a good quality stock photo, and then enter as much information about the product as possible. 
3. Before you set a price, gauge how others have priced it based on the condition. If it’s priced too high, it probably won’t sell; if it’s price too low, then it will sell really fast but you won’t get as much as you potentially could have.
4. Note that all shipping charges are preset. 
5. You can also opt to have your items mailed to Amazon, who will mail them on your behalf.
6. Amazon sends an email to you when a product sells.
7. If you prefer to mail parcels yourself, try to ship the item–with signature confirmation/tracking– be sure to do so within 3 business days to keep your customer happy.
8. Funds are deposited into your banking account on a scheduled basis.
9. After items have been received for a full 3 business days, you can request buyers leave you a product review, and a sellers review, too!

Sellers Tips:

• Fees are charged per sale.
• Fees vary based on the category and the selling price.
• Amazon deducts them from your balance. 
• Always use USPS’s Media Mail option, for shipping heavy books.

 For me, as I already have a seasoned account, I listed ten items for sale.

My Selling Goals Were:

• I am going to list 10 household items; 12 Blu-Ray Discs, and 10 PS3 Games.
• I hope to make $100.00 in profit.
• All items that do not sell will be donated to charity.
• All items will be listed for one week.

Also, you can use Amazon FBA to Fulfill Your Multi-Channel Orders – If you sell on eBay, Etsy, Sears.com or your own website, you can use Amazon to fulfill your orders from those sites. If you look at your FBA inventory page, one of the action dropdowns is Create Fulfillment Order.

As well today I was also able to accomplish:

1. As part of my #Choose30 Daily Challenge, I woke up at 7:25, walked my fur babies, showered, & dressed to my shoes. (Thanks, Flylady!)
2. Worked on my daily Motivated Moms Planner.
3. I finished a day’s worth of clerking assignments ahead of schedule!
4. I cooked from my pantry for each meal.
5. Read my daily devotional.
6. I waked two miles.

Today I saved:

• I eat at home this evening for dinner, saving our family $6.95. 
• I recycled, upcycled, and composted one bins of deluge, and saved $0.25, the cost of 1 trash bag. 
• I cooked three meals from my home pantry, saving $6.81 in the process.
• My family drank water today, and saved $0.69, the cost of a 2-liter of soda.
• I also did not watch cable tv, and saved $3.68 by doing so.

Total amount I saved my family today: $21.38

So today I challenge you to sell 10 items on Amazon.com! Moreover, do you already sell on Amazon? What has your experience been like? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! Be sure to come back this evening to see how my daily challenge went, as well as how I was able to additionally save around my home!

Please be sure to check back tomorrow for another way to save for this months No-Spend Challenge! 

Here’s to saving,

Good morning, savvy savers! Can you believe we are almost half-way finished with this month! So, today is going to be another organization day, but today we will be focusing on our home offices, bookshelves, craft areas, and/or home libraries. 

This is a very important challenge for me as I work from home, and so I spend an inordinate amount of time at my desk. You would think that would mean I automatically have the motivation to keep that area neat and tidy at all times.  And while generally speaking my desk is clutter-free, my drawers, rolling cabinets, and shelves are not!  My inbox/outbox too, was a mess, and my vertical files were full of unneeded papers, review guides, and coupons I hadn’t looked in several months. I firmly believe that home are our most important investments, and therefore our most important business. Keeping this space organized is essential to keeping our homes running more smoothly. 

So, for today I challenge you to join me in cleaning up these areas in our homes. 

A few tips to consider today in your home office:

• Create a container for important family and personal documents; this includes licenses, insurance forms, medical records, etc.
• Clear out your coupon binders, and make room for the extra inserts coming this Spring; be sure to donate coupons to Coups For Troops. 
• Tax files over five years in age, can be shredded and discarded.
• Be sure to recycle all paper products.
• Magazines can be donated to public schools and libraries.
• Tackle boxes make awesome crafting, beading, and thread organizers.
• Consider grouping like books together on shelves; educational, biographies, fiction, non-fiction, etc.
• Any books you would not consider either home reference editions or you would gladly re-read, place to the side, for local book swaps or library donations. 
• Re-think your office furniture; dressers, buffets, and other larger pieces can still be functional desk spaces, and will allow you to have cabinet space, too!

So, all-in-all, I’m really excited about yesterday’s progress in my craft room and office!

So, I was able to:

1. I cleared off my desk.
2. I organized my dining room bookshelves, putting like groups together, and placing non re-reads to a bin for a later book swap weekend.
3. I took the binders and manuals I previously housed in on my dining room shelves, and placed them on an upcycled shelf in my office.
4. I turned my former dining room buffet station into an office credenza to hold my craft room staples.
5. I sorted through my personal files, and established a personal box for my husband and I both, as well as created a new lock box system for credit cards, cash, gift cards, etc.
6. I cleaned out my coupon binder.

I felt completely overwhelmed when I started, and utterly victorious when I stopped! Woohoo!

I was also able to accomplish:

1. As part of my #Choose30 Daily Challenge, I woke up at 7:25, walked my fur babies, showered, & dressed to my shoes. (Thanks, Flylady!)
2. Worked on my daily Motivated Moms Planner.
3. I finished a day’s worth of clerking assignments ahead of schedule!
4. I cooked from my pantry for each meal.
5. Read my daily devotional.
6. I waked two miles.

So, what were you able to accomplish today, I’d love to hear about it below!

Here’s to saving,

Hello again, savvy savers! So for the Day 11 challenge, I want to discuss kitchen counter tops. 

For me, the kitchen is the heartbeat of our home, but too often our kitchen counters are cluttered, disorganized, and undervalued! This lack of prime household real estate, in my opinion, could be much better utilizes the day-to-day activities of a home. So, today I challenge you to incompletely clean off your counter-tops. This should be no longer than a 1-hour project for today’s #31DayLWSZ challenge! 

A points I would like to add as a caveat to this challenge:

• You may be thinking, is that really more convenient? Yes, is it. While leaving tools, crocks, and small appliances on the counters seems easier, this allows for your tools and appliances to be subjected to spatters of food, grime, bacteria, staph, and other contaminants. We place dishes in cabinets to prevent this same scenario, why not for your small appliances? 

Also consider the following:

• Will it take more than two seconds to pull out a toaster? How long does it take to plug-in?
• How often is the appliance used?
• Do you have to clean the item more than you would stored in an above cupboard?
• What is the cost of purchasing, cleaning, and laundering appliance cozzies?

Consider the cost of a messy counter:

• Is the cost of leaving a small appliance plugged-in, and potentially sitting as a fire hazard or phantom power source truly worth it?
• An appliance regularly used for 1-3 minutes daily, remains plugged-in constantly, and so small appliances are a power phantom source; this can cost as much as $1.00-$2.00/month, per item! 
• Also worth noting, the appliance most likely to cause house fires, according to the National Home Owners Association, toasters! 
• You may also be thinking, will my cabinets be able to hold these items? Yes, I believe so. Divide cabinets by need, cook and food prep, dishes, and the like, and if items will not fit, and they have not been used within six months, consider donating or selling these items! 
• Larger appliances, such as stand mixers, can also usually be stored in larger, vertical below counter cabinets, as well. 
• Mid-size appliances such as  bread machine, blender, immersion blender, and rice cooker can easily fit into most cabinets. 

So how should you go about this? Follow these steps:

1. Declutter your cabinets: Clear out your cupboards of anything that you don’t use on a regular basis. Make room in your dining room, basement, or stockpile area for seasonal items, such as punch bowls and holiday dishes. Purge, recycle, sell, or donate items that have not been used in a year. 
2. Zone your cabinets: I have a zone for coffee, baking, and pets; keep like items together. Creating zones in your kitchen helps to keep your cabinets organized, helps you to know where to store things, and helps you work more efficiently in the day-to-day running of your home. 
3. Create Nook Spaces For All Other Items: Anything random, left over, and not able to be placed into cabinets, think of creative, upcycled ways to display and store these items. 
4. Keep Counters Cleared: Nightly, as part of your bedtime home routine, simply take the items misplaced on your counters, and go put them away. 

The process of minimizing your kitchen, clearing off your counters, and creating new home work stations is not an overnight process. It takes work. You will probably be able to clear off your counters in an hour, give or take the existing items you have on hand, but the real time will come into maintaining this standard– unless you work at keeping order in your kitchen, you will never have order in your kitchen. 

This project will pay out great dividends in the long run, I promise! Know I’m pulling for you today!

Be sure to check back in tonight for my daily recap!

Here’s to saving,

Hello again, savvy savers!  I hope you all are well rested, work-minded, and in the mood for cleaning and organization this week! 

As you know, this last week, we focused the first part of the week on pantry organization, organizing food swap days, creating meals based on pantry staples, and then switched focus to alternative pantry re-stocking methods, and this morning we are going to scrub, dust,  sort, purge, evaluate, and hopefully make a profit in the process! For the rest of the week we will be focusing on mini-areas within our homes, and today I want to tackle bathrooms. 

So, today I am challenging you all to accomplish three tasks:

1. To tackle a one hour cleaning challenge: you will need to start by a visual decluttering and surface cleaning of your home. 
2. To sort and purge from your medicine cabinets, makeup bags/drawers, and to clean out under your bathroom sinks. 
3. To also clean out any linen closets and/or closets within your bathroom spaces. 

A few tips to keep in mind today for your bathrooms:

• All cosmetics older than one year, should be purged.
• All cosmetic sharpeners, brushes, or curlers two year or older, should be purged.
• All hair coloring products or kits, two years or older, should be purged. 
• All vitamins or supplement older than one year, should be purged.
• All flue, cold, sinus, or allergy products older than two years, should be purged.
• All essential oils three years or older, should be purged.
• All first aid items, older than three years, should be purged and replaced. 
• All digestive aids, older than three years, should be purged. 
• Any fiber-based supplement, older than a year, should be purged. 
• Anything half-way or partially opened or consumer, than has not been utilized within the last months, should be purged.
• Anything unopened that have in multiples, pharmaceutical or cosmetic, than you will not use in one season, should be moved to a stockpile area.
• All expired medications should be purged in sealed Ziploc bags, with your home information blacked out with a sharpie.
• Any nail lacquers that have been to separate should be purged.
• All manicure and pedicure supplies, that are used, but have not been utilized within the last six months should be purged. 
• All paper or cotton products should be visible, organized, and easily accessible. 
• Purge your oldest towel set; towel, hand towel, and wash cloth. 

A few tips for cleaning out your linen closets:

• Bundle like sets of sheets together.
• Keep necessity items, such as bathroom staples, in small baskets, labeled, and clustered on a single taller shelf together. 
• Corral cosmetics on servings trays for easy removal.
• Any mismatched items should be donated.
• Any fraying towels should be donated; animal shelters are a great place to send unneeded linens. 
• Prevent dust from covering linen sets, by placing them inside their coordinating pillow cases. 
• Antique linens are best to hang; install two hooks and a dowel rod in the bottom of a closet for hanging linens. 
• Store throw pillows and guest pillows in a top shelf basket. 
• Store towel sets in stacks for easy removal.
• Store like items on like shelves; linens with linens, towels with towels, and the like. 

Now, while this list seems extensive, depending on the size of your home, should only take a couple hours today, and in the long run should greatly help you not only today but in the future. This week is not only about creating long-lasting cleaning solutions in your home, but establishing routines that will help you not only keep your home cleaner and safer, but to shave the time it takes you to do so, in half! 

 Be sure to come back this evening for today’s cleaning recap!

Here’s to saving,