I’m back on the road, traveling full time in a small RV. I am open to working on select Purge Genie projects as I travel. Obviously, due to travel efforts, the projects I choose would have to be pretty much large household wide projects that have a high potential of compensating me for my time and travel (such as estate liquidations, divorce consolidations or other major purging attempts). I would need to plan to stay about a month in your area - working at your property. I will spend at least a week or two preparing and listing everything, and then another week or two shipping.
Due to other things in my life needing my focus and attention - including trying to sell my own home and my technology consulting business keeping me working long hours - I’m taking a hiatus from my Purge Genie side business/hobby.
I’m also in process to getting back on the road to nomadism, so likely any new clients I take on will not be in Florida - and rather households I encounter along my journey.
Oftentimes when I am at a client’s home, they hand me boxes full of boxes. Books are things that are easy to collect. They hold countless facts, tell us tales and invite us into the lives and minds of the author. They are amazing and usually treasured parts of a household. But they also take up lots of space and weight a lot - so thus are easy candidates to purge whens simplifying a home.
People tend to think that books should hold their value, particularly those of popular authors. But this is not necessarily true, which is a shame considering the effort gone into producing them. I’ve had to tell many a hopeful client that out of the hundred books they’ve given me, that likely only 10% or so will sell for more than $5. The rest? Probably not worth much more than a couple cents.
Here’s some guidelines on re-selling books:
- Popular fiction author’s rarely hold their value. They are so mass produced in multiple editions, that the bookstores get flooded with them. Which means the resale market for them is rather limited.
- First Edition / First Prints of some of the author’s first titles do hold some value
- Signed copies, if not personalized, can increase their value
- Selling a huge set of an author’s books can increase the value. For instance, I once sold a set of 14 hardback Steven King books on eBay for $37. On Amazon Marketplace, each was only worth a penny.
- Hardbacks usually have more value than paperbacks.
- Small release books hold their value best. If there are less copies in production, then there may be more demand.
- The better the condition of the book, the better the value.
- Books with writing inside are not generally of interest to others
- Books with clean covers and minimal shelf wear can be sold for a higher value
- Non-fiction books that aren’t outdated tend to do better than fiction.
- Mass produced book of any sort generally don’t have a lot of value - if you bought it at a wholesale club, then it’s probably not going to sell for a lot.
- Textbooks only have value if they are still being used in courses somewhere. It’s best to sell them as soon as possible after your course ends, and a few weeks prior to the beginning of a semester. And just because it’s not in use at your campus and your bookstore won’t buy it back, doesn’t mean other colleges and universities aren’t using it.
- Books from book clubs rarely have value. This includes Reader’s Digest collections, and the like.
Usually with each client I discover a few gems that have unexpected value. So the process of going through a stack of books is worth the while and it only takes a few moments to check. And then I get inventive with putting lots of books together to sell as sets on eBay - either in groups by author, genre or topic. The rest get donated.
Originally uploaded by Serolynne
This recent Purge Genie item from a client of mine was a heck of a lot of fun to research. It’s owner wasn’t able to give me many details on it, and didn’t think it would be worth much at all. I discovered a bit of its history, listed it on eBay and had the actual artist contact me to fill in the details! It sold for $78, and ended up going to a buyer in Vallauris, France - the vase’s birthplace. I was so happy to hear from the buyer that it arrived safely - I had fallen in love with the beauty of this piece.
Originally uploaded by Serolynne
One of the things I love about doing Purge Genie, is getting to use office supplies. I’ve always loved office supplies, and I’m enjoying having an excuse to buy them. When looking for where to purchase my next supply of bubble wrap from, I came across colored bubble wrap for about the same price as what I had been paying for clear.
And bonus.. they had it in purple! So now, most Purge Genie buyers will receive their fragile items safely wrapped in purple bubble wrap, complimenting my spiffy new purple logo!
And who could resist not wrapping themselves up in bubble wrap??
For Christmas, I received an EyeFi Wireless SD Card. It sounded really cool, an SD memory card that will wirelessly transmit photos as you take them to your PC and/or your favorite photo sharing sites.
As cool as it was, the card sat in it’s box for the last month or so.
Until yesterday, when I had a realization as I was taking pictures for Purge Genie listings. See, my little lightbox photo studio is set up in my dining room, and I generally make my listing entries in my office. I was typically photographing a batch of items, and then downloading the photos to my computer to process(I was previously using a SD card that converts to a USB device). Which means if I discovered later that I needed a different angle, better lighting or changed something about the items in the listing - I had to go reshoot just that one item. That meant putting the card back in the camera, reshooting, taking the card out and then re-downloading. While not terribly difficult, it was just extra steps that added to the complexity of things, and made me bit more reluctant to go back and take the perfect picture.
And then I had an ah-hah moment in which I remembered I had the EyeFi card just sitting there in its ultra nifty packaging. I set it up - slick and easy to do - and viola.. my process greatly simplified. Now, my photos auto upload to a directory on my computer as I take them, no more shuffling cards about. I take pictures as I need them, and usually by the time I walk back into my office the photos are waiting for me to upload to eBay.
Very nice. I’m quite pleased with the EyeFi and how it’s made my listing process just a bit easier.
Originally uploaded by Serolynne
Introducing my new Purge Genie Logo - designed by the very talented Heather Reinert in Melbourne, Florida.
Missing Pieces Don’t Mean No Value
Missing pieces on items doesn’t mean no value. I sold this underwater video camera housing with an essential missing piece (the entire back - not exactly water tight) for $66.
Sure, it’s not full value.. but it’s a lot more than my client would have gotten by tossing it. And someone else who access to a back will be able to make us of it, thus keeping this sort of stuff out of landfills.
My de-clutter business helps people get rid of stuff they thought was just junk.
Purge Genie / http://www.purgegenie.com
There are many steps to effectively relocating unneeded items into the hands of those who can best make use of them.
- First, you need to identify the items you’re ready to get rid of
- Next, you have to research their potential value and where is the best place to try to sell them. This might include Amazon Marketplace, eBay, Craigslist, classified groups, etc.
- Getting clear photographs showing the condition and details of the items is essential. I use a a lightbox that I built out of PVC piping, fabric and some lights.
- Writing your listings with clear language accurately describing the items.
- Sit back and wait for the listings to close and collect the payments. Oftentimes having a lot of communication with potential buyers who have lots of questions.
- Safely packaging the items and shipping them to their buyers.
Here’s a picture of me in my Purge Genie office, where I can do most of the above from one spot. I have my systems optimized to provide quality results.
Unidentified items doesn’t mean no value
Originally uploaded by Serolynne
Don’t know what something is? Doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value to someone.
A client handled me a box with this stuff in it with little information. A little research revealed it was radiation counter tubes used for sample collecting. So, I listed what information I had, admitted I was a dofus as far as what they were… .viola, a closing bid of $202.
Not bad for admitting ignorance! My client had been holding on to these for years because he didn’t know where to turn to get them into appreciative hands.
My de-clutter business helps people get rid of stuff they thought was just junk.
Purge Genie / http://www.purgegenie.com
Instead of just donating your used clothing to charities to resell to people you don’t know.. why not find creative ways to dispose of your unneeded wardrobe pieces? One such idea is a clothing swap party.
Here’s the idea. You invite all your friends over, and ask them to bring a bag of clothing from home of things they’re no longer wearing and would have donated anyway. Everyone gets together, perhaps even sharing a pot-luck meal, tasty beverages or whatever. Everyone then spreads out their clothing and everyone goes through it to find pieces they might like and goes to try them on. For a fun twist with the right group, you can turn it into a ‘Naked Lady Party’ - in which everyone takes off their clothing and tries on pieces right there.
It’s a great opportunity to have a fun social party, embrace the philosophy of re-using and gives your entire social network awarenes around purging.
You can even have pieces of clothing for the whole family that get swapped around.
In the end, any pieces that didn’t find new homes, the host can collect and make a large donation. Usually, the guests allow the host to take the donation receipt to use as their tax write off in thanks for hosting the party.
Just because something is broken doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value.This 5-year old laptop a client handed to me has the screen broken off. The laptop still worked if it was connected to an external monitor, but there was no way to verify if the screen would ever be repairable. (At least, I couldn’t.). So, I listed it as is, was upfront about the damage and encouraged it for someone wanting a project or parts to repair other laptops.
One in good condition would have sold for about $175.. I netted a closing bid of $77 for this broken thing that the client thought had no value. And, someone else will be able to make use of this, instead of it ending up in a landfill somewhere.
Don’t discount something just because it’s not fully working - sometimes it does still have value to someone.
My de-clutter business helps people get rid of stuff they thought was just junk.
Purge Genie / http://www.purgegenie.com
Clothing is fun to buy and wear, and I love variety in my wardrobe. When I had access to a large closet and dresser, I’d almost always have them at full capacity. No matter the space I have, it always seems to fill. In order to make room for new purchases, I have to get rid of the old. This is usually accomplished by once or twice a year doing a round of purging.
I go through my closet and drawers, take everything out and toss it on my bed. I then put it all away, but evaluating each item for the following:
- Have I worn it in the last year?
- Does it serve a useful function in my wardrobe?
- Does it still fit?
- Is it something I will actually wear in the next few months?
- Is there anything annoying about it? Such as unusual fit, scratchy materials, I don’t have the proper bra to wear under it, etc.?
I then toss stuff that doesn’t meet my ‘keep’ criteria into a pile to donate somewhere locally. Some items, if they have value (such as formal wear, vintage clothing, high dollar specialty items, hardly worn stuff) I might put up on eBay - but generally, clothing doesn’t hold enough value to do so.
It’s a great process, and seeing the results of a trimmed down closet and drawers that easily shut is quite rewarding.
And now I have justification to go buy new things.
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However, last year I moved into a 50 square foot travel trailer for seven months as I traveled around the country. My closets and drawers were reduced down to about 1/15th the space I was used to. I did a massive purge with a lot of pre-thought about what I’d actually need to take with me. Unfortunately, the space I had didn’t leave room for a lot of variety in my wardrobe. I had only enough space to keep enough basics to meet the different climates I would be in. After a month or so, I knew I’d be bored wearing the same things over and over.
So, what I discovered as a solution to this was just to plan of refreshing my wardrobe on a regular basis. But this would far too costly to do on a regular basis by shopping in regular stores. I had already been introduced to thrift store shopping, and really enjoyed the process. But up until this point, thrifting was a fun hobby that helped supplement my wardrobe with cool things that I wouldn’t ordinarily buy at department store prices. So, I decided to try making thrifting my primary way of replenishing my wardrobe as I traveled.
I would plan to purge about 1/5th my wardrobe when I started to feel bored (or the climates changed) and then only restock my wardrobe with thrift store finds. It became a lot of fun to find the thrift stores in the various cities I was in, and having a constantly refreshed wardrobe for only $20-30 a trip. It worked really well for me, and I felt good about embracing the re-use philosophy.
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Now that I’m back in a regular house (with plans to hit the road again the future), I’m keeping the same model. I keep my wardrobe small, so that I can hit the road at anytime with minimal preparations - and I enjoy the pursuit of thrift shopping to inexpensively refresh my wardrobe. But I always donate something when I get something new.. keeping my wardrobe size the same.
Stay tuned for more tips on fun ways to keep your wardrobe refreshed..
So many times when going through my stuff, or someone else’s stuff - it’s easy to just consider stuff to just be junk. Perhaps you don’t recognize what something is, or it’s not something you appreciate or have knowledge of. The tendancy is to just toss it. But I’m constantly amazed that with just a bit of research effort, I often discover that what I at first thought was just ’stuff’ is actually worth something to somebody. And even if I don’t find much information on the item, just posting it on eBay with as accurate a description as possible oftentimes yields me pleasant returns.
Don’t just toss your stuff. Someone else may appreciate it and even be willing to pay your for it!
So you’ve decided to take the big step and purge your house of unneeded stuff taking up space. But what to do with that stuff? Sure, some of it is destined for Goodwill or the curb, but a lot of your stuff still has value and is worthwhile trying to sell. eBay and Amazon Marketplace give individuals the tools to sell their items with just a bit of effort. Beyond making sure you set up eBay, Amazon Marketplace and PayPal accounts (and accumulate a high rating on those sites by fulfilling several orders to satisfied buyers), there’s an essential toolkit you need in order to fulfill orders:
- A digital camera to take photos of the items you’re listing on Ebay, Craigslist or any other site. Having quality photos that shows the item, the condition it’s in and any other details that buyers want to know - is the key to just selling the item and selling the item for maximum dollar.
- Proper lighting and backdrops for taking photos. General household lighting and the flash on your digital camera rarely cuts it for most items you might want to sell. You’ll end up with bad shadowing, cluttered backgrounds, flash spots reflecting back off shiny surfaces, etc. For smaller items, constructing your own light box is a great way to go. Or set up an area of your home with lots of lighting, a clean background (a table, clean floor, open wall, etc.) and take lots of photos to make sure you get one that is clear. Experiment with different angles to get the flash just right.
- A measuring tape. You will need to take measurements on many of your items to list them - especially on clothing, collectibles, furniture and other miscellaneous stuff. If you don’t include measurements, many potential buyer’s will write asking. And after the sale, you may need to take measurements of the boxes you’re sending to calculate the proper shipping fees. A seamstresses measuring tape (one that is flexible) is a great way to go. I usually keep one within arms reach when I’m preparing stuff for sale and shipping.
- Cleaning supplies. Most of your items will probably need a good dusting off and cleaning before they can be photographed. And having an item that looks newer will lead to more satisfied buyers. You will net unhappy buyers demanding refunds and leaving negative feedback if you ship them something dusty or dirty.
- A postal scale. You will need to know the weights of your items to be able to estimate what the shipping costs are going to be. For eBay, you have to state upfront what you will be charging for shipping. Be sure to include the weight of the box and shipping materials you’ll be using to secure the item during shipping. Don’t rely on a bathroom scale for smaller items, as most bathroom scales are not reliable at the smaller weights. You’ll need to know the weights down to the ounce in many cases, especially if you plan to print your own postage at home by using PayPal or the Post Office’s online postage centers.
- Decent writing skills. When you write your ads for your listings, use good grammar and spelling. Be sure to accurately describe your items, and absolutely disclose any defects, scratches, smudges or damage to the items. Write your ads, proof read them before clicking the submit button, and then proof read them again after the listing is live. Well written ads sell your items and instill trust in your potential buyers.
- Shipping boxes. Chances are, you haven’t kept all the original boxes your stuff came in. And even if you did, they’re likely not shipping worthy. You’ll need boxes to ship your stuff in. Save boxes you receive from items you’ve ordered and re-use packaging whenever you can. Ask friends and neighbors for boxes they’re not using. And as a last resort, visit your local office or shipping supply place and buy the boxes you think you’ll need. You may need to take measurements of the items you’re selling to know what size boxes to buy. And remember to add the cost of your box into your shipping quote on eBay listings.
- Shipping Supplies. Most of your items will need to be properly secured in their boxes. Never leave an item loose in the box - as it will tumble around during shipping, potentially causing damage during transit. Your buyer will not be happy when they open the box. Save things like bubble wrap, shipping peanuts, wrapping paper, newspaper, styrofoam inserts, those bags filled with air, shredded paper, plastic grocery bags, etc. to use as packaging supplies. Re-use (clean) materials whenever possible - it’s good for the environment and good for your pocketbook. And, as a last resort - buy some at your local office supply store.
- Printer and Paper. You should print out a packing list with your order (which are usually supplied by eBay, PayPal and Amazon), and if you use online postage - you will need to print out your postage.
- Selection of Stamps. If you’re selling things like books, DVDs, CDs, LPs, etc. - media mail via the USPS is the cheapest way to ship them. Unfortunately, you can’t print media mail postage online - so you’ll have to use old fashion stamps, or take these items to the post office (personally, I prefer just sticking them in my mail box as the orders come in). If you have several of these items, it’s a good idea to go to www.usps.com and buy a variety of stamps. Check out the current media mail rates (1 lb - $2.13, 2 lbs - 2.47, 3 lbs - 2.81) and have an idea of the weight of the items you’ll be shipping. You’ll have to buy a variety of stamps to make up the exact postage. I typically keep these denominations on hand: $1, .80, .37, .10, .03 and .01 so that I can make up the typical media mail rates. Oh, and be sure to have something to ship these items in! I find that 10 x 13 envelopes are great for most books, CDs and DVDs.
- Packing Tape - A roll of clear packing tape and a dispenser are pretty much essential for both sealing up your shipping boxes and attaching printed postage and addresses to the front.
- Scissors - You’ll need these to cut your printed postage out, potentially cut bubble wrap and other items.
- Pen/Marker - It’s always nice to scribble a quick note of thanks to your buyers on their packing list.
- Scratch Paper - To mark down measurements, weights, potential damage to your items to disclose, etc.
If you’re using the Purge Genie full service, you don’t have to worry about all of the above stuff.. because I take care of the transaction from start to finish.
Stuff. Look around you, it’s everywhere. Whether you purchase it at your local mall, Amazon.com, eBay, a thrift store, WalMart, received it as a gift, got as swag from a conventions or even if you’re crafty enough to make it yourself out of stuff you got elsewhere - no matter how much space you have, you can pretty much count on stuff filling your space.
Several years ago, I make a conscious attempt to break my mindless consumer acquiring cycle after reading an inspiring book The Sacred Santa: Religious Dimensions of Consumer Culture
As is typical in life, I would have my good moments and my weak moments. And when you’re living in a large house with lots of space, it takes a while to realize the impact of those weak moments. And a good round of purging every year or so goes a long ways to keeping the amount of ’stuff’ manageable.
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This past spring, as many are well aware of, I did likely the most major purge of stuff I will ever (or at least I hope) in my life. I trimmed the contents of my 1600 sq ft home (that I shared with a housemate) down to fit into a 50 sq ft travel trailer (that I shared with my partner) plus a couple of boxes stuck in storage. I sold a good bit on eBay and Amazon marketplace, and I donated several carloads to Goodwill. And I can honestly say, I don’t miss any of my ’stuff’.
The relief I felt from shedding so much stuff, made me realize just how much baggage stuff is. We choose our living environment in part based on how our stuff will fit into it, and we upgrade to have more space to hold our stuff. We pay for our stuff constantly by renting moving vans and efforts we take each time we move locations. We box it up, put it away in closets for ’some day’. And when our closets are full.. we pay to store our extra ’stuff’ in places where we don’t interact with our stuff at all. We keep spending more money to keep our stuff, leaving less money to go do things that acquire memories that don’t take up space.
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Now of course, some stuff is worth keeping. I’m not saying.. stuff is bad. But I am saying, it’s easy to get wrapped up in acquiring stuff and not benefiting from the reasons of why we got it in the first place.
When I moved into a 16′ trailer to be shared by two for our amazing seven month cross country road trip, I had to consciously consider every single thing I moved into it. Every piece of clothing - will it be versatile enough to merit the space? Every bra, every pair of socks, every toiletry, every kitchen utensil and every piece of jewelery. I kept only a selection of my poi supplies (my art, I guess you could call it), and I trimmed down my office into a backpack and a small portable file case.
Now of course, most people will never need to go to such extremes as I did, but it was a valuable lesson and perspective adjustment to see just how little stuff I actually needed to be comfortable and happy.
Amazingly, after Chris and I both moved into such a small space - we actually have little pockets of open space. As we go along our journey, there is temptation to acquire new things. Whether it be attending conventions and getting new cool bags and pens and such. Or friends gifting us with cool things. Or doing shopping of our own. Even consumables, like food, we have to be conscious of the space it takes up. Even with as little stuff as we have as compared to the typical American household.. we find ourselves being bogged down by ’stuff’ and repeating the purge cycle.
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Over the summer, we attended SolFest in Hopland, CA - an festival for solar power and other green living choices. Chris and I partook of the organic wine tasting, which required BUYING one of their wine glasses. Granted, it’s a nice, durable, wine glass with the SolFest logo. And for $10, you got the glass plus 5 tastings. We argued with the volunteer that we didn’t want glasses - we didn’t have the space for them, and we didn’t have the need for them (glass.. trailer.. bumpy roads.. bad). It wasn’t about the cost of buying a glass, it was about being conscious of acquiring things.
So instead of buying two glasses, we just shared one. Which turned out to be a great lead-in when tasting, as when the vendors asked ‘Just one glass?’, we would explain why. It drove home the point of just how integrated in acquiring stuff is in our culture . Even at a ‘green’ festival. We also got several of the vendors intrigued by our journey. We actually ended up ‘tasting’ far more wine than two tasting packages would have afforded us by vendors pouring liberally for us as we told our tales - all catalyzed by being conscious of how much stuff we acquired and holding only one glass.
Less stuff can equal more quality.
Oh, and the fate of the glass? We gifted it to a friend along the way who was serving us wine and didn’t have enough wine glasses and was going to buy more so she had enough for future guests.
I’ve been selling ’stuff’ online for years. And earlier this year, when I did my massive purge - I learned a lot more about how to figure out if stuff is worth selling, what it’s worth and how to most efficiently get rid of stuff. And.. I actually *enjoyed* the process.
As I’ve traveled across the country, I discovered that a lot of folks have a block against going through their stuff, despite a desire to purge and reclaim space. So many people remarked with a bit of envy on my purge process, and how they have bookshelves of books, DVDs, clothing, software, old electronics, etc. just sitting around taking up space. I was even surprised to discover that my own partner, Chris, was toting around gobs of gadgets because the thought of figuring out if they were worth anything (and doing something about it) was too overwhelming. So even while I was purging my entire house from 1600 sq ft to 50 sq ft, I sold a bunch of his stuff too and netted him well over a grand for his ‘junk’. It was an easy task for me.
When I had the opportunity to stay with folks for any length of time, one of the ways I offered to help out and earn my keep was helping them purge stuff taking up space. I helped our friend Martha in Oregon get rid of a bookshelf full of old books she just really didn’t have room for anymore. And I helped Chris’ parents sort through piles of old electronics and LP albums.
And I’ve discovered.. it’s FUN to do this stuff. I actually enjoy it. And I’m good at it.
So, now that I’m stopped in Florida for a bit, and looking to establish sources of income that might become mobile in the future - I’m playing around with the idea of offering purging assistance as a service.
So, I introduce to you my new service website:
For now, I’m limited to offering my service to places reasonably driveable from Melbourne (or folks willing to otherwise pay my travel expenses, I suppose). So, if you or anyone you know might be able to benefit from this service - please contact me. I figure this is the sort of service that will be best spread by word of mouth - but I’ll also be placing flyers up on community bulletin boards, and keeping an ad on Craigslist too.
