Two Bucks

I love to give out Two dollar bills.

 I had a stash of them I'd been saving for family Christmas gifting. I usually put them in with a card attached to a gift. My mother always said they were good fortune lucky money. 

"If you get a $2, put it away in a secret spot, and you will never be broke." Then she would smile and wink.

I never figured out what the wink was for until adulthood it finally dawned on me. It was true. It had nothing to do with luck. It had to do with the fact that as long as you still had that two dollar bill stashed away, you really weren't broke, even if you didn't have another penny to your name!. 

Now that Mom is gone and my children are all grown up, I give two dollar bills to my Grandkids and say the magic words my mom always said, but this generation is too smart to fall for it! They are the ones who wink at me! 

*sigh*

Minimalist Book Seller

I've now gathered another eighty books to haul off to see if someone wants them. There are two other bookstores in the county of which I am aware, that will buy or trade books. Or I have the option of selling on half.com  I have a dear friend who has offered to help me maneuver their system. She's done quite well selling her books there.

Decisions, decisions. Do I take the time and energy to load books in the trunk of my car, including the ones rejected already by one bookstore? Or, shall I cull out the ones that will sell on half.com and make some cash? The advantage of the first is the simplicity of unloading books all at once. But there is no guarantee, of course, they will be purchased or traded, and I might just come home with a trunk full of books anyway, and nothing to show for my time and energy. Do I want to spend a couple days driving around the county to drop books off, waiting a few days and returning only to be told, "We want these, but not these." or worse yet, "Sorry, we don't want any."

The disadvantage of selling online is that I'll have those same books, not in my trunk but stacked up under the table in the living room, (where they are now) taking up space, having my home in disarray, and having to be dealt with. The advantage would be that two people will be attending to this. It might be fun!

In both cases, receiving money of any sort will still be up to chance. Perhaps the leftover books could be sold on ebay in a lot. I've always wanted to try ebay selling. I certainly buy enough things there, which has got to stop if I am to continue working towards a more minimalist lifestyle. I will need to ask my brother, who sells on ebay all the time, how easy or complicated it might be.

I wonder, too, if the rejects would be a kind gift to donate to the Senior Center, or an insult. Some of those well read paperbacks might not be wanted. When I am down to the last should I donate to the thrift shop? Or just toss those rejects in the recycle bin?

In the meantime, I still have seven other shelves full of books to consider in the future! Too bad I just don't have the courage to release them through Freecycle and let someone else quickly and easily take them off my hands. Why do I want to be so responsible in dissolving my book collection? Am I simplifying my life? Is this how to become a minimalist? Is there a right way, a better way to do this?

Related posts

Part 1 - Overbooked
Part 2 - Take Some Books Off My Hands
Part 3 - Is Dreaming of Book Disposal a Nightmare?
Part 4: Stealing from the Book Store

Stealing from the Book Store

Seventy five books I turned into the Capitola Book Cafe to be purchased or traded. Surprisingly. I was offered $76 trade or $44 cash. Guess which offer I accepted?

Interestingly these offers were made upon only twenty eight of my books and the rest were given back to me. I took the trade and ended up with three new books of my choosing. Two of them of great importance to me, and the third will be read and passed on to someone else. It was only $8 and marked down because it was someone else's trade-in book. I not only feel like I got a deal, but I got a steal!

And I didn't spend all of the $76 trade. I still have $24 left over. I intend to get a cookbook for someone I deeply care about who loves to cook. Well, at least he likes to look at pictures of food and read the recipes. He already has a great cooking style and repertoire. I'm not sure he would take on a new recipe to try out. But, I know he would love the book, and since his birthday is coming up, it's a perfect gift, (aside from the sobakawa pillow I already have in the closet).

See related posts:

Is Dreaming of Book Disposal a Nightmare?

Today I took five boxes off to my long time favorite, Capitola Book Cafe where they will buy them or provide the opportunity to trade. Since the trade value will be higher than the cash offer, I have opted for trade.

Okay, Okay, I wasn't going to buy any more books! Was I? I even turned down the offer of two good reads last week staying true to my commitment to downsize, much to the distress of my friend. But here I am seeming like a hypocrite. But, really, I can justify trading 75 books for one really special book that I normally couldn't afford. Wouldn't you? They probably won't take them all and I will be left with the dilemma of having to find another place for the rejects.

I have friends who say, sell them, put them on Ebay, or trade them at paperbackswap.com.

That last one wont work out. Trading books one to one is not my idea of minimalizing. I am too averse to having a yard sale, so that is out of the question. Then, there are those who have said they would take some books off my hands. Yes, that's an idea. But, a part of me thinks I wouldn't be doing my friends any favors by adding to their overweight bookshelves. But, I will keep it in mind knowing that the argument might be: "why deprive them of what someone else will end up with in the long run?" I'm thinking about it...

Decisions, decisions, too many opportunities, not enough clarity. I'm leaning in all directions at once. In order to have some clarity I will have to sleep on it.

"To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub."

See related posts:

Related posts

Part 1: Overbooked

Part 2: Take Some Books Off My Hands

Reading at the Bribery

Though I read to my daughter when she was a little girl, once she was in school and knew how to read on her own, I began a systematic method of bribery to get her to spend more time reading.

She was a social butterfly and liked to play with friends or watch TV more than read. I knew there must be a way to get her to explore the joy of books without forcing a resentful child to sit through bedtime with mother reading another boring story. Or so, that was my thought process at the time.

The bribery system worked so much better for both of us. No longer would she have a shortage of cash to expend on her heart's desires, and no longer would I worry that she'd never develop a love of reading.

I bought many books from thrift shops and yard sales. Investing in my child's future reading pleasure was worth it. The easy reads, the ones with the delightful pictures, I wrote "10 cents" on the inside of the cover. If she read the book, I gave her ten cents. The not-so-easy reads, with less pictures were 25 cents. Books without pictures, still within her reading level were 50 cents. And books beyond her reading level had a bribe price of one dollar.

Now, you may think this is a perfect system for my child to get money for doing nothing. But, as a part of our pact, my daughter gave me a synopsis of the story or book she read. In the beginning this habit was developed and not too long after, I realized it wasn't necessary. She did not have to prove to me that she had read any book she said I owed her money for.

One night I awoke to realize a light was on in her room and wondered why. I got up and discovered my little girl sound asleep, book still open in her hands reading the story in her dreams.

Once all the books with the bribe prices on them were gone, my plan succeeded. She became a voracious reader. It was no longer necessary to bribe my child to read. After all, she was choosing her own books. And now, decades later she gives me books and makes recommendations as to what I might find interesting. Now, if only I could get her to give me money for reading them!

Sealing Your Home to Save Money and Energy

I came across this article written by Dan Chiras of the Evergreen Institute discussing a way to help yourself decrease your heating and cooling bills and make your home more energy efficient.

He says: "the most important thing you should do is to seal up the building. Most existing homes are like Swiss cheese. If you could add up all the tiny leaks in the building envelope – the walls, foundation, and roof – they’d be equivalent to a 3-foot wide by 3-foot high window left open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

I think that is an amazing statement and yet, I am completely aware of how this can be true. One day an energy consultant came to my house and put small pieces of insulation material in all the plugs and light switches. This service was provided either by the state or the electric company, I don't remember which. I'm sure it helped in a small way because he missed one and I can still feel the breeze coming through that one. Got to get out there myself and seal it off because it goes right out to the outside wall of the house where cable was once connected.

But what Dan recommends makes a lot more lasting improvement in my mind. He says sealing the spaces in our homes that have leaks to the outdoors "could easily cut your annual heating and cooling costs by 10 to 30 percent, perhaps more. It all depends on how leaky your home is."

He recommends ways to discover the air leaks in your home, either by hiring a professional or doing it yourself. I am aware that one way to do it is by having an infrared photo taken of your home.

Usually the areas that need sealing are around the edges of windows and where the floors and walls. I just recently discovered where the air space came through the house completely along the baseboards in the kitchen, and I'm now guessing in the rest of the house. My kitchen floor tiles were just replaced and when the baseboard was removed I could literally see light coming in from outside. I often have an influx of ants that come through that way. Now I know why it's been so easy for them.

Dan recommends that clear or paintable silicone caulking to be used in those open places. And don't forget to check doors and put weather stripping on them.

He has written a book: Green Home Improvement.