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the official magazine of the fulltime families camping club december 2011 issue 20

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page 2 fulltime families in this issue letter from the editor 3 introducing lady e our new rv kitchen editor 4 cowboy cookie mix 5 what s in season 6 free webinar making money with you blog 6 ftf 2011 toy of the year blu track pro 7 a simple christmas with the lundys 9 what s on ftf tv 9 what drives us the schrier family 10 win your own blu track 11 homemade marshmallows 13 saving the holidays 14 dreamers to drivers everything s for sale 15 top 10 gifts for rving families 17 december s daft dates 18 tis the month before christmas 18 coming soon 19 want to contribute there s always room just email info@fulltimefamilies.com with your ideas on the cover the lundy s rv christmas 2010 submit your photo for our january cover to info@fulltimefamilies.com your ad here did you here the one about the guy who dreamt he was eating a marshmallow he woke up and his pillow had vanished don t read this part this part says nothing interesting nothing at all so please stop reading right now go read an article or something i mean it stop reading ok i can see that you won t stop so i ll just have to make you can you find pinky the marshmallow somewhere in this issue pinky is hidden find her and send an email to info@fulltimefamilies.com with the page number all participants will be automatically entered to win this month s giveaway see the giveaway column for prize details you re still reading copyright © 2011 fulltime families magazine all rights reserved personal use of this material including one hard copy reproduction is permitted permission to reprint republish and/or distribute this material in whole or in part for any other purposes must be obtained from ff for information on obtaining permission send an e-mail message to info@fulltimefamilies.com by choosing to view this document you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it.

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december 2011 issue 20 page 3 letter from the editor greetings from stunning sedona for those of you following along we had planned to winter in quartzite but the moving bug got the best of us and since our last issue we have spent thanksgiving in san diego ca and then traveled north west to sedona,az ­ so much for staying still over the next few days one of my best friends will be getting a glimpse of fulltime family life as she visits us and stays in our camper for 4 days fulltime families was born from my desire to visualize what it meant to live in an rv fulltime one of my biggest concerns was spending the holidays in an rv while in theory it s a romantic notion to envision yourself on your own at some tropical locale while steel drums hammer out christmas carols but there s a part of me that is stuck in the traditional mindset that says holidays and families go hand in hand our december issue is always dedicated to giving those preparing for their journey a true picture of what it s like for a family on the road during holiday time and for those already traveling america s highways and back roads there are articles dedicated to helping you make happy memories during this season of giving we were fortunate to spend thanksgiving with the lundys and the mccloskey s and although i quickly noticed i was missing my family i recognized that being with my road family was a true blessing to be able to spend this very cherished tradition with like-minded individuals lent itself to an easy and delicious celebration our wish for you this holiday season is that you find the balance between tradition and your vision of a new way of life that you and your family enjoy a happy and healthy new year and that our paths cross and we get to see you down the road sincerely kimberly thanksgiving in menifee with the mccloskys and the lundys let us put sunglasses on your rv custom fit ­ made at your rv site daytime privacy ­ enjoy the view without being the view black for best unobstructed view blocks up to 98 of uv rays 10-year warranty todd and renee seeley distributors · fulltime families member #81 713 208-5569 · info@rvsunshadecompany.com www.rvsunshadecompany.com

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december 2011 issue 20 page 4 our new kitchen editor evada cooper author of the rv centennial cook book what a pleasure it is to accept an invitation to write for the fulltime families magazine i feel a true kindred spirit with all of you having been a full-timer myself and living with my teenage daughter at the time being a firm believer that our home is where our heart is means if you love the rving lifestyle like i do then home can be anywhere when i think of rving i think of these three things family friends and food sharing all of these with you is a wonderful blessing for me it is has been a very exciting year for this central texas gal with my cookbook coming out mid-april earlier this year the rv centennial cookbook ­ celebrating 100 years of rving it has been a whirl-wind of activity with all the book signings that have taken place i am writing this after returning from 8 weeks on the road with my husband of almost 3 years terry cooper known as the texas rv professor terry taught rv maintenance courses at rv dealerships rallies and rv trade shows during this 6,000 mile trip it was a remarkable adventure for 15 years 1987-2002 i was blessed with the opportunity to be a restaurant owner in my small hometown of rockdale tx population 5,500 this combined with my past enjoyment of some serious camping/rving with my children while they were growing up gives me a unique position of sharing lots of great information with rv enthusiasts all across the country over the next many ftf issues it is my goal to share some of the places that the professor and i visit recipes from my cookbook and so much more it is no secret to those who know me well to know that fall and winter are the seasons that i enjoy immensely i love the cooler weather not just because the end of sweltering heat of the texas summer but mostly because of the special times ahead with my family and special friends i trust you all had a blessed thanksgiving and now we can point our thoughts toward the looking for a great holiday gift for the rver in your life why not give the gift of great food and great fun to the rv er in your life the rv centennial cookbook and as an added bonus evada will personally autograph all copies sold via this promotion http www.facebook.com/myrvkitchen sk=wall

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page 5 things that we as parents can do with our children such as family celebrations gift giving and starting new family traditions why not think of the possibilities of bringing all these elements together into our rv kitchens not only can this be a fun time but it most definitely can result in special memory making for our families saving money on gift giving for friends and family too the whole family will want to join in on putting these special gifts together that requires no cooking cowboy cookie mix ­ in a jar ingredients 1 1/3 cups rolled oats 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt directions 1 layer the ingredients in a 1 quart jar in the order given press each layer firmly in place before adding the next layer include a card with the following instructions cowboy cookie mix in a jar 1 preheat oven to 350 degrees f 175 degrees c grease cookie sheets 2 in a medium bowl mix together 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla stir in the entire contents of the jar you may need to use your hands to finish mixing shape into walnut sized balls place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets 3 bake for 11 to 13 minutes in the preheated oven transfer from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks there are more recipes like this one located at allrecipes.com one of my favorite things to do with the children is cut-out cookies with so many great recipes found on the internet i know you will be able to locate something special just for you and your children let them in on the selection process ­ deciding what cutout figures they would like to do along with what flavor of cookie dough that will be used with those of you that have multiple children possibly mom can select the cookie batter and each child select their own cookie cutter here is a fun and easy to recipe that you might consider evada cooper aka lady e is the author of the the rv centennial cookbook celebrating 100 years of rving cooper s collection of over 100 road-friendly recipes will give fellow enthusiasts plenty to chew on before packing their coolers rounded out with suggestions for games to keep the kids busy rv trivia and maintenance tips cooper gives campers plenty of options that come together quickly and travel well this is a great recipe to use in combination with the 2011 ftf advent calendar download your s free today!

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december 2011 issue 20 page 6 december produce eat fresh eat local eat in season stay healthy by eating what s in season each month we include a list of in season produce here is what s fresh right now vegetables fruit oranges availability varies from state to state so check field to plate s seasonal lookup guide to see what s freshest near you make healthy eating an adventure by picking your own check out this great website for a pick your own farm by you http www.pickyourown.org/index.htm tangerines pomegranates grapefruit pears sweet potatoes pumpkins mushrooms broccoli cauliflower winter webinar making money with your blog do you have a blog is it turning a profit funding your adventure putting gas in your tank join us in january for a free webinar that will help you turn your blog into a money maker there s no secret no hidden formula just a few basics that we will share with you so you can start making money with your blog it won t make you an overnight millionaire but we will share the tips that will help you monetize your blog look for the date and time in email from us shortly!

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page 7 announcing the ftf 2011 toy of the year once in a while a toy comes along that is so simple and yet so captivating that you know the whole family will enjoy it for years to come this year ftf magazine embarked on a journey to find such a toy but it had to be more than just a great toy along with all the attributes of a wonderful toy sparks creativity open ended play can be used by a variety of ages etc ­ it needed to fit in the full time rving with kids lifestyle it needed to be portable packable virtually indestructible and weatherproof ­ as most of our toys spend a great deal of time outside then because the majority of our families home/road school ­ we added the caveat that it provide educational value quite a tall order pardon the pun for a toy ­ but after reviewing all our entries ­ there was one toy that met and exceeded all these expectations blu track pro is a one piece flexible build it yourself racing system for hot wheels or darda size and style cars the 18 inch track can be laid out however you like it and attached to walls and furniture with the included hangers the blu track pro encourages a child s imagination ­ as blu track says ­ we make the track you make the fun the blu track pro is highly portable ­ this 18 foot track coils up and stores in it s included carry case the blu track pro has educational qualities ­ blu track pro comes with a curriculum yes you read that right you re kids are going to be scrambling to do their physics lessons the blu track pro includes product setups lesson plans and curriculum materials for grades k-12 another wonderful feature is that it can be played with inside or out make a track along the slide or the picnic table ­ you decide we were so impressed with blu track that we spoke to the manufacturers and were able to secure exclusive pricing on the blu track pro for the first 50 buyers just in time for christmas to get your blu track pro at the lowest price go to http www.shop.blutrackpro.com product.sc;jsessionid=20b90274c5b48a343dbd5adf55c314d8.qscstrfrnt03 productid=12&categoryid=1 enter code ftrv during the checkout enter code ftrv during the checkout good for 18ft pro only only on www.blutrackpro.com 50 units maximum of 5 per order expires on march 1 2012 fulltime families

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page 8 fulltime families

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december 2011 issue 20 page 9 a simple christmas by margie lundy for children only because what do you buy for those who already have everything they need nothing instead of stressing about presents we celebrate their presence we just spend time together baking eating and eating some more no more searching for that perfect gift or wasting money on that lame gift when the perfect one was impossible to find we celebrate the reason for the season together and without all the self-induced stress we see around us this comes even more naturally now that our life is simplified on the road our home certainly looked different we no longer had an acre to cover in christmas lights wreaths to hang on every door or room for a giant tree with handmade ornaments as a matter of fact besides the kids three stockings we only kept two decorations an ohio state snowman ornament holding mittens with our names and an ohio state snowman wreath oddly enough we never did find that wreath so we proudly hung our ornament and stockings and figured we were finished as de cember began in sunny florida we started noticing the other rvs lighting up we also drove through other decorated campgrounds and neighborhoods how fun we gave in and borrowed a strand of lights for the front of ours we also missed having a tree and borrowed a small one from my parents as well as a strand of lighted garland then the kids made a few ornaments and a paper chain it was plenty and perfect see front cover since we can t mooch off my parents this year we ll use a great new decorating method dollar stores we find three or four seasonal decorations yes $3-4 and donate them afterwards a small investment if you can even call it that and no storage needed we still have our stockings and ornament tucked away in a basket in the back of a closet and possibly a wreath in some unknown location but that is all the storage required last year we weren t sure if santa would find us in the campground so we wrote to let him know we would be at my parents house to our amazement and i m sure santa had to do some creative planning he did indeed find us and left bikes for the kids and filled their stockings it was a very happy morning this year we re pretty sure santa can find us anywhere now but we ll let him know where we ll be camping just in case so even though our home now is smaller and has wheels our holidays are just as fun as ever we still decorate inside and out we still visit a local church for special services and drive through decorated neighborhoods we still bake for hours and eat even longer we still give each child a gift though we carefully consider its practicality and size santa still finds us though he must have elves to help coordinate or so we can only assume and we still spend time together celebrating the season without the stress lizzy matt and josh lundy christmas eve 2010 i remember thinking about christmas as we were first considering life on the road probably because it was in december when we began pondering i first thought that the holidays must be very different in an rv but then i saw a blog post by a fulltime family opening presents in their jammies and i thought hmm maybe nothing will change at all now that we re preparing to celebrate our second christmas on the road last year in florida this year in arizona i ve realized that just like in our stick house the holidays are what we make them and we like ours simple and stress free we had already agreed with our extended family that gifts would be what s playing on the fulltime families channel this month we have two new videos for you the first one is a visit from the rv proctologists who gave our 5th wheel a clean bill of health http youtu.be/kfgwfzw19zw the second one is a short clip we made while making homemade marshmallows at the thomas families converted bus http youtu.be/kfgwfzw19zw coming in the next few days look for a unboxing video for blu track!

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what drives us the schrier family by stacey schrier ing to look like she worked her entire life to own a home and do what she and grandpa were planning to do during their retirement years and now they don t have that time grandpa passed and grandma s health was ailing it was taken from them you hear about things just like this happening all the time working hard for the possibility of making it with your health into your retirement years so we are supposed to work hard for what ifs and maybes in life we decided we didn t want that happening to us especially since my health is not the best anyway besides the children are only young for a short time once we made our decision off we went to plan and get ready to be on the road the first thing that we needed to do was to downsize and get rid of as much as we could that was a complete understatement we were foster and adoptive parents and never knew what age of child may join our family so we kept everything for every age and stage from when our children were young we kept everything from clothes to toys to anything the child may need needless to say we had a ton of stuff way more than we even realized we had two huge garage sales including one where we let people walk through our house and pick what they wanted mind you we had just bought new furniture for the first time in 20 years less than six months before this we let all that brand new furniture go for half price just to be able to get on the road sooner as we were going through things it seemed every little thing had memories attached to it it took us awhile but we finally learned that these items were just property just things and we could do without many of them we decided we d have to get rid of a lot of these material things in order to be able to go on the road and make memories it was such a freeing experience to get rid of most of our earthly possessions we read up on others that did the same things that we wanted to do from people living their dreams on the road to those who were living minimally we finished getting everything in our lives ready for the road packed the rv and decided on our first destination we have been on this amazing journey just over a year now it has been an adventure to say the least we have had some of the most meaningful experiences and met the most amazing souls from around the world it is always fun to connect with like-minded people who have the same outlooks in life such as kim and chris with fulltime families recently we had a wonderful mini-get together with six other families that live on the road we had so much fun with the adults while the kids ran around playing tag and such we had fun around the campfire roasting marshmallows making root beer and other flavored marshmallows and geocaching it was really a great experience to finally be able to put faces to names that we ve known so long online thank you to michelle thomas for teaching the children how to make wonderful flavored marshmallows and to kim travaglino for our family s first geocaching experience continued on page 12 hello we are the schrier family also known as living and learning on the move we began our journey not unlike many others we were a middle class family living the american dream basically living for the weekend what made us decide to lease our house sell almost everything we own buy an rv and drive away from the life we had always known and worked so hard to attain and sustain we were looking for more quality time together as a family wanting to take our homeschooling passion to an all new level of learning and lastly hoping to help mom s stacey chronic back pain as a side note stacey has pins and plates in her back and has a difficult time functioning in colder environments like where we are from at the time we really thought we were happy living a normal life it just didn t seem fulfilling mom homeschooled the kids while dad worked all the time took care of us and the household chores what do you call those little hints in life that direct you to do something about a year before we went on the road we first had seen a morning show talking about living on the road the family decided to go on the road for job opportunities and decided to stay on the road for business and pleasure because they enjoyed it so much stacey laughed and said we should do that my husband frank thought it was neat but didn t really think about it any further from that point on it seemed we had other little hints in life that this can be done that this was the life for us and we can do it i think our last subtle hint that this was the way our lives were heading was that we saw our grandma getting more and more dependent on others she was living alone in a huge two-story four bedroom house by herself and relatives wanted a better alternative for her she didn t want to move in with anyone or lose her independence yet she depended so much on others we were all worried about her falling and no one being there to help her her options were slim to none and she soon moved into an assisted living facility i m sure this is not what she thought her retirement years were go-

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december 2011 issue 20 page 11 ftf december giveaway win your own blu track this month we re giving away the 2011 ftf toy of the year for a chance to win find pinky the marshmallow hidden among the pages of this issue then send an email to info@fulltimefamilies.com with your name address and the page where pinky s hiding hurry entry deadline is december 31st 2011 and no this is not the one keep looking if you like us in ftf members receive exclusive savings on blu track to learn more visit the members area at fulltime families.com real life please take a moment to like us on facebook wanna get into 275 museums science centers or children s museums for free around the country the evansville museum is a great traveling companion take your membership with you as you travel the country with our $35 friend membership which is good for the entire household you can get into over 275 museums across the country ­ free to join today call the director of membership at 812 425-2406 or go online at www.emuseum.org to see a list of participating museums go visit www.astc.org/passport don t forget to mention fulltime families evansville museum of arts history science

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page 12 what drives us continued from page 10 the biggest inspiration that led us to go on the road is because we want our children to be able to not only learn from books but also from being there and learning hands-on i can t even tell you how amazing it feels to stand exactly where our ancestors or others did in history it is so inspiring i know that through these experiences our children will have a stronger bond with us and a greater knowledge and understanding of the world around them thanks for sharing a little of our journey with us frank stacey brad kristi and the furbabies www.livingandlearningonthemove.com www.livingandlearningonthemove.blogspot.com fulltime families

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december 2011 issue 20 page 13 homemade boondocking marshmallows ftf is known for having the s most fun so what happens when you get 3 families around a campfire making s mores the idea of homemade marshmallows of course i organized the workshop and we had 4 fulltime rv families 9 kids at our bus making the yummy treat it was a fun day and they were so easy to make i think the hardest part was waiting overnight for them to set although the kids enjoyed eating the gooey marshmallow cream off the rubber spatula in the meantime this month we are sharing the recipe with you so you can have some fun too we made them while boondocking dry camping in the desert that is how simple they are to make the recipe calls for vanilla extract but we substituted that for rootbeer and then again with lemon rootbeer was hands down the favorite marshmallow recipe 1 cup cold water divided 3 1/4 ounce envelopes unflavored gelatin 2 cups granulated white sugar 1 cup light corn syrup 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or flavor of your choice garnish 4-5 cups confectioners powdered or icing sugar sifted 1 lightly butter or spray with a non stick vegetable spray the bottom of a 13x9x2-inch baking pan line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and sift three tablespoons of confectioners sugar onto the bottom of the pan this will release the set marshmallow from the paper 2 place 1/2 cup cold water into the bowl of your electric mixer that is fitted with a whisk attachment sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand until gelatin softens about 15 minutes 3 meanwhile in a heavy two quart saucepan place the sugar corn syrup salt and remaining 1/2 cup cold water stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil cover the saucepan with a lid and let boil for about three minutes to allow any sugar crystals to dissolve from the sides of the saucepan remove the lid and attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan increase heat to high and boil without stirring until the syrup reaches 240 degrees f about 10 minutes remove from heat 4 with mixer running at low speed slowly pour the hot syrup into the gelatin mixture in a thin stream down the side of the bowl gradually increase the speed to high and beat until mixture has tripled in volume and is very thick and stiff about 10 minutes looks like thick marshmallow cream add vanilla extract or other flavoring and beat to combine about 30 seconds longer 5 scrape marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan and spread with a damp offset spatula or rubber spatula the mixture is very sticky so just smooth it out as best as you can dust the top of the marshmallow with another 3 tablespoons of confectioners sugar and let stand uncovered at room temperature until set about 12 hours 6 remove the marshmallow from the pan by first running a small sharp knife around the edge of the marshmallow to loosen it from the pan invert the pan onto a large cutting board that has been dusted with confectioners sugar you might have to use your fingers to help loosen the marshmallow from the pan peel off the parchment paper the marshmallow will be sticky and dust the top of the marshmallow with confectioners sugar cut the marshmallow into squares using a pizza roller or sharp knife dip the cut sides of the marshmallows in additional confectioners sugar shake off excess sugar and store the marshmallows in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks makes about 24 2 1/2 inch marshmallows check out the video on the fulltime families youtube channel!

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december 2011 issue page 14 saving the holidays by tamara ayalah now that the turkey and extended family are gone and life is back to a relative state of normalcy you can rest and relax really no worries here winter holidays are just 3 weeks away and there is no reason to stress out at all on the contrary look forward to them as a time when you will share so many special moments with the people you love eat delicious meals and feel that good holiday cheer i am going to help get you there fully prepared and with not a wink of sleep lost let s stick to the basics gifts decorations and a general feeling of good holiday cheer gifts life otr already means that we already shun consumerism to a point so how can we make this a special time of year and honor the season but not accumulate more stuff try to observe the following little ditty for each child something they want something they need something to give and something to read we follow this ideology for all four of our kids and also include a special bag of chocolates and a gold dollar they are always happy because it really does cover all of the basics last year the best gift that our eldest son 14 at the time received was a $20 bill attached was a note that said he could not keep it which actually made him tear up detailed instructions directed him to a local coffee shop where he gave the money to a cashier he told her to use it to purchase people s drinks but to please keep it anonymous my husband my son and i all purchased our own warm drinks and then sat back to watch person after person exclaim smile laugh jump up and down look around and yell thank you in fact enough people continued to put money into the pay it forward pot that when we finally left after 2 hours it was still going strong at the end of the day our son felt like a million bucks and he had learned an invaluable and beautiful lesson ­ the greatest reward is in the giving not receiving it may feel a little strange to implement this tradition the first year start now teach your children the rhyme with the clues and they will all be looking forward to the special day following this ideology may limit what you spend on your child but it wholly fulfills the season s meaning ways to save even further pay attention to that one thing that your child really really wants first stop ­ e-bay just be sure to check the seller s ratings to make sure they are reliable also check out http www.cheapcheapcheap.com which has new deals every day one of their most recent ones that received a ton of traffic was the disney mp3 mix stick 5 free albums and free shipping all under $20 electronics video games tvs and even bounce dryer sheets ­ you simply have to look at this site if you still can t find the particular want item do an online search for the name of the item plus the word sale once you find it at a particular retailer go ahead and do another online search for that retailer s name plus the words discount codes or coupon codes for possible extra savings find something they want and order it stress is now over and done with something they need is usually socks or some other practical item which is easy enough to pick up on your next shopping trip the something to give takes some serious thought on your part you know your child and what will be the most meaningful some years i ask my child to pick out a toy from their collection and we go donate it together or i post it up on craigslist under free and then my child actually gets to directly give it to someone in need it is always a touching moment and my kids are always jumping around in excitement that they were able to give something to someone who didn t have enough word of caution here please be smart craigslist is a useful and cool site but there are some whackos out there always choose to meet continued on page 16

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december 2011 issue 20 page 15 everything s for sale by marci livingston need marci to cover a topic for your while you move from a dreamer to a driver email her at fulltimervdreams@fulltimefamilies.com in my last article i shared that our family took an extended rv trip and came back completely changed we are in the process of trying to figure out how to get on the road full-time currently we are trying to sell as much stuff as possible to help get us out of debt it has been a slow and sometimes challenging process with 4 children under the age of 7 it has been tough to spend a lot of time working on this goal although it is taking much longer than we wanted here are a few ways we have been able to get the junk out of here garage sale i don t know if it is my neighborhood or just my luck but i have never had success with garage sales i don t feel it is worth the time for the small amount of money made so we have decided no more garage sales flea market booth i have found a local flea market that rents booth space i place items in my booth space and they sell it for me i pay a small monthly fee plus 10 commission on anything that is sold i do not have to work the booth and at the beginning of each month i get a nice little check i have done this for 3 months and i am really happy with the results amazon.com within 3 hours of posting a few books on amazon i had made my first sale that was exciting selling on amazon is very easy first you set up an account and then enter the item you wish to sell next click the quality of the item the price you want to sell it i always choose a few cents cheaper than the cheapest price listed and then click submit it takes less than a minute to enter each item once it sells i package it up and get it in the mail i have a closet dedicated to all the items i am selling on amazon i am encouraged when the closet starts to look empty then i go around the house to find more items to sell more exciting than that is the trip to the post office with a handful of packages to mail craigslist hubby has lots of bigger items and he is selling them on craigslist it is a slower process especially since we do not live in a metropolitan area a friend suggested when we head to a larger city for a trip to post the items in that town and if we get any callers explain we are coming in town and can bring it with us for them to look at the item craigslist is successful if you have pictures and can write a thorough description the down side is sometimes a lot of people call and a lot of people look before you will get a buyer facebook i use facebook to let people know about all the things i am selling it helps but it has been the least successful sales tool the most exciting thing is the money that we make getting rid of the things we no longer need everything we sell gets us one step closer to being out of debt and one step closer to making our dreams a reality.

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