Bless you (Curse you) eBay™

A generous offering it was. The powers that be at eBay™ decided to reduce the listing fee for one day, yesterday, making nearly every fee only 15¢. Fifteen cents! I'm not complaining, mind you. OK, maybe I am complaining just a little, given that I had just finished listing some things when the announcement came out regarding the special day. And I am complaining just a little, given that I did not have anything ready to list for the special day. And I am complaining a little because it sure made for a stressful experience while I looked for things to add before the special day expired. And I am complaining a little because I have an entire house full of stuff that could be listed in one day if I only had the project moving along a little better.

Curse you, eBay™.

Then again, it did help in some regards to have that special day. You see, even with all the stuff that I ingest and inject on a daily basis (medically prescribed, I'll have you know), none of it helps all that much with motivation. The other issue that slowed me down last week was the fact that I became a bit overwhelmed by the scope of the project, and began to slowly question why I was even attempting to take on such a chore. I suppose to some extent the lack of focus on a specific room played a part in the feelings of futility. [note: I do have a few votes, and am looking forward to the tally day. Oh, and I did not publish your vote, Mir, because I did not want to sway the opinions of others] The lack of sales on eBay™ played a part because it is sad to spend the money to list things and not sell them, but that is minor. I mean, heck, I sit out all day long for a yard sale and don't sell everything, so not selling is not anything new. Perhaps the biggest problem I had last week was the one thing that makes this project so important. I was having problems letting go of stuff. MY stuff. In the future I will present my position on all the declutter experts, but suffice to say there is one thing they really need to understand. In some ways, decluttering is like losing weight. If you don't look at the root causes, it will come back. There is a "possession factor" with clutter that goes beyond just getting rid of a few pounds of stuff. In future days I will discuss this issue more, but for now I will just say that between that factor, and all the holiday meals, I still have some weight to lose. I will also say that the special listing fee day did help renew some motivation.

Bless you eBay™.

Doing the Math - Week Four

Between the family home for Christmas, with associated distractions, and waiting for people to vote on one of the three rooms (hint, hint), the project was not a primary focus last week. Well, there was another reason, but I will leave that for another post. Still, I did manage to select items to pass along to new owners, one of which has an interesting story attached to it, and if you check out the current listings you will learn of that story. Today, however, is math day, and I think I shall make it a extraordinarily fun one, and I will dedicate it to Mirinda.

Part of my clutter is something that can be found in many homes, or so I gather from a variety of sources. Not unlike many people, I often toss my loose change into a jar, or more accurately, a pile on my dresser which ultimately becomes so large that the coins get transferred into a jar. A recent news story (about the relative value of smaller coins and the new legislation regarding that value) made me reflect upon this pile of metal. This reflection led to a non-felonious idea that made me chuckle, and made the Mrs. roll her eyes. You see, I have decided to use that pile/jar of change to create a special listing for eBay™. The fact that it makes a cool math problem is a bonus.

OK, the concept is simple. I take an equal number of quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies and put them into a bag. Let's say 25 of each. That means the face value is as follows:

25 Quarters = 25 x .25 = $6.25
25 Dimes = 25 x .10 = 2.50
25 Nickels = 25 x .05 = 1.25
25 Pennies = 25 x .01 = 0.25
Total = $10.25

If you put this into an ordinary paper lunch sack, it weighs between 13 and 14 ounces. Now, reaching into the sack and stirring it well, I take a handful of coins out. My cupped hand measures around 3 x 2 x 2 inches. In three random selections, I end up with the following:

Draw one (apx 6 ounces) -

14 Quarters (3.50)
13 Dimes (1.30)
8 Nickels (0.40)
11 Pennies (0.11)
Value = $5.31

Draw two (apx 6 ounces) -

13 Quarters (3.25)
7 Dimes (0.70)
11 Nickels (0.55)
8 Pennies (0.08)
Value = $4.58

Draw three (apx 6 ounces) -

10 Quarters (2.50)
6 Dimes (0.60)
11 Nickels (0.55)
15 Pennies (0.15)
Value = $3.80

Based upon this, the average of an approximate 6 ounce draw is worth around $4.56, or so it would seem. Just for giggles, let's take one more draw:

Draw four (apx 6 ounces) -

13 Quarters (3.25)
10 Dimes (1.00)
10 Nickels (0.50)
10 Pennies (0.10)
Value = $4.85

Now the face value of that 6 ounce average is about $4.63, a nice little increase. Of course, it could have very easily decreased. Based upon this little exercise, however, it would be interesting to see how much a Mystery Bag of Loose Change would go for on eBay™, don't you think? I mean, the notion is enticing, and I risk taking a loss, but it would be fun. Yes, I think I will do just that.

The Mrs. just rolled her eyes again and mumbled something about "silly."

Twoday is a Good Day

Ignore everything you have heard about the key to life, success, joy, blah, blah, blah. Unless, of course, what you have heard is the same as what I am about to tell you, then you can revel in the knowledge that you finally got some decent advice. Being an expert on nothing, I am here to tell you that the key to all things good is compromise. Yes, that concept of concession, that midway point of opposing views, that idea which lays open resolution of problems; compromise is key. Look around at all the examples Nature provides of compromise at work. Granted, right now I can't come up with a single illustrative example, but why should that distract from my viewpoint? I mean, seriously folks, do you really think any of us would be here right now if it were not for some measure of compromise? Especially those of you who are married and/or have children. Oh, you KNOW what I mean.

Prior to the initiation of this project, I engaged in an act of compromise with the Mrs. regarding the condition of the house. A place to sleep, a place to eat, and a place to sit and watch television. And toilet access. These concessions were made in order to go through the daily routine of ignoring the piles of stuff about the place. I may be a tremendous sinner, but the woman is a saint. When the pharmaceuticals finally kicked in and most of the internal demons were locked away in the special mental closets reserved for them, I began to get disgusted with my clutter and chose not to ignore it myself. I shifted things about, cleared up the primary rooms to acceptable levels, and after some mildly animated discussion, we instituted the "two day" rule. Clearly stated, this rules holds that I will place no more in a designated area than can be cleared out within two days. Mind you, she was hoping for "would not sit in one place for more than two days," but the magic of compromise brought forth the current state of affairs. I would be lying if I said that all was happy, happy, joyful bliss, especially given that I am a charter member of GRUMP (Generally Resentful Union of Mean Pessimists). Still, having the "two day" rule does satiate the desire to toss things into, or dig things out of, the trash. Not that such a thing would ever happen. Ahem.

So you see, compromise brought forth the "two day" rule, which helped to ignite the pilot light for One Room At A Time. The project, upon successful completion, will bring forth joy, which will make life more...livable. And that is key, I would say. Spread the word.

Doing the Math - Week Three

Flexibility is a good thing at times. Actually, I would have to say that flexibility is a good thing in general. This project lends itself to using a flexible approach. To illustrate, I submit the following.

Let's say I have twelve rooms. OK, I guess I have said it (not counting porches, garage, and storage), but stay with me on this. Twelves rooms matches twelve months very nicely, so it would be simple to say I will tackle one room a month, which then would lead to the conclusion that the project ought to come to a nice tidy end after a year. Simple to say, yet not so simple to achieve. Why? Again, an illustration. Take one room of moderate clutter that measures twelve foot by ten foot. Within a square foot of floor space sits ten items, leaving the possibility of 1200 items on the floor alone. Adjust for vertical clutter of say, four feet tall, and there exists the possibility of 4800 items within the room. Account for a marginal walking path and tweak the number for easier mental math, and it is quite possible that one room could contain a potential 3000 items. Using a standard month of thirty days, this means that one hundred items could be handled per day and require a decision. If only one is determined to be sold, ninety-nine items are left. Take one down, pass it around, and they fill up space in another area, making the math even harder. Additionally, this also means that it could potentially take 3000 days to clear out just one room. 3000 days or 8.219178082 years. Per room. So much for mental math. Ignore the three rooms that have the "2 day" rule (that discussion is for another day), and I am left with 9 rooms, which equates out to somewhere in the neighborhood of 73.97260274 years.

Obviously listing an average of one item per day needs to be re-evaluated. I think I will make it an average of two items per day. That's being flexible, right?

The pressure, the pressure!!

It would seem that even given my explanation of why my eBay™ items are coming from many rooms, there still exist those members of my support system who feel it necessary to urge, wheedle, coax, and otherwise press me into a decision as to which one room I will focus my efforts upon. It helps that I love them. Considerably. Granted, the whole purpose of the project is to tackle one room at a time, but seriously folks, it ain't that easy. To help illustrate this problem, I have decided to take a course of action that brings me a bit of fear, raising certain paranoia alarms in my head. I have narrowed my decision down to one of three rooms, let the world see them, and give those who read this blog the final vote. [shudder] So, before I change my mind, let's take the mini-tour.

Basement Girl's Room A

This is actually the second bedroom of two that I added to the basement of our house, but there is a smaller space behind it where the utility meters are located which requires monthly availability. Some of what you see in the photo was actually stored in that space at one point, but I moved it out because I have a couple of homeowner issues to deal with in that small space which required relocation of everything in the space. The inventory of the room currently includes camping items, tools, computer stuff, home electronics, fishing gear, and other stray things of relative importance. Not everything will be available, and some of it is heavy, but I am willing to focus on this room if chosen.


Basement Girl's Room B

The first room I built in the basement, it is the one of the three that is the most cluttered at present. I would say that 90% of the stuff is computer related, but I know there is some clothing and miscellaneous household items hiding in there. The orange chair, however, is NOT available until I die. Again, not everything seen will be available, and some of it is heavy, but I am willing to focus on this room if chosen.




Attic Storage

Perhaps the most organized of the clutter, but lots of clutter non-the-less. In fact, this is the location of much of the yard sale leftovers. Found in the space is just about everything, including my magazines that I will get read at some point. Right. I will remove the dust from anything and everything that comes out of this room, but like the other two, not everything is available.




OK, so there it is. Now I have to release the choice into the hands of those who read this blog. Scary. Since it came to my attention that one must have a Blogger/Google account to post to this site, I have made available an email address to gather the thoughts of others, which I might actually post at some future point (given proper permissions). You can contact me at 1rat@cox.net to voice your choice, or make other comments. I will tally the votes Saturday, 30 Dec 2006 and make the plans to focus on that ONE room by the start of the new year. One vote per supporter, please. That way the Mrs. can't flood me out with her choice.

All The World's a Staging Area

During dinner with the Mrs. the other night, the conversation turned to the project. She brought up the stated purpose of One Room At A Time being just that, one room, and that everything I have done to this point (in terms of listing on eBay™) originated from many rooms. I agreed, but clarified that one room was the goal, while many rooms was the necessary path at the moment. I followed with an explanation, which I now share with you.

I am a clutterer. This is different from a collector, in that there really isn't any specific organizational structure to what is kept. No filing system, no albums, nothing that defines a collection. It is also different from a "pack rat," which involves pretty much keeping every physical item with which one comes into contact. My mother, sad to say, was a prime example of the latter. When we cleaned the house she had lived in for just over a quarter century, we found things that the vast majority of humanity would call trash. OK, so maybe just the Mrs. was calling it trash, but the point is that even I had to shake my head in disgust as I threw away junk mail from the '80s and coupons that expired a decade ago and things broken beyond any conceivable repair. I then came home to my clutter and realized that I was frighteningly close to the same status. Still, there was a distinct difference. Nearly all of the things that filled the various rooms of my house had some value, just not exactly value to any person living in my house other than me. Boxes of magazines that "will be read some day." Stacks upon stacks of computer items (in a previous life I was a Computer Dude). Camping supplies, tools, clothing, home repair and maintenance items. Stuff. MY stuff. Somewhere in that psycho-alphabet soup they've put in my file is the label OCD, and most who know me would say it fits. Dang it.

So, anyhoots, the problem with being a clutterer is that clutter migrates more than vanishes. In my meager defense, I will throw things away when they have lost value, although it might take an epic passage of time before I come across them again. If my chaos called a brain senses even the slightest potential use, then an item retains value and must be stored somewhere. Granted, it would be nice if I could put, say, that open package of safety door latches (which holds three of the original seven) in a specific location designed for Household Hardware Needed in the Future, then things wouldn't be so...cluttered. This, of course, depends upon actually having a specific location designed for Household Hardware Needed in the Future, which is not the case at the moment. Why? Well, because that location now holds other items. Aha! Now we come to the crux of the problem!! In order to focus specifically on ONE room, there must be a place in a different room to hold the items that are truly worthy of keeping. If the determination is made that Household Hardware Needed in the Future will go in the place that currently holds The Computer Undead, then The Computer Undead must go somewhere. If it is determined that The Computer Undead needs to go where the Inherited Train Stuff now sits, then the Inherited Train Stuff must go somewhere. And so on, and so on, and so on. That is why I am selecting items from many rooms at present rather than just one room. I have to find the space, or as I am apt to say, the staging area, to put the things that will be released into the hands of others who will cherish and find value in those things. I will call this space The Staging Area For Items of Value Destined For New Owners. Yeah.

I'm gettin' there...

Doing the Math - Week Two

Today's lesson: Do your homework!

Part A - Read the directions carefully. For example, comprehend that "starting at" means something different than "costs." Thus, noting that USPS Global Priority mail "starts at" $4.25 will tell you that $4.25 is the MINIMUM you will pay, but not the maximum. Very important.

Part B - Do not skip any steps. For example, when your brain actually processes that "starting at" means "it could cost more," take the time to actually weigh and measure your item to be mailed. Visit a website that can give you a closer estimate of the true cost. Use that information wisely. Very, very important.

Part C - Learn from past mistakes. For example, charging $12 for shipping and paying $14 for shipping results in losing a bit of income (see Week One). Recognizing this and recalling it when determining shipping costs helps to avoid future blunders of a similar nature. Very, very, very important.

Doing your homework therefore keeps the following from happening -

Item sale price: 0.99
Shipping charged: 7.00
Total payment: 7.99

Listing fee: 0.40
Final value fee: 0.05
PayPal fee: 0.61
USPS Global Priority to Japan: 9.50
Total costs: 10.56

Something about that looks wrong. Wonder if I will figure it out in time?