Spring cleaning (and some extra cash) with
Windows Mobile |
| | Times is tough. Plus, it’s spring, and we’ve been talking about downsizing for a while now. Seems the hour is
finally at hand for a thorough cleaning and culling. Non-essential items will be sold to raise cash; things that
don’t sell will be donated. Windows Mobile will be right there with me the whole way. So let’s get started.
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| To keep or not to keep | The first step is to separate the wheat from the chaff. Actually, I’ve already done most of that. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve cleaned the entire house. Things we need I put away, and things we want to sell I wrangled into the study.
Standing here now, gazing out over the piles of booty accumulated during our 12 years in this one place, I’m tempted by nostalgia. But I get over it. Instead, I formulate a plan of attack—a dossier of disposal, if you like. |
| Big-ticket items on craigslist | We’ve got several big-ticket items, including a chaise longue and matching chairs. I think these will move fastest
on
craigslist. I could post the items without pictures, but they will sell a lot faster if I include some photos
showing the furniture at its finest. I use my mobile phone’s built-in camera to take pictures of the furniture.
The procedures presented here were created using an HTC S621 Smartphone from T-Mobile. Menus and steps may differ slightly on your phone. Refer to your phone’s documentation for device-specific instructions.
To take a picture: | Click Start > Camera, and then press the Enter button on your phone. Frame the picture using the phone’s screen as the viewfinder, and then press Enter to take the picture.
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| To get the best picture, you’ll want to customize your camera’s settings. Most devices let you specify a White Balance (the lighting conditions in which you’re taking pictures). By using the appropriate White Balance
setting, you can take the best pictures possible. Refer to your phone’s documentation for more information.
To customize the White Balance:
| From the camera’s main screen, click the left soft key to access the settings (the Wrench icon in lower-left corner). Scroll across the bottom row of icons to the Ambience icon, and then scroll up to select White Balance. Press Enter, choose the desired setting from the list that appears, and then press Enter. Since I’m taking these pictures inside at night, I choose Incandescent.
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| After taking pictures, I need to settle on an asking price for the furniture. A quick search for similar items already posted on craigslist should help me pick a price.
Now I need to create the listing. I can create the listing directly, using my Windows Mobile phone; or, if I need
to edit the images (maybe crop them or combine several into a collage), I can download the images to my PC
and create the listing there.
Tip If you have experience working with craigslist, try to post the listing from your mobile phone. I was able to do it in just a few minutes. If you’re a craigslist newbie, you might want to create the listing on your PC—the bigger screen will make it easier your first time.
To post a listing: | |
| To download images to your PC: Connect your Windows Mobile phone to your PC. When you connect your phone, Windows Mobile will automatically synchronize with your machine and download your new pictures. Check out these synchronization instructions for more details. |
| Collectibles on eBay | eBay offers an online venue for selling the collectibles I’m sacrificing—a few pieces of pottery and a pair of antique bookends. I took pictures of these items earlier, so all I need to do now is create the listings on eBay.
Selling items on eBay is a bit more involved than selling stuff on craigslist. For starters, you’ll need to create an account. Point your phone’s browser to eBay, and follow their instructions to start selling.
You may also want to consider using eBay’s automatic text messages and alerts for mobile users. eBay
notifies you on your Windows Mobile phone when a bid is placed. If you’re bidding on something, eBay
notifies you if you’ve been outbid and when a listing ends. |
| Odds and ends to the yard sale | So that takes care of the big stuff and the fancy stuff. What’s left—and there’s lots—is slated for a yard sale.
I’ll use Windows Mobile to drum up some traffic: text messages to friends, posts to neighborhood blogs, and
the ever-popular printed flyers (which I’ll create using some of the pictures I took earlier).
To rally my friends (and their disposable cash), I’ve devised a full-scale marketing campaign. First, I’ll send
out a beguiling text message this afternoon. Something along the lines of, “Do you secretly envy my cache of
high-end goods? Been coveting one or two of my prized possessions? This weekend only, I’ll be selling the
lot. Stop by Saturday to get your own little piece of me.” Then, on the day of the sale, I’ll send a reminder text message.
To send a text message:
| Click Start > Messaging. Verify Text Messages is highlighted, and press Enter. Click Menu > New. A blank message appears. Enter the recipients, a subject, and the message text. Click Send.
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| Once I’ve enticed my friends, I’ll post announcements to a couple of neighborhood blogs. Depending on the blog, I may need to create a user account before I can post. Refer to a blog’s posting instructions for more information.
With the electronic pre-sale announcements done, it’s time to design the flyer. I’ll use a couple of the pictures
I downloaded earlier. I’m using
Microsoft Word to create the flyer on my PC. Once I’m done with it, I’ll
print it
out for nearby telephone poles and e-mail it
(with my mobile phone) to my friends as an event reminder.
Everything is set in motion. Here’s hoping Saturday finds me a rich man—or at least a man with enough cash
for dinner. With a bit of effort and the help of Windows Mobile, you too can change your clutter into cash. |
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