AptRxFan's Profile

THANK YOU FAITH! I love my friends, love having them to dinner, and gave up this winter when I realized my guest list *WAS* that diagram. When will we realize that our hopelessly neurotic individual dietary preferences are killing life's great pleasure of breaking bread with friends? Is gluten really worse than eating dinner by ourselves in front of the interwebs? Here's hoping neurotic dietary preferences go out of style faster than those "Keep Calm And Carry On" posters. Any Etsy artists on this thread who will make me a "Freak Out and Eat Gluten" poster? LOL.

I heart Unclutterer! Several of the tips have changed my life for the better. The Freedom Filer wrangled my papers into shape and saves me a ton of time and aggravation. I find Erin's philosophy really supportive - it's only clutter if it's getting in the way of something I want to do. If it's not bugging me or getting in the way, I can just ignore it. Don't need to buy special containers, or label it or sort it. Several of her household routines have been helpful to me too. Love that she and her husband do twenty minutes of cleaning together most days - means their home is clean and functional and leaves little room for resentments to build up about one person doing more than the other.

Source for those overhead spot lights that wash the walls with perfect pools of light? Those little lights make a major impact on the feel of the space.

DISPLAY: borrow a portable clothing rack, suspend a curtain rod from tree branches, or string up a clothesline so that you can hang clothing from hangers. Borrow extra tables and bookcases from neighbors and friends to display household goods, toys and books. People are more likely to browse, and buy, if you make it easy for them.
EXTENSION CORD: so buyers can test anything electric.
CASH BOX: attach it to a big heavy table with a laptop lock or bike lock. I disagree with the author's suggestion to leave the box inside - you don't want to be going inside every time you make a sale. Of course, if you're raking in the dough, it does make sense to take extra money inside periodically for safer storage.
TAXES and PRICING: Review Goodwill's pricing guide and last year's tax return. Do some quick calculations about how much money you'll save on taxes by donating something. When negotiating, use that as your absolute floor for pricing. If your effective tax bracket is 25%, then donating a shirt valued at $1 by Goodwill will save you 25 cents on taxes, so it's worth selling if you can get at least a quarter for it. You might price it at 50 cents to give yourself some space for profit and negotiating.
GOODWILL GUIDE: http://docs.goodwill.org/alfresco/d/d/workspace/SpacesStore/36cf5260-0bd6-4eea-acfb-8a80e3e014b0/Donation_Valuation_Guide.pdf
iPHONE APP for tracking donations (gets mixed reviews):
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/idonatedit/id341013253?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D6
RECEIPT: Itemize what's left at the end of the day and make sure you get a receipt for whatever you donate.

I deal professionally with allergen abatement. The bad news is that pet dander will persist for six to nine months in a home after the pet leaves, even with professional cleaning. If allergies are severe and it's possible to live elsewhere, that may be the better choice. If not, definitely tear out carpet, and ideally replace with non-carpet flooring. Pet dander is small and airborne, so borrowing a HEPA air purifier and running that for a few weeks may help. Wash any drapes or other linens in hot water. And give the apartment a thorough scrubbing and wet mopping - pet dander will stick to walls, cupboards, baseboards etc. If the allergy sufferer has to do the cleaning, consider taking some allergy medication preventively (anti-histamines, steroid nasal sprays) and wearing a protective mask. Ideally, the allergen abatement can be done by a non-allergy sufferer.