Freecycle or Garage Sale

[cashqueen]

The other thread about 'Flylady' got me thinking... I was thinking that over the next 8 months or so I'd declutter and organize all my stuff. All my clutter would get put away for a garage sale next spring. Now I'm thinking that I may just freecycle it. Having a garage sale sounds like so much work (I'll be working 2 jobs starting next week) and I'd have to keep everything for that much longer. Part of me wants to sell it for the $$ but the other part just wants to get rid of it once and for all. What do you think?

[sweeps]

Re: Freecycle or Garage Sale

How about a 1-day "everything must go" garage sale, and then freecycle whatever you can't get rid of.

[PrincessPerky]

Re: Freecycle or Garage Sale

I just donate

out the door, if I was in debt to my ears (or needed the cash for food) I might sell..but otherwise I would donate..maybe ebay something that really seems to be worth something or freecycle something that wont get much notice in a thrift store but worth something to others.

I figure the goal of decluttering is to get the hassle out, not to rearange it.

flylady also recomends a 'free' pile if you can't donate, set up a pile and some signs directing people, the feel good benefits would be pretty cool (pick a non rainy day)

[Cheetahwoman7]

Re: Freecycle or Garage Sale

Oh, I wrestle with that one myself. I went through a huge "purge" last year. Ended up putting on a one day garage sale. Normally I make from $30-80, not really worth the effort, but this time I had furniture and made over $500. I was in SHOCK!

Now when I look at my stuff I want to get out, I try to either Freecycle, Craigslist or Ebay it.

I say do one big garage sale to get rid of a majority of the stuff. After that, you can deal with things one at a time or small amounts at a time.

[Ima saver]

Re: Freecycle or Garage Sale

I would have a one big day garage sale too. I am planning on doing that this fall. Why not go ahead and have it in the next month or two.??

[pearlieq]

Re: Freecycle or Garage Sale

Goodwill. Get rid of it, support their valuable work, and get a tax receipt!

Unless you have a lot of big-ticket stuff, you'll make more on the tax deduction than you would on the garage sale.

[puppypal]

Re: Freecycle or Garage Sale

Glad you brought this up. I heard that even if ya freecycle you can write it off as a donation?! Any truth to that?

[pearlieq]

Re: Freecycle or Garage Sale

I heard that even if ya freecycle you can write it off as a donation?! Any truth to that?

Ooh, I don't think so. In order to be deductable it has to be a qualified organization. Individuals don't count as eligible.

Here's a link ot the IRS publication on charitable deductions:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf

[Snoopy2645]

Re: Freecycle or Garage Sale

I would have a garage sale then drop off what dont sale at the goodwill or another like charity I am not sure about freecycle!!!

[greedy4chips]

Re: Freecycle or Garage Sale

Goodwill. Get rid of it, support their valuable work, and get a tax receipt!

Unless you have a lot of big-ticket stuff, you'll make more on the tax deduction than you would on the garage sale.

We were thinking of the Goodwill idea. Exactly how do you price things when you do this. We have tons of baby clothes that we are ready to move out, but a garage sale seems to be a ton of work. The haggling annoys me when it is a $2.00 item and they ask for $.50 off, while they are driving an SUV.

We are in the 15% tax bracket after all deductions and I figure we can/should be better off donating items vs garage sale.

What can you deduct if an outfit is legitimately $24.00 at the store? Can I put $24 on the receipt or just the $2-3 we might get?

[sweeps]

Re: Freecycle or Garage Sale

Fair market value. If you can only reasonably get $2 for an item, that's all you can legally claim for a deduction.

[cschin4]

Re: Freecycle or Garage Sale

Go to Goodwill and get some forms to itemize all your stuff. I used the Salvation Army's website for information on the fair market value of items. Then, itemize the stuff and take it to Goodwill and deduct from your taxes. With Freecycle, it is a nice concept but you get no deduction. And, if you have alot of stuff to get rid of it will take alot of time. When I declutter, I just want the stuff out of the house. I did a yard sale once and it was a big pain in the butt. You have to sort, put prices on everything, set up, etc. Just not for me. I just want the stuff gone. But, it depends if you are up for a yard sale or not. If so, it may be worth a try. But, I personally don't want strangers milling aroung my house.

[rickatheslicka]

Re: Freecycle or Garage Sale

Hi,

I just had a garage sale with the fruits of my decluttering efforts (against FLY lady's advice). All of your worries are well founded, it is A LOT of work and it definitely keeps the crap in your house that much longer. My fiancee and I started having a lot of stress and arguments over it.

BUT, we made $500 on our tag sale, which we are putting toward our wedding. I don't have many opportunities to bring in extra cash like that, so it was very nice. That is definitely more than I would have been able to deduct by donating because many of the items would not have been accepted by a charity (an opened bottle of perfume, for example). We donated what was leftover so as not to have to bring it back into the house.

We (I) decluttered nonstop for two months, and it really was getting to be a big burden. Crash and burn is hard to avoid. Be aware that you will feel more stress and impatience during the decluttering process knowing that you are trying to have a sale in 1-2 months. If you are familiar with FLY lady then you know she teaches you to do it 15 mins at a time, baby steps. This will not be baby steps, it will not be easy going.

But if you can handle life getting VERY hectic for 2 months, the rewards (monetary and a quickly decluttered home) are very nice. Also, for me, I may have been more ruthless with my decluttering efforts because I wanted to have a lot of stuff for my sale, so that was a good thing.

Just make sure you know what you are getting into. You may want to check out the forums and tips at www.yardsalequeen.com

If you do have the sale, then like many of the posters have said, after the one big sale, just donate things. Freecycle is great.

Hope that helps - good luck and stay strong!

[getforfree]

Re: Freecycle or Garage Sale

I would have a garage sale and donate to a charitable organization, like goodwill or salvation army, whatever I couldn't sell. I wouldn't give anything to freecycle, unless the item is heavy and I don't want to haul it anywhere, so they would come and pick it up.

I would only donate items, that I can't use for anything. If the clothes are good for rugs, I would rather use it for rugs.

[pearlieq]

Re: Freecycle or Garage Sale

What can you deduct if an outfit is legitimately $24.00 at the store? Can I put $24 on the receipt or just the $2-3 we might get?

If it's new with tags (less than 1 yr old) you could probably still deduct the store value, but you'd need to be able to back up your claim if it were ever questioned.

For everything else, it's thrift store value--what would they be selling it for at the Goodwill.

I will admit, I'm a garage sale haggler even though I'm not needy. I always thought that was an accepted thing for garage sales. Very few people turn down my offer!