So, what did I lose and what did I find?

It occurred to me after my last post that I didn't properly explain my blog's title. I don't want to get all philosophical and blog about losing myself and rediscovering the "new me," although once a person becomes a MOM, a slave to greedy little children, a person who now wipes bottoms for a living (doesn't pay much, by the way) it goes without saying that you become a different person. And I may blog about that later but I am afraid I have little to offer others relating to that topic, since the "new me" is still waiting to be found.

What I have found is toothpaste, clothes that don't fit, picture frames without pictures, free samples, nice shoes, craft supplies for crafts that no longer hold my interest, seed packets from years past, Christmas gifts not given, books, cleaning products, decorations, cat toys, candles and Halloween costumes. While I am not ready to go on a television show about hoarders, I do recognize that I have too much stuff. Fortunately for me a lot of my stuff is pretty nice, nice enough to re-sell, although I cringe at how much money I wasted on things in my former life. I definitely used to shop a lot, although I have always bought on sale. I used to work in retail, so there were just too any opportunities for bargains and I always had a good "gift stash" of deals that came in handy for holidays and birthdays and baby and wedding showers. But when I think of all the money I could have saved...

First thing I did when I quit my full time job years ago to stay home with my son was sell my most profitable items on ebay. I even opened my own ebay store. Problem with that is you quickly run out of things to sell and the few unpleasant experiences you have with "crazies" tend to discourage you. It is also very time consuming. So, while I still have my ebay store, it has not been a good source of income for some time now.

Garage sales are a good way to get rid of items, but where I live people want a deal, so even if you have unworn clothing with tags still on they might not give you what you think is fair. And garage sales are a lot of work, especially if you have small children underfoot, and the weather can really be a factor. I have had good luck selling baby and children's items through my mothers of twins club. We have a big sale twice a year and I have done it several times. It helps to volunteer to help set up and work the sale; you can get a good idea of how to price your items, you get first pick after setup to shop and you get a lower percentage taken out of your sales for the club.

I have also done consignment shops (not very profitable) and just plain given items away. I give to charities pretty regularly, since I don't have the disposable income right now to give cash donations I am glad I can give things to others who can use them. Of course, I keep my receipts for tax purposes!

But what I feel best about is my resourcefulness in finding new uses for things that I find around the house. Whether the item becomes a new gift for someone else or gets used in a new way, I feel almost as good as I would have if I had gotten to buy something new from the store. (Ah, that "shopper's high" when you get a bargain!) My little way of "saving the planet."

More about that in my next post...