The bottom line

Six dollars and seventy-three cents per day.

Over the last year, my downsizing gig payed $6.73 a day. Not bad, I don't think.

Sure, if I had to support a family on it, things would be a little tight, but, considering that it was all supplemental income, I think it's commendable.

Since the beginning, I've tracked what my downsizing sales have taken in, but I never kept a running tally. I had a few requests along the way to publish what I had made so far, but never got around to doing the math.

I rarely get around to doing math.

I also spent a fair amount, too, mostly in postage, but I didn't even bother to keep formal records on that.

Note to my cousin Amy, who has embarked on her own Downsizing Challenge: I recommend keeping a running budget along the sidebar of your blog. Folks love to peek into your financials.

Curious, myself, about what my final take was, I've spent the last two evenings meticulously going through the archives to add up all that I made and subtract all that I spent. Here, are the positive and negative sides of the ledger:

Income

• Craigslist: $1,135
• eBay: $728 (after subtracting eBay and PayPal fees)
• Other: $329.05 (mostly two big sales of cloth diapers to friends)
• Yard Sale: $300
• Bull Moose Music: $85.62
• Returns: $30.34
• TOTAL: $2,608.01

Outgo

• Postage: $111.75 (that's a really rough estimate)
• Chemical recycling: $40
• TOTAL: $151.75

That leaves me with a net gain of $2,456.26 or, as mentioned above, an average of $6.73 a day.

The number would be far more impressive if I also included the profit from the sale of our house, but that seems to transcend the spirit of these other sales, so I've left it out. Besides, I don't want the IRS to know what we actually made on that deal.

I was rather shocked to see the craigslist total, but it certainly shows how the internet has made marketing and sales accessible to anyone. A market out there exists for just about anything, and services like craigslist can help anyone access it. Most impressive is that every cent of craigslist sales went into my pocket.

eBay, while allowing us to tap into a far larger market, has the downside of a) charging a commission for using the service, and b) necessitating shipping, which eats into profits. Thus, I was a little surprised that I didn't net more than $728. If I could have sold those same items for the same price on craigslist, the total would have been somewhere in the $1,100 range. Oh, what could have been.

What I don't regret is the money I spent on postage ($111.75) as I mailed downsized items to friends and family. By my count, I had at least twenty-eight days on which I mailed off something to someone, usually without even telling them it was coming. Every time I did it, I envisioned the fun they would have opening the surprise package. In this electronic age, I think we all get a special thrill out of physical mail arriving on our doorstep. I would have gladly spent double that in order to spread those emotions.

I certainly didn't enter the downsizing challenge with the intent of profiting from it, but in the end I actually feel like I made out like a bandit. After all, a year ago, if someone had offered me six dollars a day to maintain a blog, I would have jumped at the chance. Have fun and make money? Sign me up!

Plus, once I finally sell the book rights to this experience, I'm really going to be rolling in the Benjamins.