2021 Decluttering Thread

[disneysteve]

I worked in the garage today. I broke down a bunch of boxes that had accumulated, tossed a number of items in the trash and listed one on Marketplace. Most significantly, I took a carload to Goodwill. I think there were 6 carton boxes plus a stack of loose items. I also took a trash bag full of clothes we had accumulated inside. The garage remains a work in progress but it definitely looks more open in there.

My wife did some organizing in her sewing room today also. I gave away a sewing cabinet she no longer wanted, a tote bag, a container, and listed one item on Marketplace.

[bjl584]

Found a buyer for an old shower insert in my basement, so that goes next weekend.
Also found a taker for an extra electric kitchen stove that I have, so that is gone next week too.

[disneysteve]

Sold another ebay item tonight. $16.50 for the sales brochures we got when we did a Disney timeshare tour years ago. Been taking up space on a shelf ever since.

[kork13]

Sold another ebay item tonight. $16.50 for the sales brochures we got when we did a Disney timeshare tour years ago. Been taking up space on a shelf ever since.

The stuff that some people will pay money for........? Lol

[disneysteve]

The stuff that some people will pay money for........? Lol

Clearly you’re not a collector.

Paper ephemera items are highly collectible. Brochures, maps, guide books, promotional items. Generally speaking, items that weren’t intended to be saved are often the ones most sought after by collectors.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I am done with girl scout cookie sales. I turned in what my troop didn't sell and I'm done! Ha. Broke down every box and returned unsold boxes this morning. So much relief! Of course i have two orders not picked up yet but still it's not terrible. And I need to reconcile the boxes.

[disneysteve]

More time in the garage today. I packed one carton for Goodwill and have another one just about packed. More stuff into the trash and recycling, too. Hoping to do at least one more session in there while I'm off this week, but that's at least 8 cartons to Goodwill so far (plus the trash). I listed another item on Marketplace too.

I also started a box of stuff to sell on ebay or Marketplace. I think my "job" when I retire in a few years is going to be selling regularly. We have a lot of collectibles that are in demand and of value. I just don't have the time to deal with it all while I'm working.

[disneysteve]

Two items I listed on Marketplace yesterday sold. We were going to meet today but it's pouring here so he asked if we could do it tomorrow instead.

I spent a short time in the basement, got a few things in the trash, packed several in a box for Goodwill, and found 5 or 6 I'm going to put on Ebay.

[disneysteve]

My father, who died in 1992, collected stamps. For the most part, he collected things if they caught his eye, not because they had value to others. I've never dealt with his collection but it's risen on my to do list. Today, I started digging through one carton of stuff - postcards, envelopes, and loose stamps. Most of the cancelled loose stamps went in the trash. I know those have no value, even in bulk. A lot of the envelopes were things either he received or one of his clients did and he saved them just because they were neat looking or came from other countries. Again, no real value to collectors.

The box I just went through also had a bunch of postcards, mostly unused collected on our travels. Some of those will have resale value if I batch up lots of them by location or subject matter so I set those aside - things like vintage Atlantic City/Jersey Shore, Philadelphia, Lancaster, PA. There were some personal postcards sent to us by friends and family when they were traveling. It was neat to read through those. I actually found one from cousins who are actually coming to visit this afternoon. I'm sure she'll get a kick out of seeing it. It's from 1975 when they went to London.

Today's box also held some First Day covers and other things that actually are collectible, so those went into a separate pile. Eventually, once I've sorted through everything, I want to take the entire collection to a dealer and try to sell it for whatever I can get for it.

[disneysteve]

Two items I listed on Marketplace yesterday sold. We were going to meet today but it's pouring here so he asked if we could do it tomorrow instead.

Transaction done. $20 cash received. I sold him a couple of old Phillies items and he said if I have any more to let him know. I'm sure there's more in the garage somewhere so if I come across any, I'll message him.

[disneysteve]

Sold 3 magazines on eBay today.

[disneysteve]

I continued working through the carton of stamps and stuff in the basement tonight. I came across a number of great family items, like letters my dad wrote home during WW2. I also found a cachet cover from the USS Arizona from 1936, 5 years before the Pearl Harbor attack. I listed that on ebay. A quick search shows USS Arizona items seem to do pretty well.

[disneysteve]

Sold another item on ebay today.

Not exactly decluttering but still sort of a win. DD asked if we still had her old pencil case from school. It just happened to be something I came across in the garage the other day and had put in the box to go to Goodwill. I went and got it for her. She now has a use for it and before she ordered one on Amazon she figured she'd check. So it didn't help clutter but it did keep her from buying something new.

[disneysteve]

Since I'm mainly doing it to get rid of clutter, I really don't pay much attention to how much I make on ebay (unlike when I was doing it as a business). But ebay takes care of that for you. Right now, my 90-day total is $146. Knock off 15% for fees and I've made about $124 - on stuff that we didn't need or want. Add in items I've sold on Marketplace and I'm over $200.

Just a reminder that there is a definite financial benefit to getting rid of clutter along with the intangible benefits.

[disneysteve]

I sold four more items on eBay yesterday and woke up today to see that two more had sold overnight.

ETA: And two more sold today.

It's so weird. Items can be listed there for months with no action, then all of a sudden a bunch will sell.