Monday, March 26, 2012

My Opinion Monday - selling on Craigslist

I've been bitten by the Craigslist bug (no, not that one that requires an antibiotic, I stay out of the W4M section) recently and have come across some really annoying habits of people that post their items for sale. There's a way to sell items on Craigslist - it's called the cheap way. This is not the showroom at Homemakers furniture people, it's your garage so no one is going to pay what you paid 6 months ago. It's like buying a brand new car and driving it across the lot and expecting to get exactly what you paid for it, or more! Here are some pet peeves I've found in recent posts (my apologizes if these links don't work by the time this is posted or you get around to reading it...)

1. Big Daddy Chair - $325. This fella notes he doesn't have room for it and needs to sell for the space. My question - WHYDIDYOUBUYITIFYOUDONOTHAVEROOMFORITTHEN? Did you not think at the store, "hmm, this looks really big but I bet it won't fit in my house..." I imagine it went more like "hmm, this looks really big, I don't think it'll fit in my studio apartment but I've got $500 to burn so I'll take it! If it doesn't fit, I can always sell it on Craigslist." Good luck with that. PS I rotated the picture for you :)



2. Huge Mirror - $150 This poster notes it's "still in new condition" - um no it's not sweetie. Do you now why? Because you bought it, therefore making it new to you, second hand to anyone else that purchases it. And if you paid more than $150 for that mirror, you got robbed. You should go to Gordman's next time.


3. 3-piece bedroom set - $500 500 dollars? Are you serious? For a headboard, dresser and nightstand from 19whenever? I paid $10 for a headboard like that at the Salvation Army a few months ago. I'm going to cover it with fabric. I didn't buy it for looks, I bought it for the function. If I want to pay $500 for a bedroom set, I'll go spend twice that at a store and finance it for free. You'll be lucky to sell this for $125.


4. Custom Tile Fireplace -$250 Seller notes it's look great in any house. He's clearly not seen an updated, contemporary home that has a fireplace using tiles that cost more than the $0.54 ones that he's selling. Custom items are custom to you, not to anyone else purchasing them. No one will pay what you paid for custom. If they do, you better remember their name so you can sell them the rest of your stuff.



5. Comfy bamboo/wood furniture set - $450 I'm sorry, comfy and bamboo/wood just don't really belong in the same sentence. The couch posted has bamboo arms. I can tell you that does not look like a place I'd like to lay my head down and take a siesta (nap for all you that failed Spanish). I love The Golden Girls, but I don't want their furniture; I actually sit on mine for more than a few hours at a time while taping.


6. Television wall mount - $20 Ah yes, because everyone is mounting their giant tube TVs. If you paid $50 for it at Mendards, TAKE IT BACK! Don't people save receipts? Although, this is for an old school tube TV that pretty much only 3 year olds have now.


7. Hide-a-bed couch - $20 It's like a Where's Waldo in this picture. It really is hiding. I had no idea what I was even looking for. Thank goodness the seller apologizes for the pathetic photo. But if you recognize that it's a bad photo, TAKE ANOTHER ONE! If you don't have the option, just put it on the curb and put it in the free section.


8. Ethan Allen Sofa - $500 OMGOD I can't believe she paid $2600 for this sofa when it was new! The only person that likes this sofa is "beautiful" is my grandmother, and she doesn't have a computer. Therefore, she does not have the internet and can not contact you to purchase.

9. Potato Bin - $20 Much like the TV stand above, wondering if these things are still useful. Good to know that the top and drawer open though.


10. Every other post that does not include a picture. Include a picture. Even my dad has a phone that will take a quick picture. Do it. I bet your stuff gets more attention that way. I myself don't even look at posts without pictures. I like to see what I'm going to waste my time on.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Kitchen Remodel Update

I know this doesn't look like much (okay, yes it does) but I wanted to post a few new pics of the progress on the kitchen remodel. We're in the final staging of pouring our concrete countertops and hopefully those will be installed next week. In the meantime, all the painting has been completed and hardware has been updated:



The accent cabinets are not white - they are Benjamin Moore Barely Teal and match/accent my Kitchen Aid mixer pretty well. That pretty little beaut will be stationed on this side of the kitchen for all to see!  These cabinets do have the same hardware as the gray cabinets, I just haven't taken an updated photo of that yet.

And as you've noticed, the booze has still not left the kitchen. Even though I added a ton of cabinet space, you didn't see that I actually had some storage racks there previously and so all that I had on those I've put in these cabinets. I really didn't gain much storage space, but I did gain covered storage space which I love. The big cabinet is awesome for those silly appliances you hardly use - crockpots, griddle, blender, etc. I still haven't found a permanent home for the booze though...it needs to be easily accessible, visible and in the kitchen. And that is where it has stayed during this time. I'm sure when all things are done it'll be tucked away nicely in a cabinet.

And one more picture - part of the concrete countertop almost ready for filling, sanding and finishing:
I do realize that one section is curing better than the rest. Well, that's because we were so excited to make sure it look much better than the underside that we slide it off the form just a bit to take a peak. Then the next day we flipped it over and noticed that portion was curing faster than the rest. So we're hoping that by next week it's fully cured and we can get these puppies filled, sanded and finished!

Please excuse the horrible quality of all the photos on my blog. I'm still rocking a 3 Megapixel cell phone camera. Don't hate. 

Monday, March 19, 2012

My Opinion Monday - posting sweet nothings on hisFacebook

I'm going to offend someone in this post for sure, probably close friends that even read this blog but I'm doing it for your own good. Please take what I'm about to say to heart and change the way you tell your significant other that you love them and can't live without them. 

Facebook is not the place to do that. 

I've noticed a trend in seeing my friends posting sweet nothings on their significant others Facebook wall and it makes me cringe. I grew up getting cards telling me how much my parents love me (and to this day will get at least 4 per occasion...one for me from my mom, one from my dad, one from my dog, and one for Tyler and I from my parents) and although there are times I think it's overkill, I still enjoying getting those in the mail knowing that they took the time to actually go to a store, read through a bunch of cards, underline what they want to emphasize, put money in them, and mail them to me. It means something to me. I do the same for Tyler. Cards are a must for every holiday - he found out the hard way this past year on my birthday and hasn't  missed since!

When I see my friends posting on their husband's wall (because Facebook makes me) sweet nothings about how much they love each other, how they couldn't imagine life without them and how they can't wait to spend every single day together for the rest of their lives and have babies and grow old together and on and on and on...well, it sounds forced and in my opinion, cheapens the actual sentiment behind it. I mean, come on ladies (yes I'm talking to you, we all know most men aren't doing this), you LIVE with the guy and you're going to see him in 4 hours when you're off work. Can't you send him a text or give him a card if you can't say it to his face!? if you find that you can't actually say it to his face, you've got other issues. Getting hammered drunk might help though. You don't need all 400 Facebook friends to see how much you love each other via your Facebook wall posts. Unless you're trying to prove a point to someone that you know is going to see it...which makes it even less meaningful. 

I know that you love your husband (or boyfriend for that matter) - you're either MARRIED to him or living with him so I get it, I don't need to see it on Facebook. If you must show the Facebook world how much you love each other, do it with pictures (PG though, save the X-rated for another site) or your relationship status. 

It takes just as much effort if not more to login to Facebook, find their page, get to their wall, type the message and hit post. How about picking up the phone, hitting #2 for speed dial (your mom should be first) and telling that person how much you love them. Or go the extra mile and write an actual note, like on a piece of paper or grab a card the next time you're at Target. Then pick up some of his favorite candy to go with. He'll probably do the dishes that night for you. Doubt he does that after your Facebook post. 

So please friends,  think before you post next time. If it's something like "hey, forgot my phone today, can you grab some spaghetti on your way home? Love you!" that's one thing. But "Oh my god, you are the best thing to ever happen to me, I love you so much, I'm so happy we are together..." - wait until you get home and tell him face to face or shoot him a quick text message if you just can't stand not telling him for 4 hours..or 2 minutes since he's probably just in the bathroom and all. 
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