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Hey all! I am Jennifer in Tucson. I have been thrifting since my kids were little simply to stretch the budget of a stay-at-home mom and firefighter. Through seasons of interests I have been able to develop an eye for well made, often American made, vintage items that I love. Things like linens, Pyrex and knives. I also enjoy finding items that are more quirky or original, things like mugs and t-shirts. We own some property in Northern Arizona. My kids were riding quads and brought me a bunch of very old, rusty tin cans (think soup cans and baking powder tins) that had been partially buried. People have been hunting up there for many, many years so my guess is they were left by hunters. I was going to throw them away but they asked why I didn’t I try to sell them on eBay? I took it as a challenge and to my surprise I have sold some! Who knew people liked to buy trash?
I eBay barely part time with the deep, deep desire to make it full time. My hubs has recently jumped in as my shipper. God bless him. He has much to learn but loves to hop on and print labels and invoices when something sells. He usually cannot get over the idea that someone will buy something like a mug that I paid .99 for and sold for 24.99. It is beyond his way of thinking.
If you are not completely bored yet, I will go on and mention I am 41. I am a 10 year breast cancer survivor. My kids are 13 and 16. I have been married to my high school sweetheart for nearly 24 years. I homeschool my children. We are honored to live with and care for my elderly, disabled dad. My hubs is a hunky firefighter. The desert is hot and ugly. I don’t know why I am still here. Yard sale-ing in the summer is brutal but I can’t complain since we get to yard-sale throughout the winter months. We pretend to homestead. I love all things homeopathic but don’t hesitate to pop ibuprofen if the miraculous essential oils don’t quite cut it. I’ll butcher my cage-free organically fed chicken then whip up a box of Kraft mac and cheese to go with it. Don’t judge me. I can’t get it all perfect. I think our homeschool group prays for me a lot.
I look forward to connecting with fellow scavengers here. That’s my favorite part of selling on eBay; the treasure hunt.
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Lol. Sometimes I laugh at myself when I find myself stopping for some McDonald’s french fries on the way to pick up organic pastured chicken at a local farm. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your story. It’s so cool to learn a little bit about the lives of all the interesting and different scavengers here.
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Oh Jennifer! You have a great sense of humor!!!! I loved reading your bio. I think we are kindred spirits:)
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We’re also pretend homesteaders. But what we don’t do is spend a lot of money on junk. It’s too easy to live very well being frugal in this land of overabundance.
Glad you found us. Look forward to hearing more stories from your scavenger life.
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I like your comment on how your husband can’t get over how someone will pay $25+ for something you got for $1. Mine is the same way and is often astonished at what I can sell. I’d love to homestead, but we inherited a beef cattle hobby farm and quickly realized that our current lives have no room for animal husbandry. We sold the cows and planted fruit trees and bushes. I have grand plans of a 1000 tree apple orchard that we will use to make hard cider to sell.
I do have two little goats as pets and would love to get more for dairy, but we had to negotiate terms on the number of animals I bring home and we have a two goat limit for now 😀 Some day I would like to raise all my own meat and have a large garden, but I think it will have to be when I free up my schedule and move on from my traditional 9-5 job.
Great to meet you!
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A two goat limit! That makes me laugh!
I’d love to plant an orchard! My son and I are considering some larger animals for next fall (goats or hogs but definitely not both!) I’m spread a little thin these days so I am having to consider animal projects carefully.
What I love about the hubs shock when I sell something and make a nice profit is that his eyes are slowly being opened to the possibilities. (Baby steps) We could be so much more if we could team up. And we love working together on various things so I think eBay would keep us from killing each other, I mean bring us closer together when he retires. ?
Thanks for chiming in! It’s so nice to meet you!
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ha, love this bio. thanks for sharing. i sent a photo of a can of pumpkin and a jar of spices to a friend on Thanksgiving (as i was about to make a pie). and she was like ‘what kind of homesteader farmer are you??’. i was like ‘i’m not a farmer, i’m a thrifty scavenger!’. you can only do the best you can and that’s good too.
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Hi, I’m glad to see someone else from Tucson on here! I just made my first post on here this morning. We keep chickens, gardens and some fruit trees also. I have stopped shopping at Goodwill altogether as everything seems to expensive to resell. The Goodwill outlet is worth it though if you are willing to put up with the chaotic scene and compete when those sheets get pulled off the bins. Speedway Outlet is my fav thrift store.
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