auction Archives - Page 33 of 43

What Will We Do With All of These Presents?

Let’s face it, as wonderful as Christmas is, the aftermath can be a mess! What are you going to do with all of your extra stuff? Let DealDash help.

First off, if you hosted your family’s Christmas celebration, I bet you have a lot of food left. So let’s talk about food storage first. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t like it when my foods are stored sharing containers in the fridge. The flavors and smells kind of meld together and I just don’t care for it. So when I am hosting people in my home I make sure that I have plenty of extra food storage containers handy and ready to go. If you are in need of food storage containers check out DealDash’s Kitchen & Appliances section, there are a few different options that come up frequently for auction. I personally prefer the glass ones, but they do tend to be a bit more expensive than their plastic counterparts, and also get very hot to touch after you have heated them in the microwave.

Rubbermaid 40-Piece Food Storage Set Pyrex Premium Glass Lids Storage Container Set (Set of 3)

How about all of those new DVDs, Blu-Rays, books, and video games that you or your kid’s might have gotten for Christmas? You might need to expand your entertainment storage a little bit by getting a new bookshelf or cabinet so you can display your new items. DealDash has a ton of different options, try browsing the Home & Office category on DealDash. I know that one of my husband’s biggest complaints is that we have too many DVDs and books just randomly stashed around the family room and kid’s playroom. That problem is easily solved by getting one of these great storage units.

Systembuild 9 Cube Storage - Resort Cherry South Shore Storage Cabinet Sauder O'Sullivan Multimedia Storage Tower

Lastly, and probably the most prolific if you have younger children – toy storage! The Toys, Kids, & Baby section on DealDash has a ton, of course! There are different toy storage options for both boys, girls, and also in neutral colors. At my house we have one of each of these options – it’s a great way to be able to organize the toys that specifically belong to either my son or daughter, and then the neutral bins I store the toys that they like to share together, such as the Legos and other building toys, art supplies, puzzles, and other things.

Delta Children Disney Mickey Mouse Toy Organizer Disney Multi-Bin Toy Organizer Tot Tutors Toy Organizer

I hope that you and your family had a wonderful Christmas together and got everything that you were wishing for! Good luck and happy bidding everyone.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

This is my last blog to you before Christmas, tomorrow is Christmas Eve! It truly is a wonderful time of year and we all have so much to be thankful for.

Personally, I have had a wonderful year this time around, and though the year isn’t quite over yet I keenly feel extremely thankful around Christmas time. I would also like to thank DealDash for having so many wonderful auctions this year, I have won some very nice items, and this has allowed me to treat my family and friends to much better gifts than I would have normally been able to get them.

In addition to the actual goods that I have been able to get them, I have also gotten many gift cards at a great discount, at one point this year I had over $500 in Toys R Us gift cards that I had gotten from DealDash for a fraction of that amount. I believe that I used the BIN (Buy It Now) feature a couple of times, however when you use the BIN feature you get all of your bids back when you buy the gift card at face value, as well as free shipping AND you get to keep your “time as the highest bidder”, so it’s really a win-win situation even if you don’t win.

What are some of your traditions on Christmas Eve? In my family we have always let the kids open one small present on Christmas Eve, and then we go for a drive before bedtime and look at all of the beautiful Christmas lights. I have heard about other traditions such as each child gets a new set of pajamas on Christmas Eve, some other people do traditions with food.

If your family doesn’t have any special traditions yet, how about starting some? I know that while we are driving around on Christmas Eve looking at lights I am thinking about when I was a child and my family would be doing the same thing. It feels good to pass on traditions that my kids will probably continue when they grow up and have their own families.

That’s about it, everyone. If you are still looking for any last minute gifts head on over to DealDash and check out what they have up for auction today. It probably won’t arrive before Christmas, but it will get to you quickly and safely. Merry Christmas Everyone! Stay tuned for my next blog on Saturday!

Thinking About Internet Safety for Your Kids

Do you have a child above the age of 5 or so? If you do, then I am going to assume that they either beg to use your laptop and iPad or maybe even have one of their own.

If that is the case, then you are probably worried about your kids accidentally coming across something that is way too “adult” for them online, or even more seriously, possibly running into an internet predator. In this blog we are going to go over some simple ways that you can help protect your kids online, because let’s face it, you can’t watch them every single second – especially if you have more than one child.

First off, one of the easiest things that you can do for your kids to keep them safe is to turn on Google’s SafeSearch. SafeSearch is a Google search feature that surprisingly, many parents don’t know about. Google created the filter for parents to exclude adult websites and content from Google Search results. This feature helps to remove potentially harmful material appearing when searching the web. Google does state however, that no filter is 100% accurate, and they provide an online form to submit any websites that may get past their filter. This simple tool can prevent kids from trying to do an image search for “Lego” and end up getting the many results for “Legs”, some of which can be on the racy side. Here’s how to turn on the Google SafeSearch, it only takes a second!

1. Visit the Google Search Settings page at http://www.google.com/preferences.
2. In the “SafeSearch filters” section, check the “Filter explicit results” box.
3. Click the Save button at the bottom of the page.

Unfortunately, sometimes kids run into trouble online that have nothing to do with accidentally running across adult-themed websites. Next up are some tips to help keep your kids from running into any “bad apples” online that spoil the internet fun for everyone.

Keep computers in a central place. It makes it easier to keep an eye on kid’s online activities. In addition to being able to make sure that your kids aren’t going onto any adult websites, it can help foster bonding as well, because if your computer is in a centrally located position such as the kitchen it’s easy to check in on your kids and see what they are up to, and possibly join them in their fun.

Monitor your children’s online activities. If you have young children, we recommend browsing the internet with them. For older children you could talk about what kinds of websites they can visit and what isn’t appropriate for them to view. You can also check the browser history to find out where your kids have been. If you are worried that your kids might not obey your wishes and go onto adult websites on purpose you can always install a computer monitoring program such as “Net Nanny”.

Teach Internet safety. Children need to know how to use the Internet safely and responsibly when they’re on their own. If you start when they are very young, and enforce safety rules every single time they use the computer it will become just a part of their daily life and not a “punishment”.

Protect your passwords. Teach children never to give out their passwords and to make a habit of unclicking “remember me” settings on public computers. Also, even though it might make life a little more difficult, try and use different passwords for different websites instead of re-using passwords.

Beware of online communication to strangers. Teach your children not to arrange face to face meetings with people they meet online, and not to share personal information with anyone online. Also, take the following as a good rule of thumb: if you wouldn’t say it to someone in person, don’t text it, email it, message it, or post it as a comment on someone’s webpage. Please also tell pre-teens and teens that even if someone says that they are another kid just like them, it doesn’t make it true.

I hope this article has given you some ideas about how to keep your kids safe when they are online. And remember – the part about not revealing personal information online applies to everyone, not just kids!

If you are in the market to get your child (or yourself) a new computer or iPad, check out DealDash. They have all types of items in many different categories there, check out the Electronics & Computer section. Good luck and happy bidding everyone!

Surviving the Holidays With Help from DealDash

As fun as the holidays are, some people just can’t get into the spirit. Here are some tips to help get through the next few weeks.

No matter what the reason, be it Seasonal Effective Disorder, baby blues, or just a dislike of the holidays in general you have a right to your feelings, and you’re going to need to find ways to keep yourself busy during the next few weeks. Here are some ideas to start off your thought process.

How about learning a new skill, such as cooking a specific meal or food item? Everyone else is baking Christmas cookies or planning on roasting a turkey, but how about you learn how to make home made pasta? It’s much more delicious than store bought pasta, and you can make it as healthy (or not!) as you choose. If you have a Kitchenaid stand mixer you can make pasta really quickly and easily. Here is a simple recipe you can follow:

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour, sifted (plus extra flour for preparing)

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs, beaten

2 Tablespoons water

KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Mixer, Cobalt Blue KitchenAid Pasta Roller Attachment

Directions:

Place eggs, water, flour and salt in mixer bowl. Attached bowl and flat beater. Turn to speed 2 and mix for 30 to 60 seconds. Add more water if the dough is too dry, in 1/2 Tablespoon increments.

Change out the flat beater for the dough hook. Turn to speed 2 and knead for 2 minutes. Remove the dough and knead by hand for 2 minutes. Let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

Cut dough into four pieces before processing with pasta sheet attachment. Take one piece and flatten into a rectangular shape. Adding flour to both sides. Be sure to cover the other pieces. Attach the pasta sheet roller to your stand mixer and set it to #1. Turn on the stand mixer to speed 2 and run the pasta dough through the pasta sheet roller. While on #1, fold the dough in half and run it through again. Do this several times.

Adding a little bit of flour on each side of the dough again, change setting to #2 and pass the pasta dough through the sheet roller. Do this twice and then twice each on #3 and then #4. If you want thicker dough, don’t do the #4 setting.

Once again, add flour to each side of your long pasta sheet. Change the attachment to your spaghetti or fettuccine cutter and turn on to speed 2. Run the pasta sheet through and with your left hand, hold on to the pasta as it comes through the cutter. Allow pasta to dry for a few minutes before boiling.

When boiling your pasta, it only needs 3 to 7 minutes to boil.

You can get a Kitchenaid mixer and all of it’s various attachments on DealDash. Just click this link here and it will take you to the auctions. If pasta making sounds fun but maybe a little too ambitious check out DealDash’s Kitchen & Appliances section and perhaps you can find a fun new kitchen gadget that’s more your speed.

Rachael Ray Hard Enamel Cookware 10pc set (2-tone Red) Oceanstar 6 Piece Bamboo Cooking Utensil Set Rubbermaid 40-Piece Food Storage Set

If cooking really isn’t your thing, how about using your extra time off from work (assuming you get holiday time off!) and do some of those extra projects around the house that you have been putting off for a while now? I can think of a few projects off the top of my head that need doing around my house, and I bet you can, too. If you’re really not much of a handy sort, how about getting a basic tool set from DealDash? You could get something like the Essentials 34 piece tool kit and have just about everything you need for a small project. You can find that auction, and other tool kit auctions at this link here.

Essentials 34-Piece Around the House Tool Kit with Screwdriver

If you’re more advanced in your handiness you could pick up something a little trickier to use such as a rotary tool set or even a hammer drill. Check out the Home, Garden, & Tools section here on DealDash and see what you can discover.

Of course, there’s nothing more fun than sitting down at your computer and just browsing all of the different areas on DealDash. Good luck and happy bidding everyone!

Using the Features of the DealDash App for Android

If you’ve been following along with my DealDash app for Android blog series you are probably getting used to bidding on the go!

However, if you missed my first two blogs on the subject I will provide a quick refresher on the basics. If you already know how to download and open the app on your Android phone, please skip down to the bottom and I will explain a few of the features that are available on the DealDash app.

If you haven’t yet downloaded the DealDash app for Android, please start off by going to Google Play. You can do this on your computer or phone browser if you like by going to this link. Or you can just go to Google Play and type DealDash into the search box. However, the even easier way to get the app is to go to the Google Play app on your phone and type DealDash into the search box.

Verify that the publisher is indeed DealDash, and go ahead and find the green rectangle that says “install.” Just go ahead and click that button and wait for it to install on your Google Play app.

Once you have finished installing the DealDash app for Android you can click on it to open it up, and you should see a sign-in screen where you can put your regular DealDash sign-in name and password. You can choose to save this information so DealDash will automatically connect for you when you open up the app.

Now that everyone has installed the DealDash app let’s get down to the features that I haven’t explained yet. They are the exact same features that are found on the regular DealDash website, but they are shown a little differently with the app.

First off, You’ll want to find the current open auctions. Just look at the top of your screen after you have signed in, and you will see the words All, Upcoming, Open, and Bookmarked. To find the current open auctions just click on the word “Open” at the top. This will bring up all of the items that are currently running for auction. Some of these items have already reached the $5 No Jumper limit and therefore are not eligible for bidding. Just check where it says “current bid”, and if it’s less than $5 then feel free to click on the picture to open up the bidding screen.

Next, you might want to see what auctions are coming up soon. Just look at the top of your phone screen, and you should see the word “Upcoming”. Just click on it, and you will be able to scroll through and see all of the items that are not only just about to start, but if you scroll long enough you should be able to see about 15 hours into the future.

Another handy feature that you should make use of is the “Bookmarked” tab. It’s up at the top of your phone screen, also. When you have been browsing around the Open and Upcoming sections you might have noticed an outline of a star at the top right corner of each auction. If you click the star it will put it into the Bookmarked section of your app for you. That way, if you find something that doesn’t start for a few more hours into the future you can still keep track of it. Just click on the Bookmarked tab, and they will be there for you.

The last feature that I am going to explain is the “Winners” tab. It’s very similar to the Winners tab on the desktop site – just click it and you will be able to scroll through hours and hours of awesome DealDash wins!

I hope this helped some of you Android-loving DealDashers! If you’re interested in reading even more tips and tricks check out the “Tactics & Tips” section on DealDash. The DealDash app has saved me a ton of time and money. I hope you enjoy it! Good luck and happy bidding everyone!