Live With Less

Have you ever wondered how to live with less? These sufficient and versatile possessions may help you to reconsider your purchases.
[edit] Steps

1. Furniture: Assemble 3’ x 7’ shelf as window seat and bed. Store bedding in floor cushions. Use cushions at shelf to dine or as desk. Store laptop, clothing, linen and pantry beneath shelf. Cut slotted handles in side of cardboard box for easy pull-out storage.
2. Clothing: 7 outfits, hooded jacket, gloves, envelope as wallet. Garment hooks. One pair each: boots, shoes, sneakers. Under-counter washer/dryer-in-one, clothes drying rack. Use towel over counter to iron. Use one hanger - iron night before.
3. Cosmetics: Mirror, comb, toothbrush.
4. Linen: Two each: bath, hand, face towels. Towel hooks.
5. Kitchen: Use cutting board cover under-counter fridge. Use portable stove top, large knife, deep fry pan to steam or sauté veggies, medium and large pots as mixing bowls, colander, spatula to stir and serve, 4 kitchen towels. Use bowl for meals, mug as ladle or to measure, fork as whisk, and spoon to measure. Dry dishes on a towel. Use a towel as a potholder. Reuse jars for food, utensils, or flowers.

Shelf: Consider the thickness of a cushion - when deciding upon the height of the shelf. Place storage boxes about one foot from edge of shelf - to allow for your knees to fit under the shelf while sitting on a cushion.
Bedding: Roll-up cushion and sleeping bag as options.
Floor cushions: Favorite old fabric.
Laptop: Paperless
Outfits: Choose two or three colors to mix and match.
Garment hooks: Coat hook near door. Hook on back of bathroom door.
Towel hooks: In bathroom and kitchen.
Kitchen: As an option, use cutting board to cover washer/dryer-in-one with small fridge beneath sink.

Ensure strength and stability of shelf - in reference to your weight.

Set Goals to Reduce Water Usage in Your Home

Freshwater degradation is a looming crisis that we must face head on with strong and effective actions. You can do your part to protect this precious resource and call upon your elected representatives to take action today to protect not just future generations but our own future by adopting sustainable water practices.

Only 3% of the earth's water is freshwater - protecting this critical resource is essential. In addition, water-related energy consumes a large amount of energy. In California, for example, water use consumes 19% of the state's electricity, 30% of it's natural gas, and 88 billion gallons of diesel fuel annually. Here are some ways in which you can set goals to reduce water consumption in your home.


1. Set specific water reduction goals. For example, commit to using 20% less water per month.
Determine a baseline to start reducing from. Print the energy and water consumption chart and post it in a visible spot in your home. Chart the number of gallons of water used in the last 12 months (for comparison to each month this year).
Make specific changes in products used and family member habits. For example, buy water saving products where needed, such as a low-flush toilet and a water-saving showerhead.
Get your family involved by asking for specific changes in everyone's habits. For example, place signs near water outlets reminding family members to reduce consumption (e.g., shorter showers, turning the faucet off when not needed, only watering outdoor plants in the morning or evening).
Make adjustments. Once a month, add the new usage information to the charts and make adjustments as needed to reach your goals.
Use the money saved to do something fun with your family. If you have children, increase their allowances by the amount saved to encourage them to get involved in finding new ways to conserve.

Describe a Person's Physical Appearance

Have you ever met someone who you discovered would be perfect for a friend of yours, but when asked, you found yourself without the necessary language to describe them to your friend? Perhaps you have trouble remembering faces. You don't have to be an artist to be able to let someone know what another looks like. If you follow these instructions, you'll improve your memory and maybe even hook your friend up with Mr. or Ms. Right.

Start from the top. Notice the hair on your person of interest. Is it long, shoulder-length, or shorter? Do this person wear a distinct hairstyle? What color is their hair?
Look at the person's face. Even identical twins have facial differences that make every face on earth completely unique. Look for the following features:
* Eyebrows: Are their eyebrows thick or thin, light or dark? Do they have small eyes or large eyes? Are they deep-set or bulgy? Are they almond-shaped or round? Do they have long, thick, curly lashes, or are they sparse, straight or short?
* Nose: The person's nose can be almost any shape or size. Is it long or short, turned up or hooked? Is it wide or narrow?
* Mouth: Is the mouth wide or small? Does the person have full lips or thin lips, and is their cupid's-bow on top very defined?
Notice any distinctive features, such as a mole or birthmark, even a scar or tattoo.
What shape body does this person have? Are they tall or short, round, curvy, stout or lanky? Do they have proportionately long arms or legs?

Be consistent with what order you notice features and you will remember them more easily.
Be subtle about looking at a person because staring is rude, and a long up-and-down could start a fight.


If you try to hook your friend up with someone, it is best to make sure the person in question is single and of the proper sexual orientation.
Any excessive looking, whether it be glances or stares, could be misconstrued as aggressive. Take your time, and not only will you be safer, you'll remember more easily.

Avoid Getting Scammed on eBay

eBay was rated by The Observer as the #1 website that changed the internet and is used by over 168 million users. It is a utopia for used goods, but it is also a nesting ground for ill-intentioned scammers. Being scammed (paying for an item but not receiving it, or buying a damaged item) is a very rare circumstance that is generally easy to avoid.

Feedback
Feedback
The first step is to check the user's feedback. It can be found on the right side of the screen. This tells you how many items the user has sold, and what percentage of users were pleased with their service. It is reccomended that you only buy from users with a percentage of 95 or greater.
Then, if the user has negative feedback, click "Read Feedback Comments" to see what the issue was. Normally the problem is something along the lines of "Arrived Late" or if there is a serious problem, you can read the seller's explanation of the issue.

User Name and Number of Items Sold/Bought
User Name and Number of Items Sold/Bought
Next, you should check how many items the user has sold, if the user had just created an account, sold one item, and has 100% feedback, it isn't saying much.
The number next to the seller name is how many items they have sold and bought, and the symbols next to the number represent the titles the seller have. If a user is a power seller, they are a trusted member of the eBay community, and you can expect excellent service from them.

These are the Accepted Payment Methods
These are the Accepted Payment Methods
Next, you should check what methods of payment that the user accepts. If the user only accepts cash or money orders, then you should be slightly suspicous. The safest method is PayPal. It draws money from your bank account and puts it into the seller's. If you are scammed, you will be refunded (partially) by PayPal. The best part, is that the seller gets none of your personal information.
All the previous steps are to protect yourself from not receiving the item. Another way you can be taken advantage of is by being sold a damaged item. The best way to avoid this is to pay attention.
Read all of the descriptions, especially the fine print. If the condition of the item is stated correctly in the description, you cannot receive a refund.
Look at all of the pictures. What may look like a reflection could actually be a large scratch.
If you do receive an item that was inaccurately portrayed, you should contact the seller, demand a refund, and send the item back.

Report a Problem
Report a Problem
If, despite all of these steps, you are still scammed, or the seller refuses to refund you, then fill out an eBay fraud report, you will either get your refund and return the item, or if you never received the item you will not get all of your money back, but you will get a percentage, and the seller's account will be shut down.

Often times just sending the seller an email will help to resolve the problem. It may just be a misunderstanding. Also, in your "MyEbay" there is a message center that ebay members can use to message each other. If you have not heard from your seller via e-mail, you may want to check your MyEbay Inbox.

Read all of the descriptions. If you skip over an important fact about the condition of the item, it's your problem.
Many times the items on ebay look prettier than they do in reality. This isn't trick photography, but rather just 'good' photography. Take any old item, place it on a decorative 'set' and shine some bright lights on it and it will look good.
Worst case scenario if you have the fraudulent seller's information, placing a call to the seller's local police department and explaining the situation will generally compel an officer to go out and investigate what occurred and see if a crime has been committed. [This works best in smaller cities.] Many times just the visit of a police officer inquiring as to what might have happened will help a fraudulent seller want to try and rectify the situation.
If you are not in possession of the fraudulent seller's address or real name, but you know their phone number, there are numerous websites that can help you find out who owns a phone number. (Example: http://www.phonesearchcentral.com or http://www.tracing-america.com)
If you are in possession of the seller's real name and know what city they live in, a free public records search with a website like http://www.zabasearch.com will often times find their home address.

* Is the deal you just found "Too good to be true"? It might be, sometimes the deal is too good, and is likely to be a scam.
* Watch out for high shipping prices. You may be saving on the item, but paying a small fortune for shipping.
* Pay close attention as to where your item ships from. If you see inexpensive designer goods being shipped by a seller from (for example) Hong Kong, you'd be right to question the items authenticity. (ie: Fake Designer Goods)
Be very careful if you are selling an item and the winning bidder wants to mail you a money order for more then the item sold for, and then have you cash it and mail back the difference. This is a well known scam where a buyer will purchase an item and mail you a fake money order, (usually from overseas.) Then when you take the money order to the bank you may end up being arrested for trying to cash a fake money order!
Sellers should also be very wary of anyone who buys their item and then requests that it be mailed overseas.
Sellers should exercise caution selling high dollar items on ebay: The higher the dollar value of your auction the more likely you are to have fraudulent ebayers bidding on your item.

Shop Til You Drop

Learn How to Spend a whole day at the Mall, buy great clothes at great prices, and, survive
Call a friend. Shopping is a lot more fun if someone is with you (plus they can give you fashion advice).

Wear comfortable shoes and comfortable clothes.

Gather your money together in a safe spot.

Make a list in your head of all of the things you want to walk out of the mall with.

Head straight to the stores that you know have great clothes at a great price.

Look at the price tag when you're buying; it will save your sanity later!

Make sure you have enough money.

Take small breaks in between stores or sections of malls.


Make sure to ask your friend if the outfit your buying looks good on you.
Always check for a rip or tear before you buy.
Keep your receipt, in case you have to bring the item back. This is effective in countries where returns are encouraged and allowed.


Don't let the salesperson talk you into buying something, They're as fake as the mannequins!

Always have more than enough money.