The Yerdle turtle Yerdle's on

It's been sometime since my last post, more because I've just not felt like blogging, but that doesn't mean things haven't been happening.  My goal to decultter this year by 1000 items is still going strong and thankfully I've come across a site called Yerdle, which has been a huge support and push towards my goal.  

If you've not heard of yerdle and you want to downsize I highly suggest checking it out, but don't want to just write off your items or donate them with nothing to gain in return.  Resell can be hard and long road to travel, but Yerdle takes all the hardwork out of it with their easy step-by-step posting on their free app and since people are only using real money to pay for shipping items are more easily and quickly re-homed.  

bundle system & how it works

This last month they came out with a new bundling system ready for iPhone use and beginning this month both iPhone and Android will have their new bundling system available.  This allows "getters" to  bundle up to 4 listings from one "giver" as long as they all weight under 10-lbs, this means both the box weight and box dimensions.  

 "Getters" or the shoppers browse the site and when they see an item they like they can choose to purchase that single item at the Yerdle Dollar price plus the $5 flat rate shipping, and the service fee.  If you choose to add more items from that "giver" to your cart you can add up to 3 more listings for for a flat $2 bundle fee.  Once the purchase goes through the "giver" receives an email with a link to the shipping label, so all they have to do is print and tape the label on the box.  

 

things I've learned as a Yerdler:

I don't always find multiple items from one giver and find that the item I would like isn't worth the shipping / service fee so I tend to pass on a lot of items, but sometimes it's uber worth it and I'm glad I did.   

The one thing I've learned the hard way is that if you want something you need to act quickly.  There isn't time to think about most items, especially nicer items, don't last long on Yerdle.  I've had a few things I've missed out on like Toms shoes and a copper measuring spoon set that I highly regret not buying. 

I also find that because I'm trying to downsize I don't find as much to buy with my yerdle dollars, but I'm sure as time goes by I'll find things that I can use and hopefully get some items on my ISO list that I will need extra Yerdle dollars for.  Some of the things i do keep an eye out for is clothing, mostly shirt and workout gear. 

Great Community:

 Yerdle offers 2 support groups on Facebook, one for newdlers (Jetsetters) and then once you "give" over 30 items you graduate to the pro page.  These groups, become a great support community where you can share you're finds and support each others questions and share listings.  When I first started I wasn't aware of the jetsetters page, but it wasn't long until I hit pro before I received an email to join the FB group.  This has been support and I love learning about other members and supporting out pages and questions that we have.   

I love how the community supports each other and shares listings of other members that they think others will like.  We give and get from each other items that we no longer have a use for, save these items from being toss in the land fills, and earn some points to trade for items that we can use.  Personally, I find this to be more beneficial then donating them, but I'm also used to shipping items out and I've figured out how to get my shipping supplies pretty much cheap to free.  

My gives:

I have personally given over 270+ items since joining in August and I'm pretty excited about re-homing my items to others who can use them and earning Yerdle dollars to purchase items that I can use.  Items I've been able to "get" are new gym bag, new with tags workout clothes, microwave egg cookers, computer headphones, new clothes and dresses, most of my Halloween outfit this year, a $60+ digital TV antenna, travel wallet, and some cute sunglasses.  Most items were on my list of items I wanted, and I only had to "give" items I wasn't using and pay a flat rate shipping fee to get them.  I'm also grateful that a few items that I "got" that didn't work out were easily #reyerdled quickly so it eliminates clutter building up.    I've even create larger bundle options for people so that more stuff goes out quicker.  I'm pretty sure I'll hit my goal by the end of the year, especially since I haven't added up all the items we purged during our flea market set ups this summer .

disclaimer:

If you choose to sign up, and you use my link --> https://yerdle.com/i/jessa-george, this gives you and I both Yerdle dollars when you sign up.  Yerdle will give you & myself anywhere from 20-40 Yerdle dollars when you sign up to get you started it just depends on how much they are giving during that time frame or promotion, and I also earn a chance to get free shipping credits when you give your first item.   I do not earn any real money if you choose to use my link, but it does help them to know how you found out about the site.

Movement is happiness

Movement is happening is our Simplifying Home Goal & our outbox is filling up with items that we are letting go. It’s pretty exciting and I’ve really been getting into this more now. I’ve cleaned up the items and already taken photos of most of the outbox items and now it’s time to edit & research. This is the process I dislike the most mainly because it takes time. I could spent around an hour just on one items, because I have anywhere from 3-6 photos per item, and then I’ll adding them to frames, searching ebay and etsy to know the going rate and then adding the description and photos to at least 2 online albums. It’s pretty time consuming, but overall I love the outcome. My spirit is lighter, my anxiety is getting better knowing that things are moving out of the house. There still is A LOT of stuff everything and I’m still working on figuring out the best way to organize everything and feel like I’m living in a house and not a hoarders paradise, especially when I have people coming over to look at my larger pieces that simply won’t fit in my car to meet them nor do I have the muscle to move the items. 

This week I’ve taken another 50+ photos using my make shift low cost photo studio and a few towards the end I started adding props in with the items. I love what the color pops do and how it helps to give each item life and added dimension.

Another thing I decided to do to keep my items rolling out the door is making sure that I upload a preview item of every photo that’s currently hiding in my camera. This will remind me of the items that still need to go through the final stages and allow my items to still be seen.  

a fresh color palette

The last few days have been pretty productive for me in the home to do lists, including finishing my half bath.  I honestly can't believe it's done especially since I've really been dreading re-painting the walls, but it was inevitable with all the holes that needed patching from changing out the towel bars and hooks and then a few weeks ago my cats decided to climb the curtains and yep it all came crashing down.  

Such happiness seeing  my IKEA print shining brighter against crisp white walls.   

The desire to change my walls from Behrs Peanut Butter to Martha Stewart's Vapor came about when I was inspired by the color scheme in this red, white and teal laundry makeover.  My favorite part of the design was the red knobs.  After scowering her post I found out where she had bought them, but after getting to the check out I stopped when the shipping for a pair of $3 knobs was going to be $10.  This meant I was going to DIY my own red knobs.  It was actually pretty practical since I already had the primer and red spray paint on hand and my cabinet already had the same shape knob only it was a pink flower ceramic knob.  It took several layers of primer even after lightly sanding it down for it to stick and then a few coats of red before I was happy with them. I do still need to add a layer of a clear sealer so they are more shiny than rough. 

I also had high hopes of using the sew now, sew wow fabric by Alexander Henry that Anna used for the ironing board cover, but outside of a toilet set cover I couldn't think of anything in the room that I could practically use it for and I didn't want to just frame it.  So you can image my happiness when I came across this $10 dove poster art on one of my trips to IKEA

 source 

I've yet to hang up a towel rail or hook, because after sealing seeing the bathroom so clean and crisp I didn't like how my IKEA ENNUDEN towel rack looked.  Plus, I really love the ceramic hook that Anna had in her laundry room, so until I can find one similar I'll continue to drape the towel over the cabinet door.

I used command strips to hang the mirror and IKEA RIBBA frame so I didn't add more holes.  I really should buy stock in them, because most of my frames and art are hung up by command stripes.  They really do save me from having so many holes in the wall from the countless times I've changed my mind.  I just used the Velcro stripes for the IKEA frame.  I always cut the Velcro in half vertically and use 1 strip for each side.  this way I get more use out of each strip, especially with the back edging being so thin.  However, for the mirror I opted to use another version, one that the wire could hang from.  

  

I also think that I will opt to using bar soap rather than a dispenser.  I really hate dispensers, especially if I decide to change out the soap.  Plus, I think it will keep it simple.

I'm quite happy with using my vintage telephone / record stand since it's not been very useful in the living room.  It's far to light and my cats like to catapult from it, which usually results in it falling down and anything on it.  This way they can't knock it down and it holds all my extra towels instead of them being on the back of the toilet tank.  I've also added the air fresher on top since taking the photo. 

The MYRVIKEN hand towels and PERSBY area rug are both from IKEA..  I tried looking on their site, but it looks as if they are no longer available.  I did just purchase sometime after summer and the hand towels were a new design then so they may still be available in stores. 

I didn't take out the anchors for my IKEA ENUDDEN toilet roll holder as I new I wanted it back and love that it holds to rolls so we don't have to change it out as often.  I also like that it has a "top shelf" which allows you to utilize the space.  At one point I had the air fresher there, but I really like my ceramic dogs so for now I have them resting there.

I do love how the whole look came out and it's far more refreshing and open and better liking to my Scandinavian design tastes compared to how it looked prior with the Behr Paint as you can see before with my last photographed update in May.

May 4th update

Below you can see my priming progress.  It was definitely a challenge painting this small and cramped space, but after two coats of primer and a coat of Vapor I'm sooo glad I did it.

I decided to just paint the bath walls white, but the only white I had was a matte finish, so I thought this could be a good way to veer from the Picket Fence by Martha Stewart that I painted the dining room, because it was stark white so I decided to go with my original white Vapor which has a slight gray tint to it.

I'm also glad that I  figured out how to paint behind the light fixture without having to disconnect the wires. It wasn't fun, but I'm glad for it.   

It feels good to finally have the walls painted.  I only needed one coat of Vapor, which I was very thankful for and after adding all the hardware and accessories I'm very happy with how it looks.

{Weekend Organizer} Martha and Endive

It's been a whole months since I painted the kitchen, so I apologize for taking this long with the Martha Saves the day Series.  I've just been distracted and I know how many photos I took that day, and I think I've just been avoiding the whole post. Though If you've been following me on instagram, then you've already seen these photos. 

The day was long and hard and it'snot a day I want to go back and redue.  Though I am very happy with the outcome and do look forward to actually finishing the kitchen.  It makes me excited to begin working on the rest of my living space colors so that everything will flow together.  Though looking at everything that I will be painting over is a bit overwhelming and currently I've decided to take a break from any major expenses to the house, including painting until I can sell more items.  We've been at a major stand still with our craigslist sales so it's been hard to bring in any extra money to justify spending on more paint.

My kitchen before. Today the plan is to clear this wall, remove all hardware, seal up the holes, blue tape & add a coat of kilz primer. Godbye California blue your time has come to an end.

Top Left + Right: my walls look like they have the chicken pox,lol. The Hardware has been removed & the entire wall has been sanded. I even used my putty knife to scrap some imperfections like dried paint drips & bubbling before I added the spackle. It was a lot more work, but it will be worth it when I start to paint.

Bottom Left:   Wall spackle finally dried & now I'm wiping down the walls & trim to clean up all the dust. The rag cloth was yellow & almost all blue & I'm only halfway done. I think the rag will be completely blue once I finish. Then once the walls dry I'll begin taping then yes, finally begin painting.

Bottom Middle: Spackle dustings all swept up.

Bottom Left: Kilz primer. Say bye bye California Surfer Blue (embellished blue by Behr)

The walls were wiped down, taped, & ready for primer.   It took 2 costs of Kilz Primer around the trim & the corners to cover the blue & now my hand is sore, but now for the super fun part using the roller w the extender stick for a smooth easy application.

Looks like I'll be up until midnight at least to complete the priming process. The Kilz didn't quite kill The California Surfer blue from hell. So another coat is required to give Endive by Martha Stewart complete freedom to shine in its glorious beauty. So next a Netflix movie to allow time for the primer to dry & a much needed rest.

After a movie break & about 30 minutes to get me off the couch the 2nd coat of primer is finished. Now to bed & tomorrow I'll paint the actual color.  The time 2am.  It took from 2pm to 2am just to get this far. 

Here is my wonky wall view with 2 coats of primer.  

I'm so looking forward to seeing Endive (color on left) on the wall tomorrow.  It really stands out against the primer.

The 2nd coat of primer looks better in the morning, now that its dry.

Let the painting begin!

Painted around the trim complete. Now for the roller.

Kitchen view wonky wall after. It's so pretty, & feels light & airy. It opens up the space so much.

Kitchen after deck view. Loving the color.  This is a more accurate view of the color. 

Once everything was finished I decided to move my formica  table form the dining room into the kitchen.  Figured it would help to determine if I wanted an island there for prepping.  So far it's a much lovelier view and I'm very happy with the outcome. 

The kitchen has yet to be completed as I still need to install wall shelves above the able and paint the whole other side of the kitchen.