Sarah Jane Weldon
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Have a Nosy Around my Home and Writing Space


How I Got My Desk and Home Furnishings for Free
​

Life wasn't always easy for this poor wee author. Back in June 2018 my landlords sold the house I was renting in the Lake District and all the places I looked at moving to wanted six months rent upfront because I had pets and was self employed as a professional speaker and working on film productions. I put an offer in on the cheapest property I could find to buy, anywhere in the UK, and ended up moving from the north west of England to the north east, with the plan of staying in a B&B for a couple of weeks until the house sale completed. Turned out the universe had other plans, the sale fell through and I ended up staying in the B & B (one room with three cats and my dog) for about 18 months, which also meant I had to find a way of earning money from my laptop since I could no longer travel for work or leave the pets at the B&B alone all day. I set myself up on Fiverr and Upwork offering ghostwriting, proofreading, and Vellum formatting services, and used any dead time I had to do 'Human Intelligence Tasks' (HITs) on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Some of my favourite tasks included typing in those letters and numbers to prove I was not a robot, or clicking on boxes which featured traffic lights, and sometimes I have conversations with artificial intelligence about my favourite foods, weather, and the kinds of things that might help Alexa to work more smoothly. I got paid pennies for those tasks, but they were super quick and easy. My goal was to earn £40 a day online, which would cover the room at the B&B for the night, allow me to buy dinner and pet food, and to put a bit aside as a deposit for a rented house, until I could buy a place back in the Lake District.  Believe me, those were very dark days, away from my outdoor swimming, mountain walks with my dog, and everything I loved in an area I had never been to before and where I knew no-one. The B&B was mainly people released from prison or people like myself who had fallen down on their luck and staying for the longer term. Even more frustrating (but empowering) was seeing the books I had ghostwritten for other authors doing well on Amazon and making them a nice chunk of money - that was when I discovered FIRE (Financially Independent, Retire Early - this is a good movie to watch on the topic), and realised I needed to stop being paid by the hour for clients and to start to create passive income that would continue to earn me money. I also began investing in fractional shares on my Trading 212 app and use my tax free ISA allowance to generate monthly dividends. 

After many months in the B&B, a property came onto the market in an area that had been saved from demolition and had been lovingly renovated (yay for being a pet friendly company), and I was finally able to get a rental place of my own.  The next step is to work hard and save (and invest) hard so that I can buy some land and build my dream home back in the Lake District in 2021 so I can write and swim each day, and hang out with my pets to my heart's content! I'm now working some awesome architects in New Zealand on the design of my forever home, and now work full time on my own business, and no longer work with clients, which is pretty amazing. 

But the whole point was to tell you how I got my furniture and office furnished for free (and how I got Vellum for free too). Well, I used those Amazon Mechanical Turk credits to buy Starbucks vouchers, and tech things like iPhones, which I sold online and in places like CEX and Game. I then used that money to buy returned and minimally damaged items from Ikea's discounted section in their store (FYI they are opening second hand stores too), and from Amazon Warehouse. Sometimes I got stuff I didn't need, and then sold it for a little bit extra on Facebook Marketplace to local folks. It took almost a year before I had a TV and sofa, and I slept on a camping mat on the floor for many months before I got my bed. You see, I was time rich, but money poor, but it didn't matter because I knew that I was going to get nice stuff eventually which could one day be taken to my forever home. Hope that helps any other struggling folks out there.  Dream big and focus on one little step at a time.   


My Author Setup 
​

Laptop
iPhone
​Apple Watch
Noise cancelling headphones
Kindle Fire
Streaming laptop
laptop stand for streaming
Desk 
Bookcase 
​Sheepskin for seat
​Office chair
Desk Lamp
Yellow tea pot
​Mug
​Yellow Chair
Yellow Foot Stool
​USB Candles
Light Box
Fish tank and plants
​Endler guppies, Nerite snails, shrimp
Vellum software
Google Docs
Canva
Authors.ai
​Alliance of Independent Authors
Klytics
​Mark Dawson's SPS 101 Course
Rechargeable Batteries/Charger
​Extension Cable
​Neom Candle
​
Storage Drawers for Desk
Printer
Printing Ink
Small Desk Table
​Printer Paper
Highlighter Pens


Save the Cat Writes a Novel
​The Anatomy of Story
Take Off Your Pants
Sprint Journal and Author Planner
​Plot Gardening
Six Figure Author
​Write to Market
​Help! My Facebook Ads Suck
Leuchtturm Notebooks
Spark Joy
Wicked Plants
​Investing app
​Playing with Fire Movie
Travel Mug
ISBN Numbers
Ingram Spark
Creative Penn Podcast
SPS Show Podcast
​Six Figure Author Podcast
​


My Home Gym/Health Setup
​

Weights
TRX
​Floor mat
Epsom Bath Salt
Lavender Oil
​Gym Ball
Walk at Home by Leslie Sansone
​Wim Hof Ice Swimming Breathing/Meditation
​
Flax Seed, Chia Seeds
​Electric Toothbrush Heads
SueMe Ladies Briefs
Chloe Ting YouTube Videos
The Fitness Marshall dance videos
​Therabands
​Apple Cider Vinegar
Electric Toothbrush


My Home Setup
​

Roomba iRobot (hoover)
Alexa Echo Dot (I have three of them)
Smart Light Bulbs
Smart Bulb Kit
Amazon Smart Plug
Bed
Bedroom Drawers
Bedside Table
Bedside and Office Lamp
​Bedroom Shelf System
Egyptian Cotton Sheets
Egyptian Cotton Bedding Set
Egyptian Cotton Pillow cases
Washing Machine (Hose Extension) 
Basics Hoover (for stairs)
​Wooden stool/side table
Glass Storage Jars
Storage Jar Black Labels
Bathroom/Cupboard Shelf System
Lounge Rug
Sofa
Sofa Cushion Covers
Sofa Cushion Interiors
Pink Vase
White Vase
Cafetiere
Coffee and Tea
​Reading Lamp
Bamboo Cutlery Tray
​Kitchen Scales
​
Curtains
Net Curtains
​Curtain Poles
Letterbox Flowers Subscription
Television
Sofa Blanket
Sofa/Bed Blanket
Picture Frames
Mirror and Frame
Kettle
Toaster
​Smoothy Maker
Plate Set
​Cutlery
Sticky Hooks
​Tin Opener
Clogs
​Packing Boxes
​


Pet Things
​

James Wellbeloved Dry Light Food
James Wellbeloved Small Breed Dog
Applaws Tin Food (chicken, fish, mix)
Applaws Treats
Codliver Oil
Extra Strong catnip
​Applaws Dog Wet Food
Cat/Dog Brush
​Dried Sprats
​Dog Doorbell
Cat Litter Tray
Puppy Pads
Cat Litter
Cat Litter Scoop
Pet Travel Box (Spare Wheels) 
​Dog Poop Bags
​Cat Roller Toy
Cat Scratch Board
Cat Roller Circuit Toy
​Dog Toothbrush/paste
Cat Bowls
​Sparkly Balls
Lilly's Kitchen Dog Chews
Cat Grass Seeds
Laser Pointer
​Scratching Post
Dangler Toy
​Cat Toilet Training Kit
​
Alexa Dots for training
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Copyright © Sarah Jane Weldon, 2021
Isla Britannica Books Ltd. Registered in England & Wales. Co Nr 11672411
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
  • Home
  • About
    • Events
    • Instagram
    • My Pets
    • Office & Home Tour
    • Tea Collection
    • Become a Patron
    • Calendar
  • Books
    • Brew to a Kill Series
    • Christmas Series
    • Coffee Shop Series
    • Cozy Collie Series
    • Dead Before Breakfast Series
    • Death is Vinyl Series
    • Destination Unknown Series
    • Digs, Death & Denial Series
    • Food Blogger Series
    • Grime Fighter Series
    • Guy Fawkes Night Series
    • Hair Raising Mystery Series
    • Knitty Cats Series
    • Lady Adelaide Victorian Series
    • Movie Set Murders Series
    • Murder at the North Pole Series
    • Murder Down Under Series
    • Murder Once and Floral Series
    • Nail Salon Series
    • Silent Bundt Deadly Series
    • ​Sniffing Out Clues Beagle Series
    • Totally Girly Girl Series
    • Twelve Deadly Days Series
    • Short Stories
    • Children's Stories
    • Adult Colouring Books
    • Non-Fiction, Journals, Planners
    • Romance
    • Foreign editions >
      • Spanish
  • Box Sets
  • Audio
    • Free Audiobooks
    • Coffee Shop Series
    • Cozy Collie Series
    • Grime Fighter Series
    • Short Stories
    • Children's Stories
    • Romance
  • FAQ
    • No Kindle?
    • Cozy Mystery Day
    • Isla Britannica Books
    • Privacy
    • Press
    • ARCs
    • Libraries & Book Clubs
  • Say Hi
    • Guestbook
  • Shop
    • Stickers
    • Magnets
    • Pins & Badges
    • Greeting Cards
    • Acrylic Blocks
    • Notebooks & Journals
    • Postcards & Posters
    • Prints & Frames
    • Zipper Pouches
    • Coasters
    • Mugs & Travel Mugs
    • Water Bottles
    • Socks
    • Clocks
    • Bedding
    • Cushions & Pillows
    • Bath Mats
    • Shower Curtains
    • Tote & Drawstring Bags
    • Backpacks
    • Duffle Bags
    • Tapestries
    • Scarves
    • Aprons
    • Phone Cases
    • Laptop Skins & Cases
    • Popsocket Grips
    • Face Masks
    • Tank Tops
    • T-Shirts
    • Hoodies
    • Sweatshirts
    • Raglan & Baseball Tops
    • Long Sleeve T-Shirts
    • Dresses & Skirts
    • Leggings
  • Free Book Friday