Kick the Clutter

Amazon Trade In – Earn Amazon Gift Cards for Your DVDs, CDs and more!

by Alissa on January 9, 2013

Amazon Trade In Program

amazon trade in

Note: I’m in full decluttering mode here in the new year, so I’m taking the opportunity to repost this from last year. I’ve been working my way through our pile of DVDs and music and I’m already up to almost $60 trade-in value. I’ll take it!

Have you ever tried the Amazon Trade In program?

I tried Amazon trade in for the first time this month – and ended up making out pretty well! I sold 8 DVDs and made about $70 in Amazon credit, which is basically as good as cash for us.

We certainly made more doing that than we would have if we had sold them at a used DVD or bookstore. (Not to mention that we don’t really have any great used bookstores that are convenient, unfortunately.)

How does the Amazon trade in program work?

1. Gather any DVDs, CDs, video games or books you want to sell.
2. Search the Amazon trade in page for each title.
3. When you find a match, click “Trade In” button.
4. Choose the condition of your item. (Must be in good condition, like new or new.)
5. When you have the list of trade in items complete, choose a shipping method.
6. Print out a FREE mailing label (free if you choose to drop off yourself at UPS or USPS).
7. Ship in your items.
8. Wait 2-6 business days and an Amazon gift card will automatically be applied to your account.
9. Ta-da! You’ve just made a bit of extra $$ and lightened your load a little at the same time!

I was very pleased with how easy the entire Amazon trade in process was. I appreciated the free shipping. And I couldn’t be happier with how much we made on items we were trying to get rid of anyway.

Would you ever try the Amazon trade-in program?

Tagged as: amazon trade in

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Kick the Clutter: Organize the Kitchen Pantry

by Alissa on April 17, 2012

Organize | Kick the Clutter

organize

So one of my resolutions this year is to get organized. Kick the Clutter is a weekly series I’ve started so that we can all organize together! Who’s with me?

We’ll go step-by-step around the house until we’ve reached every nook and cranny and there’s nothing left to straighten up, donate, organize or give away.

Kick the Clutter: Organize the Kitchen Pantry

The pantry is one of the most heavily used spaces in our house, which means it needs to be organized – and very quickly can become cluttered with all that extra use! Because it comes undone so quickly, I try and organize the pantry several times a year.

It’s generally a pretty painless process and I’ve completed the task so often that I now have it down to less than an hour from start to finish. It’s one of my favorite spaces to organize!

The before photos…

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Yikes. It was to the point where I dreaded opening the pantry door. That’s always the sign that I need to organize – and quick!

The after photos…

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I was able to get rid of a few boxes of outdated snacks, cereals, etc., and was able to put some of the smaller, individual items into a snack bin. Just by doing that, I could get rid of a lot of the outer packaging, which generally takes up a lot of space.

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We still need to add the dog food back into the pantry, but I’m on the search for a smaller container that will fit under that bottom shelf. Right now, the dog bin is too large, which means it just takes up all that nice floor space. We also keep a “shred” pile in the pantry (for lack of a better spot). That’s what you’ll see in the bottom right corner (why yes, we are behind in our shredding!)

The bag on the bottom left contains all our reusable shopping bags. Whoever said “you can never have too many reusable bags” didn’t see our “before” stash. I went through our collection and sent about half to the donation pile. I’m actually starting to move toward only keeping the actual fabric ones (not the cheaper $1 ones from the grocery stores). I’ve found the fabric ones more durable and therefore longer lasting. But most importantly, they can be thrown in the washer, which totally speaks for itself.

Next Week’s Plan to Organize

Next week, we’ll tackle the electronic clutter (e-mail).

What’s your best clutter-busting tip to organize in the pantry or storage cabinets?

Let’s keep track of our progress and share with others! It’s always easier when I get to hear what ideas are working for you and which aren’t. So please share your suggestions, thoughts and progress with us throughout this series!

Click here to catch up on the entire Organize (Kick the Clutter) series!

Tagged as: clutter, organize

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Kick the Clutter: Organize the Bathroom for Spring with Colgate @ColgateSmile #EasterSmiles

by Alissa on April 12, 2012

One of my resolutions this year is to get organized. Kick the Clutter is a weekly series I’ve started so that we can all organize together! Who’s with me?

We’ll go step-by-step around the house until we’ve reached every nook and cranny and there’s nothing left to straighten up, donate, organize or give away.

Kick the Clutter: Organize the Bathroom

The bathroom is one of the last spots on our clutter-busting tour. And I am ready for it!

One of the first things I like to do as a part of spring cleaning (and the change of each new season) is to start fresh with new toothbrushes. Dentists recommend replacing toothbrushes every three months, according to Colgate, so it’s a good reminder for me at the change of each season.

organize

The kids are going to be so excited to see Spongebob and his animal friends waiting for them at bedtime. Seriously, my son is going to flip!

organize

Someday my youngest will be old enough for this Dora toothpaste, but for now, she still needs the fluoride-free. She was happy enough with the animals, too and she was overjoyed by the little pink toothbrush, as I knew she would be!

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Be sure to check out all the photos of our toothbrush shopping expedition over on Google +. (I have the coolest shopping assistant, don’t I?) And check out Colgate on Facebook and Twitter, too.

The before photos…

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The medicine cabinet holds a little bit of everything except medicine.

1. Expired medication: We don’t keep our medication in the bathroom. The humidity can be a little too much in there and I like to keep it totally out of the kids’ reach. I did take this opportunity to check our medicine in the kitchen, though.

2. Expired beauty products: I do have a ton of expired beauty products in here and it’s just time to let them go.

3. Unused items: It’s toughest for me to toss items that I bought with good intentions, but that just didn’t work for me or that didn’t ultimately get adopted into my regular routine. Some of those beauty items can be so expensive. I hate feeling like I’m throwing out good money. At the same time, it doesn’t help to keep that stuff as reminders, so I bit the bullet, grabbed the trash bag and started tossing.

Just one of two drawers that are just short of overflowing.

The after photos…

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Ahh… breathing room! And enough space now to add our new toothbrushes and toothpaste into the medicine cabinet.

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And here’s one of my favorite solutions yet! All those free cosmetic bags I’ve collected over the years? They’re now the perfect way to organize in the bathroom. One holds hair accessories (my daughter’s and mine). Another holds extra toiletries and the third holds my daily make-up. I actually have a filing system to organize my bathroom drawer! Love it!

Next Week’s Plan to Organize

Next week, we’ll tackle the pantry.

What’s your best clutter-busting tip to organize in the pantry or storage cabinets?

Click here to catch up on the entire Organize (Kick the Clutter) series!

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Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias. As always, all opinions are my own.