Time to Declutter: MusicMagpie Helps Clean The House and Boost The Bank Account

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Jennifer Wolfe

Relaxing (Photo credit: Niels Linneberg)

It’s summer time…when most people are lounging by the pool, sipping a cool drink, reading that novel they’ve been putting off, and taking time to relax. Right?

Sadly, not me. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I’ve never been able to sit around for more than a day or so…I like to be on the go. Doing things. Checking off my to-do list.

For me, summer is time to declutter. Sweep away all the leftovers from the school year, and prepare for the year to come.

When my kids go away to camp, I love nothing better than tearing up the house, digging into closets, sorting out the garage, painting furniture, and often completely changing the color of at least one room.

This year, my projects center around decluttering. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my kids are teenagers, and at least one of them will be moving out of the house in a year. This summer I’m all about purging.

I finally convinced my son that there is a whole lot of ‘stuff’ that he doesn’t need anymore, and he’d actually probably like his space a whole lot better if it was organized. Surprisingly, he agreed, and even thought it would be fine for me to start while he was away.

Maybe that was just a ploy to get me to do the work – what do you think?

The closet and dresser were easy – he’s grown six inches in the last year, and those shirts and shorts from last summer are way too small.

I’ve tackled his bookshelf, under his bed, and now it’s on to the CDs, DVDs, and the bane of every mother’s existence: video games.

Time to declutter those videogames! (Photo credit: Darren W)

After sorting out the grade-school discards, children’s movies and music that is so 2010, I wound up with a sizeable pile of ‘stuff’. I could donate them, sell them on CraigsList or eBay, but that’s so complicated and time consuming. Instead, I’m trying a new service to sell my old CDs, DVDs and games called musicMagpie.com.

MusicMagpie is a free service that involves scanning the item’s barcode to determine its value, boxing the items, taping on the free shipping label, and dropping it at a UPS store. Sounds simple? It is! When the box is received, MusicMagpie sends you a check.

Seriously – it took me about 5 minutes to scan the minimum 10 items with my smartphone. Within minutes, I received an email with the shipping label, I boxed them up, and dropped them at the store. Done. Free. There’s even an iPhone app.

And they send you a check.

But best of all, the clutter is out of my house, and not in the landfill.

So if you’re tired of lounging around this summer, give musicMagpie a try. It’s a perfect way to generate a little extra cash and clean up around the house.

Think about it: cold drink in one hand, smartphone in the other. Cash in your pocket.

What’s not to love?

This is a sponsored post, but all the opinions are my own.

Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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Double Delight of Beauty and Friendship

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Jennifer Wolfe

Double Delight beauty

“To do the useful thing, to say the courageous thing, to contemplate the beautiful thing:

that is enough for one man’s life.”

— T.S. Eliot (The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism)

This double delight was right outside my door today,

bursting forth with vanilla scented deliciousness,

flowers tipped in fiery pink.

When she blooms,

sometimes I walk right by

not noticing

or taking the time to stop.

But this day,

in this moment,

I paused,

and thought about this rose

given to me by a dear friend many years ago.

I remembered our tears when she left

and our smiles when we catch a glimpse of each other

every few years.

The double delight

of beauty and friendship.

Beauty is all around us. All we need to do is pause, look, and she is there.

Tell me, where did you find beauty today?

Jennifer Wolfe

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Sorry Paula Deen, But Words CAN Really Hurt You

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Jennifer Wolfe

Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.

– Rudyard Kipling

sticks and stones and words (Photo credit: Lisa monster)

So much of my life is consumed by language. As a parent, I read all the What To Expect books before and during my children’s younger years. I remember reading that to develop language, parents should speak everything out loud so the child would learn to acquire the correct vocabulary. I happily spent my days with baby Lily repeating “book”, “dog”, “peaches”, “Daddy”, “tree”, “bird” with endless enthusiasm. I wondered it strangers thought I was losing my mind. I never was the outspoken type myself.

Not surprisingly, it worked. She acquired lots of language, and with the help of ‘Baby Signs‘ became quite adept at expressing her feelings at a very young age. I loved it. I knew when she was happy, confused, and frustrated, and whenever she flashed that huge, drooly grin I knew the mind-numbing repetition was all worth it. Of course, until the day she oh-so-appropriately exclaimed “God dammit” at two years old. I had some explaining to do, but it gave me a strong reminder of the power of language.

My son would talk to anyone. I pitied the poor workers that came to remodel our house when he was two years old. He followed around the plumbers, the electricians, and anyone who would pay the smallest amount of attention to his burgeoning vocabulary. His precociousness usually garnered a smile from them as they went about their work, often engaging him in dialogue. He beamed and kept right on talking.

As a middle school English teacher, I start each year with an intense study of connotation and denotation of language. We read Lois Lowry’s novel, The Giver, and discuss precision of language in great detail. I know my students have heard the ‘sticks and stones’ nursery rhyme, but I want to break down that notion. I disagree. Words can really hurt you. Badly.

The real origin of that nursery rhyme can be traced back to the late 1800s, when it was presented in a publication of the African Methodist Episcopal Church as

“Sticks and stones will break my bones
But words will never harm me.”

As any socially aware person knows, incidents of bullying and racism still exist in our world, and with the advent of technology and the ability to speed up communication, words spread faster than ever. We need to teach our children that words WILL harm them, and that just ignoring them isn’t enough. We need to choose our language carefully, always thinking about what the connotation is and the historical implications that may forever be associated with them.

Sorry, Paula Deen, but you’re learning this lesson the hard way.

FC 250 Grand Marshal, Paula Deen (Photo credit: Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway)

Celebrities have the unfortunate responsibility of being scrutinized for their every action. As much as technology and social media helps actors, musicians, writers, artists, and even chefs to spread their message and boost their sales, the flip side is the enormous social responsibility that goes along with it. Celebrities can choose to use their words to promote positive social change, like Macklemore does, or they can carelessly toss about hurtful and discriminatory language that does nothing but show their ignorance and perpetuate stereotypes. Sorry, Paula Deen. Apparently no amount of butter, sugar and friendly ‘y’alls’ can grease your way out of this one.

Some may say that the media is over-reacting. That Paula Deen really isn’t a racist, a sexist, or anything else that she’s accused of. They may say that everyone makes mistakes and she should be forgiven. They may even say that anyone over the age of 60 should not be chastised for using the ‘n’ world, especially if they grew up in the South.

I don’t buy it.

There are no do-overs here. Once a word has escaped our mouths, it cannot be retrieved. It hangs there, in space, like a cloud that could either dissipate or drop hail. But it’s there for all to see. Words do hurt. Names do hurt. Stereotypes are perpetuated through ignorant use of language and irresponsible adults who think that if they get ‘caught’, they can just deny their culpability and say they really didn’t mean it.

How does that feel to the gay person who is called a ‘f’?

A black person who is called a ‘n’?

A woman who is called a ‘b”?

A Latino who is called a ‘s’?

A child who is called anything they deem hurtful, deflating, or just plain mean?

So thank you, Food Network, and all the other corporate sponsors who are taking this opportunity to stand up for language. You did the right thing. Don’t back down to those who say she really didn’t mean it. Because even if she didn’t, she said it. She had a choice with her language, and she threw down words that hurt. And she got caught. There’s a lot of kids out there who are watching her, and they need to know the power of language.

I hope we can all learn from this.

Sticks and stones may break your bones,

and words CAN really hurt you.