What are Beanie Babies worth today?

It happened on a dark day in 1993.  Ty Beanie Babies were stuffed with pellets and were thrust on to shelves of toy stores all throughout America.  People began collecting the dolls like they were made out of gold.  Even I bought a few in a Beanie Baby frenzy. 

They were cute, cuddly and we all hoped they would be worth something some day.  I remember looking at some of my friends in envy as they had purchased Beanie Babies that were enclosed in a plastic display case to never be opened.  We just knew that these “mint condition” Beanie Babies were going to be of even more value than the others as the years went by.

How much are Beanie Babies worth now?  I’ve spent some time buying and selling things online and often I come across a Beanie Baby and smile.  Their suggested retail price ranges from $5 - $7.  However, regular Beanie Babies purchased for around $5 that have been enclosed and never touched in years might go for about $2 today.  I have seen some go for the price of about $20, but that’s about as good as it gets.  In fact, the same markup would apply for any vintage toy still in its original packaging.

There are some that are limited edition that I’ve heard go for hundreds. And if you have one with a manufacturing defect, you might be able to get even more out of your investment.  But for the most part, us regular people had the regular kind.  Over the years mine were all packed up and thrown out or handed down.  I’m just glad I didn’t live the dream of one day funding my college education on my cute little investment.

Which Beanie Baby did you collect hoping would be worth hundreds someday?

A list of uncommon ways to use baking soda to do incredible things.

It is common knowledge that baking soda can be used to solve many routine household problems.  Need to brush your teeth?  Use baking soda.  Smelly fridge?  Use baking soda.  Bad heartburn?  Use baking soda.  Baking soda is a little white powder that seems to do it all.  Here are a few ways to use and reuse your baking soda for more than making your bread fluffy.

- Keeping your septic lines clear.  Just flush a cup of baking soda down your pipes every now and then.
- Eraser magic.  Sprinkling baking soda on a damp sponge will erase crayon, pencil ink and scuffs from painted surfaces.
- Steel cleaner.  Baking soda paste with water makes a great home made steel cleaner.
- Doggy “Dry Bath.” Take the powder and thoroughly rub through his fur.  Leaves fur shiny and smelling good.
- Removing hard water stains. Put baking soda on a wet rag and scrub.
- Facial Cleanser.  Try a natural facial scrub by mixing one part baking soda and two parts oatmeal. Apply using warm water.  (Test this on a small area of skin first – Some skin types are not baking soda friendly.)
- Under Arm-or.  Dusting baking soda under your arms is a great way to naturally absorb body order – but again, please test this first on a small area to make sure your skin is not baking soda sensitive.
- Volcano Drains.  Pour ½ cup of baking soda down your drain then slowly pour ½ cup of white vinegar and let it sit for about 5 minutes to unclog your drain.  (Remember your volcano science experiment in kindergarten?)  Flush out with warm water when you are done.
- Oil Oh!  Baking soda can remove minor oil or grease stains from your floors..
- Carpet Cleaner.  Make a water paste with your baking soda and cover a stain in your carpet, wait for it to dry and lift it out.
- Itch Relief.  Make a paste of baking soda and water and apply to bug bites or rashes to help relieve the itch.
- Keep flowers longer.  Add a teaspoon of baking soda to the water in your flower vase to keep them fresh for longer.
- Refresh your home.  Sprinkle on carpet, shoes, or other fabrics that collect odor.
- Rain Reflector.  Wipe your windshield with it to repel rain.
- Tough Laundry.  Pour a little baking soda in with your wash to help take out tough stains and keep your clothes smelling fresh.
- Coffee cleaner.  Stains can really build up in your coffee pot.  To get rid of them just let them soak in hot water and add a little baking soda to get the job done.
- Stinkless Litter.  Just pour a little in your cat’s litter box to help reduce that smell.
- Dishragged.  To remove the smell from your dish rags just soak them in hot water and a little baking soda.
- Beano.  Soak dried beans in a baking soda solution to help them to be easier to digest.

In honor of cautious parents and the current swine flu panic, here are our tips for sanitizing all kinds of toys.

Take it from a parent. Buying toys for your kids can get expensive quickly. Luckily, there is a known fact about children – they outgrow their toys quickly. So what should you do with all of those outgrown Koozy Coupes and stuffed Elmo’s? Sell then online at TheFreeWay.com or in a yard sale of course! There are tons of thrifty parents out there looking for toys that still have hours of joy left to give their children. Many parents are leery of taking other children’s toys for fear of the previous owner’s germs. So in honor of those cautious parents and the current swine flu panic, here are our tips for sanitizing all kinds of toys.

• Small Plastic Toys – There are two great methods for sanitizing small plastic toys like blocks, shape sorters, action figures, etc. First you can create a sanitizing solution of ¼ cup of household bleach to 1 gallon of water. Place this solution in a bucket or container large enough to hold the items and dip them inside. Place the items on a rack to air dry. You can also place many plastic items in your dishwasher to clean them. The dishwasher does a great job of sanitizing items, but make sure that the items aren’t small enough to fall through the racks to the bottom of the machine.
• Large Plastic Toys – Large toys like ride-on toys, exersaucers, walkers and others can sometimes be forgotten, but they can be just as germy as the smaller toys. Taking them outside to be washed with a hose and soapy water will remove most of the unseen grime and a quick spray with a bleach-based sanitizing spray, like Clorox Anywhere Hard Surface Sanitizing Spray will zap the remaining germs and viruses.
• Stuffed Animals and other soft toys – Some stuffed animals can be run through the washing machine to clean them up, but be sure to use the gentle cycle and warm water for the best results. If the stuffed toy can’t be washed, place the toy inside a pillowcase and place it in the dryer on high for 15 minutes. If the toy is battery operated, make sure to remove the batteries before placing it in the dryer. This will help to reduce the number of possible pathogens on the toy.
• Battery operated toys – These toys can be the most difficult to get completely clean, but a spray with a bleach-based sanitizing spray like the one mentioned above is your best bet to achieve sanitation.

What to do with your stuff when the yard sale is over.

You’re reducing prices like crazy.  Haggling has become your middle name.  Now it’s just too hot and you’re ready to sip cold lemonade on the couch.  It’s all FREE!  And just like that your yard sale is over.

Now what?

Still couldn’t get rid of some of your games?  Just couldn’t bear to let someone walk out with your favorite chair for only $10?  Great. You had a yard sale to get rid of this stuff and now it’s going to hang around like glitter after a kindergarten party.

Most people decided to de-clutter by taking their left over items to the thrift store. This is a great idea to get rid of things that you know you aren’t going to use.  Think about things like clothing or kitchen utensils.  If you haven’t used these things in a couple of years, odds are you won’t use them for the next couple of years.  Giving your left over yard sale items to a thrift store is a great way to give back to the community and is a nice way to get a tax deduction too!

But what about the items that you think are worth something more.  If you feel that your items have value and you don’t want to part with them for nothing, then try selling them online.  Take a few pictures after the yard sale and upload them to TheFreeWay.com .  You don’t have to settle for $5 when you know your item is worth $50. 

The easiest way to post your items online is to invite us to your yard sale. We’ll bring coffee, doughnuts, and a camera.  We’ll take pictures of your stuff and help you put them online instantly.  Don’t stress about not being able to sell your stuff in one day.  With our help, you can post your ad online for free and get the right buyer and the right price.

The classifieds are a great way to boost your sales.

I found a great article today on LivePR about how the free classifieds are still a great way to promote your business.  Whether you own your own business or are just looking for some extra sales, the free classifieds is a cheap way to get your message seen by thousands of potential customers.

“You can do a number of different things with classified ads. Maybe you are trying to sell a product. Perhaps you are trying to sell a service. Similarly, perhaps you are looking for a product or service. Some people even sell themselves - i.e., they will use the classifieds to get traffic to their web sites. This is good for product and service web sites and even blog sites. The benefit here is that the ad is free, so the income generated from the extra traffic is all yours,” says the article. 
Click here to read more.

If you are looking to boost your sales, try placing an ad on TheFreeWay today!