Hey guys! I know things have been a little quieter here on the blog lately but I have been working really hard behind the scenes on my 31 Day Detox Diet as well as a major decluttering of our basement and Connor’s room {which we are currently re-doing}. I would guess that in the past three weeks, our house has probably lost a good 300-400 lbs. I’m sure there aren’t too many other diets out there that you can say that about! Anyways, I’m kind of on a decluttering roll right now and feel like I just need to get it done while the motivation is still there.
So what have I done with that 300 lbs?
I’m sure most of you are familiar with the KEEP, THROW AWAY, and GIVE AWAY sorting method that is commonly used for decluttering. While some of mine was definitely garbage, the large majority of it made it into the give away pile.
Honestly, it was kind of overwhelming to see all of that stuff that we needed to give away. And then came the big question: Should I just donate it all and be done with it or should I try to sell it?
We will be talking next week about how to sell your stuff, but today we are going to focus on if you should sell your stuff.
Obviously, the big pro of selling is that you will make some money back from the items that you sell but, unfortunately, selling your items isn’t always so easy. Selling takes additional time and energy, and for those of us that have difficulties parting with our stuff, it can be one more excuse to not let it go. I honestly have had boxes of stuff sitting in the basement for years waiting for me to get around to selling it.
Giving the items away to a charity is probably the easiest and quickest way to get your items out of your home. If you have a lot of items, many charities will even come to your house to pick everything up. For those of you that have a hard time letting go of things, this will probably be your best bet. All you need is just a few moments of courage and it will be gone! There is no time to change your mind or come up with excuses to keep things that you had originally intended to give away.
Here are five questions to ask yourself before deciding if you should sell or just get rid of it!
- Will the item be worth my time to sell? Remember that your time is worth something – it is not limitless and you want to use it wisely. Take into account how much money you will actually be making from your sale vs. how much time will be involved. I always like to think of it in terms of an hourly rate. For example, if I am trying to sell the item for $5 and it will take approximately 30 minutes of my time in total {including taking photos, listing the item, emails with potential buyers, etc.}, I will be working at a rate of $10 per hour. Set a minimum rate for yourself and stick to it!
- Is the item going to be in demand? There are so many forums for buying used items these days that it really is a buyers market. If there are already a hundred items like yours listed, it is obviously going to be much harder to sell and you are going to get a lesser rate for it. You also need to take into account the condition of the item and if it is still something that is relevant in today’s market. VCRs just don’t sell well these days.
- Do I have a reasonable expectation as to what I will make off of the item? Sometimes it is hard to come up with a reasonable price for what you are selling – especially if you have an emotional attachment to it. Look at online selling sites such as Craigslist to see what similar products are selling for. If you have collectibles, you can also try checking eBay to get a more realistic price point. Just remember to look at the items that have actually sold as there are a ton of items on there that are priced higher but never sell. Your item is only worth something if someone actually wants to buy it!
- Do I actually have the time to sell this? If you are going to sell something, you need to be able to set a timeline for yourself and stick to it. If the item is not sold within that time, you need to just give it away. Be realistic – if you have a lot of things to get rid of, you will not have time to sell everything. Pick your best items to sell and donate the rest to lighten your load.
- Can I group like items together into a lot? Selling similar items together in one lot will save you time and energy. You may have to take a little cut in the payment, but it is so much easier to unload all of the items at once.
So the bottom line is this: the main goal of decluttering is to actually get rid of what you no longer need or use. If you can make some extra money on the side by selling some of your stuff, then that is great. If not, it is okay to just let your stuff go. The most important thing is that you are going to be getting it out of your home!
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This post is part of The Household Organization Diet series. Start with this post HERE and start getting organized today!! Follow along with my Pinterest board or join in on Instagram and Facebook!
To help you overcome your decluttering paralysis, check out this post…
Dear Jenn,
This is a great inspiration. We will be leaving Ottawa this Summer, moving to Paris (France) for 4 years. We’re renting our big house (4000 sq feet) but will be moving in an apartment in Paris – obviously with no basement. While the prospect is very exhilarating, we have to sort everything and decide what to bring with us, what to give away and what to put in long term storage. Two of our teenage daughters are coming with us, the eldest will stay here to complete her diploma at Ottawa U. I’ve already started to declutter a bit, but it’s going to be a long process. Furthermore, since we’re moving for work at Foreign Affairs, we have to do an inventory of all our belongings. It’s not the first time since we lived in Atlanta and in Zimbabwe before, but still, that’s a lot of work. I will certainly be looking forward to your posts on the subject!
Keep up the good work and Happy New Year !
Geneviève
This is a wonderful, concise post. I feel like our attic could dump down into our garage any day with all of the stuff. The seasonal stuff I try to pare down every time I pull the tub down. I really to try to avoid adding anything in but it does happen sometimes. One whole section that just keeps on growing up there is my daughters stuff. Oh I’ll have a t-shirt quilt made from her camp t-shirts, oh I can’t possible part with…, I should pass …down to her daughter…, and the list goes on. As an only child of an only child I should realize the best thing I can pass on would be wonderful scrapbooks with lots of great photos of all of those things and lots of documenting on how/why they were special. This would mean a much leaner attic and perhaps other folks could get good use now instead of maybe.
Thank you for making the attic my spring goal.
I have so much stuff to get rid of. However I have the problem of letting things go. Why is that. I never use it or look at it. We tried garage sales. It’s sooo much work and people want stuff for 25 cents. Good stuff too. Crazy. Not worth it. Well I’m going to give it a try and start decluttering. (I hope).
I agree – garage sales are WAY too much work unless you have some big ticket items that you are selling. And people really just want to by your stuff for nothing! Good luck with the decluttering. 🙂
Hello,
Thank you so much for being real about clutter. I think that I am a hoarder waiting to come of of the closet. I have so much stuff that I have collected. “It is on sale… It is so cute… I will use it…someday. I was thinking that I would sell all this junk and make my money back. I never thought how much time I would have to invest to sell the items. I am just going to donate to Goodwill or somewhere. Starting tomorrow morning. I think that I will donate some stuff every day for the next 30 days. I pass by there every day on my way to or from the office. Wish me luck.
It is amazing how quickly all of those little things that we pick up add up! Just a little bit each day will get you back on track. Good luck with your organization journey! 🙂