OK, I'm cleaning out my house, and with two little kids it feels impossible. At the same time, we have a rather large yard that we mowed yesterday BUT we didn't finish raking before it got dark and the mosquitos became relentless.

Some stuff I know I have:
* two 17" CRT monitors (it's ok, you can laugh )
* corner desk - $200 new at Sam's now - it's a few years old
* various glass items ... goblets and wine glasses and things ... probably antiques - some I will keep, some I won't
* kidstuff ... some toys, 12M boy winter things, layette (towels etc)
* Bath and Body works set - it was a gift from one of my coworkers when I left Wilmington, but I don't really like the stuff they picked - I know it has 4 things in there, but the only two I can remember right this second is a full-size bottle of lotion and a candle. I think it's juniper something (it's green) but I guess if you don't like it either you can exchange it at a store.
* travel pamper kit (toe separator, polish, etc.)
* Samsonite suitcase

What I need:
* Someone to finish the yard and either wheel the grass into the woods or haul it to the dump - it will probably take a couple of hours
* Help inside the house - seems I have time to either do the extra cleaning or the day-to-day stuff
- extras: painting utility room, sorting through boxes, moving furniture (not heavy things - I can move them alone, but it goes faster with two)
- usual: dishes, kitchen counter/floor, bathrooms, sweeping/mopping (I cheat: swiffer), dusting, windows, vacuuming
* POSSIBLY someone who can keep the kids entertained so I can work - I work at home part time on top of all this

I know I need more than it seems I have to offer, but I'm not putting price tags on anything I want or offer, so if there's something you want and something you can offer let me know. In the mean time, as I find things I will post here

[Edited on August 7, 2006 at 9:32 AM. Reason : suitcase]

8/7/2006 9:09:29 AM

I could edit but I won't since I'm already on top of classifieds

I should note ... I will feed you while you're here.

I'm planning on making some chicken and mashed potatoes and some third thing - fruit or veg, haven't picked what yet - for dinner. I also have two pizzas in the freezer as emergency food. To drink - water, lemonade, Coke, milk, and some flat Arbor Mist wine.

8/7/2006 9:13:33 AM

>.< Forgot to mention ... I'll provide all the supplies, except with the grass there may not be enough lawn bags and I'm not providing a truck for hauling although I do have the rakes, shovels, wheelbarrow

8/7/2006 10:53:13 AM

OK please, someone come help me tonight I've got a lot to do, and I can hardly focus on my work with all this clutter

and here's a picture of the desk (from Sam's website)

8/7/2006 5:00:12 PM

i dont have to work tomorrow so i might be able to come by to help out but i dont see anything id be interested in trading. would you be willing to pay?

8/7/2006 8:44:29 PM

shoot...id help ya for food...if i was in town...lemme know if you need some help in about a week...

8/7/2006 8:55:05 PM

sorry, don't have the cash to spare unless there's someone out there who wants to buy this stuff :/ I hate to harp this chord but like ^ brought up there's food ... I'm a good cook

and I'm trying to get everything straight before the weekend ... I spent the afternoon outside raking and got almost everything raked up outside - still need it removed tho either bag and haul or wheel it into the woods - bout the same labor either way

More stuff ... some from under the house, some in my utility room
- HUGE stuffed wolf (probably needs a bath)
- a few plastic pots and some of the brown biodegradable starter pots
- two and a half bags of quikcrete

I have other items ... kitchen stuff, DVD's, blankets maybe ... that I might be willing to discuss, but I don't want to post detailed info since I don't know what I absolutely will/won't part with v. what anyone might want

8/7/2006 9:54:10 PM

i would think bartering for a sitter for the kids would be better for you

some of the stuff you need done is labor intensive & could take hours-- besides the desk or suitcase, none of it really seems worth it

were you the one who sold desserts awhile back?

maybe you could barter desserts for a few hours of easy child care (making sure they dont kill themselves/each other) while you get a few hours to do some of the stuff you have piling up

or maybe you have friends or family that can help you out for free? sound like you're overwhelmed & are getting behind!

sometimes i find the best way to get rid of shit is to just drop it off at goodwill. you might have been able to sell some of the stuff for a few bucks but its not worth the space it takes up and stress it causes

frquently i'll load up my trunk and drop all the shit off just to get it out of my house and off my mind

8/7/2006 10:05:24 PM

yeah, I made various desserts a while back but I stopped selling them because the cops do hang out on this board and I didn't want to take even the slightest chance of someone coming down on me for selling baked goods out of a non-commercial kitchen. I'll be happy to barter baked goods although I think it's pretty implicit that has to either (a) be planned out or (b) I'll deliver on a future date. I'd prefer (b) since I'm already pretty busy this week. I can do all kinds of stuff ... except cookies ... cooking frickin hate me ... but cakes, pies, cobblers, cheesecake ... hell yeah.


I have already dropped a LOT at Goodwill, but you're right I'm getting overwhelmed just with keeping up with the day-to-day with all the other things I need to do. I want to get them done before the weekend because my husband's back and on vacation starting Friday so I'd like to enjoy the time without thinking about housework. Believe me, I'm not standing still, I just know I'm not going to get as much done as I need to alone no matter how hard I try. A normal day ... I'm up at 6, work a couple hours, kids get up and we do breakfast and play, then we go somewhere to let them run around, come home and eat/nap (I work another hour or two), they're up and play while I do house or yard work, then baths and bed. By the time that's over I'm too exhausted to do anything extra. That's why I'm on TWW right now

We don't really have local friends/family - he has friends at work and most of mine have graduated and moved. There are some acquaintances, but no one I'd ask to do stuff for free, and I don't think any of them are in need of anything I have anyway (and they get the desserts au gratis when I visit).

8/7/2006 10:27:00 PM

More things I thought of ...

- B&N store credit (not GC, must be used in-store) around $30
- Kohl's GC $30
- DVD's - some are tentatively taken, so I'll have to post later
- pieces of slate (maybe) ... my in-laws took out a sidewalk when they widened their driveway and now the pieces are just stacked behind their shed. They're in Richmond, so it'd be work-first-rocks-later

[Edited on August 7, 2006 at 11:12 PM. Reason : more]

8/7/2006 11:05:33 PM

i honestly would help you for free or food...sadly, im not in raleigh, or i would. Maybe someone else will be as generous

8/7/2006 11:32:20 PM

I'm tellin ya, one of my cheesecakes is worth 2 hours with my kids - SouthPaw most recently purchased one, although many other twwers have had a taste of my confections, including jackleg (but that was probably 5 or more years ago, so my memory could be wrong)

8/7/2006 11:39:25 PM

this thread as well as your life is sad

8/8/2006 12:31:39 AM

no actually my life is quite good, I'm just trying to be NICE and get stuff done so when my husband comes back from Havelock where he will be all week teaching hazmat classes I can enjoy the week of vacation before classes start.


That said, thanks to EVERYONE who has PMed me so far! There's one person planning on coming this afternoon to help me get the yard straight, and I'm continuing with the housework. There's still plenty more work to be done, and anyone who sees something to barter for and can help me with chores or can tolerate two very energetic children (see my gallery) is still needed! One person has said she is available Thursday night - still working out what to exchange - but I'm looking forward to getting stuff done.

FYI kids go to bed about 8:30, so it's still an early out all things considered.

[Edited on August 8, 2006 at 11:03 AM. Reason : Desk is pending; one monitor is gone]

8/8/2006 10:57:10 AM

how is her life sad?

shes simply overwhelmed

i challenge someone WITHOUT kids or a spouse to lament about how busy they are

they have no fucking clue

double the busy if there is no spouse to help

8/8/2006 7:22:50 PM

OK, yard and painting utility room DONE! Thank you to the person who came out here to help me

Still gots lots of housework tho :/

8/8/2006 8:34:09 PM

bttt

Utility room is (mostly) back together

New desk is together, but the stuff that goes on it still needs to be organized (tonight's project)

LOTS of laundry to iron/hang/fold, some to wash/dry, floor needs mopping, kitchen and bathrooms need cleaning ... alone this is still 3 days' work

8/9/2006 6:33:29 PM

Dammit, I missed the edit time limit



OK if no one wants to work, what about buy? Not going to sell the GC/SC unless someone wants to offer close to or all of the credit on them. The monitor and the slate and such I'll go to CL. The B&BW stuff + the travel kit = $50 in real value most likely. I'd be willing to wrap them up all nice and pretty for your special someone I'll even be nice and if you have something ($15 or less) you want from B&N I'll pick it up for you and wrap it up with the rest of the stuff ... want a different "flavor"? Maybe I can go exchange these for you. If no one buys here, I'll try CL, and if nothing there then I'm regifting because ... I can.

8/9/2006 7:28:12 PM

can you tell me what color the suitcase is? I have some discontinued Samsonite, and if it matches I will do pretty much any of the stuff on your list!

8/9/2006 11:18:16 PM

eh, it's not hugely exciting - it's black - the ones I WANTED when I bought this one were vintage pea/ VW green, but this one's just plain.

8/9/2006 11:26:38 PM

Interested in the slate, willing to buy it outright. I don't have enough time to help you work, need help myself with a little one. How about a photo of it and we can discuss transport. Thanks

8/10/2006 7:48:30 AM

Heh, housework piled up again

Still have the bath and body works stuff and the foot kit. Still have the suitcase. Need to finish washing up the toys and I'm going to thin the herd again this weekend, so I'll have a shitton of baby toys (good for older infant/young toddler). I've acquired kitchen items I could probably part with, so if you're looking for something LMK and maybe I have it. Some craft stuff. That's all I see just sitting here in front of the computer soooo there could be others. LMK if you're looking for something and we'll talk.

Need:
* clean my kitchen
* detailed dusting ... baseboards, doors, windows
* planting bulbs
* weeding/mulching

These are things I will eventually get to, but I'd really prefer to do them before I leave for fall break. And yes I've already PMed pawprint about the housework. I might be willing to pay - depends on whether I can sell some stuff.

10/4/2006 9:41:39 PM

Interested in the suitcase, got a pic?

10/4/2006 9:59:06 PM

I dont want any of your junk, but i can help out with the * planting bulbs
* weeding/mulching to the sum of $12 per hour.

10/4/2006 10:02:57 PM

Yes I have the key

^ I'll consider it, but it won't be until after the weekend that I start considering paying ca$hmonies

10/4/2006 10:24:18 PM

I'd be glad to help in the future. Thanks for thinking of me.

10/4/2006 11:51:26 PM

If you need any help, I'd be willing to help. I have a truck so if you need any dump runs, yard work, etc let me know. I'm willing to work for food if it isn't too bad, maybe barter...

10/5/2006 3:15:58 AM

^^ No prob Really cool last time, and got a lot done fast - if I'm still backed up next week you may yet hear from me!

10/5/2006 7:15:48 AM

Pawprint does a great job cleaning - check out her posts

10/5/2006 9:10:08 AM

OK I know you are alllllllll laughing right now, because there's a game tonight ... needless to say I'm not going, but I'm also feeling just *a tad* stressed.

I'm ready to just fork over some cash (let's be reasonable, I'm a student too) so someone who's free tonight PM me your number+rate and I'll likely be calling you

10/5/2006 5:06:20 PM

bttt because it's worth a shot and pawprint hasn't been taking new biz for like a month now

latest finds - lots of crafty stuff ... yard, ribbon, etc.; and LOTS i mean omgz lots of kids' toys

11/30/2006 7:26:00 PM

what do you still need done? PM me

11/30/2006 7:37:04 PM

It's detail dusting I guess ... and windows. It's been several months since I dusted ceiling-to-floor and I don't think I've ever bothered to do most of the windows, or at least not in the last year.

I'm ca$h-broke for the next few weeks (til after Christmas) so it'd be supercool if someone would trade with me ... even if it's simple as house-help for house-help, just keep in mind I have KIDS. PLURAL. And yes they come with me.

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/bar/242255103.html = some stuff to "barter"

Will have more as time goes on ... perhaps some interesting coins if there are any collectors. I don't think I have anything rare, just maybe some random international things, a few SusanB's, maybe some half-dollars or $2 bills. I do collect these things, but my husband and I have merged collections and have some surplus.

FYI everything in the original 8/7/06 post is gone ... sold and/or bartered away

11/30/2006 9:04:20 PM

I'm a nanny, so don't have much more kid time left in me either! But, the family I work for recently cleaned out A TON of kid toys. They donated them to a kid's toy/clothes recycling place. Kinda like Plato's closet, but for kids. You might want to try that and get a tax write off just to get the mounds of toys out. I know they can REALLY become overwhelming. Good luck.

11/30/2006 9:21:30 PM

yeah, if no bites before I finish doing the work myself, I'll be donating ... but in the mean time, it's one of my few resources to gain some needed help

11/30/2006 9:49:32 PM

it's a long way down haha, sure i'll help, i was just thinking about bttting my "ff: helping hand"
i'm free all weekend, supergreat with kids, willing to help. LOVE homecookins (:

pm sent

11/30/2006 10:20:14 PM

more stuff ...

* cockatiel cage
* 10G fish tank setup
* Christmas stuff, incl. some lights

12/1/2006 6:13:26 PM

tuesday after three? wednesday, same

12/1/2006 10:02:39 PM

God damn, your life is sad

12/1/2006 10:47:32 PM

nah, life's good, just busy

plus with my own stuff AND stuff from parents/siblings to sort (longish story) and subsequently sell/give away/trash, I figure might as well see if anyone wants it, and if so I gain, if not I'm no worse than I was before

it's called using one's resources

12/1/2006 10:55:51 PM