2013 Big Clean- A Happy Ending (for now)

Well, my house may not be as sparkly and shiny as it was going to be (in my dreams), but I'll tell you what:  we are de-cluttered.  It is nearly impossible to clean to the standard that I would like when there is a very curious (and very mobile) baby trying to help all the time.  Then again, why would I want to clean when I could just play with said curious baby instead?

I mean...seriously. How cute is this kid?

 The main living area, kitchen, and master bedroom and Eli's room got a really good clean, and it feels so great to have gotten rid of all of the stuff that was sitting around just taking up space.  It's like all that junk was clouding my ability to be creative.  And, I'll tell you what, there is a LOT of creativity happening over here recently. I figure that I can clean at any point in time, but this creative wave may only last for a period, so I should probably make the most of it.   Eventually, I'll get around to posting some before and after pictures of the crazy organization that took place, but for now, I shall say goodbye to the 2013 Big Clean.  It's been refreshing, and I'll look forward to next year's reunion.

Buh-bye Junk! I won't miss you at all! 

Have you finished your Big Clean? Did you get everything done that you wanted?  Or, like me, did you realize that sometimes "good enough" really is good enough?

 Now, it's baby shower central at casa de Wightman. Watch this space for a post about a totally Pinspired baby shower for my dear friend, Heather! 

Big Clean: E-bay Selling Tips and Tricks

So, this post for those of you who have never ventured to sell anything on eBay.  I hadn't either until a couple of weeks ago. We made about £40 from the stuff we sold on eBay after postage and packaging.  We also sold some of our old CD's and DVD's to Music Magpie and got about £20. Bonus! So, I would definitely do it again, but I'd use some of the knowledge I gained from my first sales.  

(photo credit: marketingweek.co.uk)

Here are my tips for selling multiple items at one time on eBay while getting organized for the Big Clean:

1. Before listing your stuff, make sure you work out what your postage costs will be. I didn't do this and ended up paying about £10 more than I charged people. Duh, right?
2. Make sure your auctions start/end around the same time.
3. Make sure you have the packaging you need for all of your items.  I didn't do this and ended up running around like a headless chicken on the day I was shipping all the stuff!
4. As soon as you have a bid on an item, place the item in the package. Then, label the outside with some masking tape so that you know what it is.  That way, as soon as the auction ends, you can just stick a copy of the buyers invoice in the package, tape it up, and label it with the address of the winning bidder. Easy peasy!
5. Aim for your auction to end sometime in the evening.  This way, you can make one trip to the post office towards the end of the following business day.  I sold about 8-9 items, and ended up making 3-4 trips to the post office.  What a waste of time!

 Use that money to buy some fun stuff to help you get organized! Or a new purse.  Or shoes.  Or wine.  Whatever. ;-)