Thrift Share Monday - Balance in 2012

a photo Keiran took of a balancing game that he thrifted

It's been 7 months since Dave began working in San Francisco. From morning until 7pm, Monday-Friday, I look after the children, drive them to school & pick them up, feed them, care for them when they are sick, look after the house (well sort of) and somehow manage to work at home ReSelling. Dave arrives home and it feels like a mad dash to get him fed, get Keiran to bed and somehow find an hour for us to spend together after the children have gone to sleep. It's not the life that I had imagined in some ways but we are grateful that he has a job that he loves, a good salary and of course health insurance.

We make it work.

This holiday season when I slowed down I realized how the busy season has taken a toll on me. Then I asked my bookseller friends in a private email group that I take part in about the condition of their homes. We all laughed together as we realized that inventory was everywhere, packing peanuts littered our offices, and chaos was generally everywhere.

I talk a lot about balance on ATG because it's something that I constantly strive to achieve. It's not like we have a normal job where we have to be at an office at 9am and leave at 5pm (if that exists anymore). Many people can leave their jobs at their place of work. I had people email me on Christmas demanding feedback for something on eBay. Seriously? They had nothing better to do than chase me for feedback on Christmas?

At this point, my entire house is clean and pretty much organized. Except my office which always takes a hit when I am cleaning the rest of the house. As you know cleaning a home means shuffling and moving many things into other rooms. There is still inventory in the rest of the house, but it is is tidy and clearly marked bins. The garage I'm planning to work on next.

My key to balance in 2012 is to continue to stay organized. This way I can keep my life in balance. And keep Facebook at bay. A life that is organized and balance will be more profitable for my ReSelling business.

What is your number one goal for 2012?

Did you go thrifting this weekend?

Thrift Share Monday celebrates the Art of Thrifting. As a community of readers and bloggers we are able to connect through the process of buying second hand, selling and sharing.

We Thrift  - We Share

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• Your Thrift Share Monday blog post should include your thrifted finds from the weekend.
• Create a blog post with photos of your items.
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Don't forget to visit Her Library Adventures for Flea Market Finds.

Comments

[Van]

I can never keep on top of organizing, either. One of my #1 goal is to be pedantically organized but it's always a struggle. At least it's getting better the more I fight for it.

Good luck to you on your journey to organization as well. I can't imagine how difficult that is with kids and so much more on the list! I'm doing a Sunday "goals for the week" link share to inspire people to stay motivated and organized throughout the week.

[DogsMom]

January is more of a get organized month than the spring months. Congratulations on making headway in that direction. The key is having a good system and sticking with it.
And getting family to cooperate as well.

Wishing you even more success in 2012.

Glad to have you and Thrift Share back.

[Deana Wood]

My house is a mess too...I have been fussing about it also lately. I want to find the "perfect" system for me, rather than chaos but have been unsuccessful so far. Thanks for the linkup@

[Rachael]

selena, et al., i too have difficulty keeping my inventory from taking over. so, that is one of my 2012 goals. that and entering my sales into my sales spreadsheet as they occur.
aside from reselling, i would like to get my blog looking more professional and post more than once per week.

[rivka]

I hope you won't keep blogging "at bay" though! I missed you so much during the holidays! But I tried to be supportive by not whining! Thank you again for all of the sharing you do. I love reading about your life, your business and how beautifully you DO balance it all!

[Leah - moxiethrift on etsy]

aaah, yes, balance. i strive for it daily. that may be #1 for this year...but am going to chew on my goals for a few days yet. and make sure i am committed before I make them my own for a year!

[angelika]

happy new year selena! i've also decided that i want to be more more organized in my home this year and one of my goals is to do a purge of each room in my house, getting rid of things that i don't use, throwing away junk - and maybe this will be the year i start reselling! that's going to be one of my goals to which you have definitely inspired me. hope you have a great 2012!

[Amy Schleicher]

I feel the same way. My basement is where all the "stuff" goes. Well, first my dining room, then it eventually makes it's way down to the dungeon. I need balance in a major way...and keep Facebook at bay. Here's to 2012 being an organized and balanced dream...with kids who go to bed early!

[Granny Sue]

You make me feel better! I just started reselling this year and seriously need to get organized. I have another small business I run from home too, and it's all crowded into an 8x14 room, and there are totes stacked in the garage. I've managed to keep the rest of the house uninvolved because I need somewhere to escape that's calm and not the chaos of this room!

Thank you for the taxes rundown. I wasn't sure what to do with taxes on my ebay and Amazon sales. Next year I will need to be more organized about keeping records. I haven't done anything with that yet although I do have lists of everything in the totes and what I paid.

[Laurie]

Happy new year! I totally understand as a reseller how hard it is to keep the inventory in one place -- especially when it needs to be moved around the house. For example, unpacked and cleaned, then photographed in natural light, then stored for easy retrieval. It is very hard to work out of the house.

[Christine]

Happy 2012 for you and your family, Selena!! Your story about the chaos made me laugh, our house was also a mess and we weren't even selling stuff. It's crazy! I wish you all the best and lots of (re)selling success this new year.

Christine
PS: I got my DH a lighttent as well for the holidays, it's a great thing to use!!
PS2: I have a new emailaddress