MRB's Talking Fingers

The news is filled with stories about people who have been scammed by a phone call, an email, and even in person. The temptation is to think that it will never happen to us. Why would any decent person want to hit on anyone, young or old, to make them miserable or even destitute. Maybe we are even tempted to wonder if the persons who were scammed were just too gullible and hope they have learned their lesson. As of last week, I have a story to tell; (watch for the ' red ' flags. For a lot of years, since the beginning of the Internet, I have done consignment selling for customers who didn't know how, or have the time, to post items for sale on the Internet. I started by selling on Ebay, researching the value and/or reasonable asking price, then packing and shipping the 'sold' item to the Buyer. Things have changed over the years, more opportunities, more technology, more customers, but there are also many opportunities for the ruthless and unethical people who are...

Years ago, I met a lady in Scottsdale, Arizona who did seminars on how to be a good household organizer; organize your purse, organize your kitchen, organize your closets, organize your shop, etc. I still remember some of her ideas. To give an example… if sorting through a closet or a room, have three boxes/baskets that are labeled, 'Put Away', 'Give Away' and 'Throw Away'. It works well and if you haven't heard of it before, it could help pass the time these days while spending a lot more time at home. My husband and I have changed the categories a bit, when trying to “down-size” in my storeroom and his shop. The categories are 'Useless' (Why have I kept this for so long? It’s broken and/or useless), 'Under-Used' (I can’t remember the last time I’ve used this!), and 'Useful' (I’ll keep this, or if I don’t need this anymore, someone else could make good use of it.) Some things we have sold, but most things are put in boxes, bags, or...