2017 Decluttering thread

[JoeP]

I went up in our attic and threw out a bunch of stuff we just don't need. I would keep boxes, like my very first desktop Gateway computer, I kept the box up there in case I ever would need to take it back. Ya well that computer has been long gone, so now the box is too.ha

I'm a box-keeper to some extent as well. For some reason, I always envision a situation where I need to pack something into its original box for service or for resale. I can count on one finger the number of times I've had to do that, so the habit doesn't hold water!

[Milly]

My mother just started a "40 bags in 40 days" challenge. It isn't exactly a bag every day because some of the cleaning areas are non-physical items, but it is a pretty impressive challenge. I think it is supposed to correspond with lent too.

I've noticed three more ways decluttering saves money:
When you go to the store you are able to pass by those little things that are so tempting because you know they will eventually just end up as clutter.

When you give away or post the decluttered items online, you are redistributing items to people who want it more than you do. If all items were redistributed optimally, we would buy much less as a whole.

What goes around comes around. When you give things to people, you tend to get a more back. My friend gave us a sweatshirt with our last name on it (a city name). Now, I see her as someone you share with and am that much more likely to bring her some freezer jam.

[HundredK]

I am almost all the way through my stack of items to eBay from round 1 of our quest to be minimalist. One of the larger and more expensive items, I just didn't want to deal with the hassle of eBay and shipping, so I gave it to a friend. Sure, I didn't see any $$ for it, but it made my friend who has wanted that item for some time quite happy.

We took what I hope is our final load of items out to the landfill yesterday (nothing makes you want to declutter like visiting a landfill). And we have maybe one or two more loads for the Goodwill depending on how these last few auctions go.

One thought I have as I'm selling the many items we spent SO much money on, is that in the big scheme of things, it just isn't worth it. You see so little of your initial investment back in dollars. And when I think of things that happened in the past, it almost never involves specific items I have owned; but it always involves wonderful experiences I've had. So I'm using that thought as fuel to continue on our path toward simple living and (someday) being free from debt.

Milly, love everything you said. Great thoughts.

[msomnipotent]

What did she do differently?

She just takes one pic with her phone (not even a very good one) and lists the price. She doesn't even give a description unless asked. She even upcharges in case they ask her to come down on price. People contact her immediately. Meanwhile, I take several photos and list measurements and a detailed description and get drunken messages at 2am from people that never show up. I guess her area is just desperate for used goods? I have to say, my junk is the best junk, though!

[disneysteve]

She just takes one pic with her phone (not even a very good one) and lists the price. She doesn't even give a description unless asked. She even upcharges in case they ask her to come down on price. People contact her immediately. Meanwhile, I take several photos and list measurements and a detailed description and get drunken messages at 2am from people that never show up. I guess her area is just desperate for used goods? I have to say, my junk is the best junk, though!

Is she selling on craigslist? That is very location-dependent.

Interesting that she does so well with nothing but a picture. I'm like you and always give detailed descriptions and photos from every angle because that's what I look for when I'm shopping. I don't want to go to get an item and find out that it looks great from the front but the back or side is trashed.

[HundredK]

I'm like you and always give detailed descriptions and photos from every angle.

Ditto. I would never want a buyer to receive a shipment and claim that they weren't shown some part of it or that there was damage on a part not pictured or something like that. Plus, I think it gives bidders more confidence when they see the whole thing. That said, sounds to me like what's being described here are not ebay auctions. Unless they are fixed listings with only local pickup.

[snafu]

Have you used local FB 'Sell' page? It's very similar to CraigsList. I often list items on both sites using the same photo and brief info. like brand name. Minimal information seems to generate more interest and people who take the time to e-mail requesting details are likely to show up, ready to buy. I aim at having my ad run two days before typical paydays and 'refresh,' the Friday following payday.

If something has a damaged area, I add a photo of that detail, explaining the damage. I find ebay, paypal, fees and mailing a combination of too expensive and too much hassle for items I want gone.

[msomnipotent]

My sister uses a community garage sale group on FB to sell things. Things are not going my way with it this time. She goes on and on about how it is so much easier to sell of FB and people are much more honest because you can look up their FB page. Not even 5 mins later, I get a text that someone stole the digital video codes that came with the blu rays because she didn't think to block them out of the pictures. Then an hour later, I get a text that someone shorter her $10 when buying something. I guess I need to remind her to count the money! Oh well.

[cypher1]

Sold a large chunk of my comic collection on CL over the weekend. Gave my brother my older cutlery set/block and george foreman grill. Got a knife dock, and only use chef, santoku, paring, and bread knife.

I've been minimizing my kitchenware, getting rid of duplicate cooking utensils (not that I had a lot), glassware, etc. Debating on selling my blender (only used once). Besides my dish dryer rack and soap dispenser, I have nothing on my kitchen counters now.

[HundredK]

We continue to declutter - even though we keep feeling like we are down to the bare minimum, every few days we find something else we truly don't need. We've also decided that when our lease is up next year, we're going to move into a smaller place - quite possibly to a whole new city. So that's pretty exciting, since we'd ultimately like to move out of the US or travel full time. Downsizing seems a good first step.

Oh, and there is a particular thing the husband and I have diligently collected during our world travels, and we found a museum that would love to have them... that feels so much better than selling them all which would make me very sad.

[msomnipotent]

I finally had some energy and my wrists were not too bad yesterday, so I started cleaning out my daughter's closet. I found her stash of silver inside of her old suitcase, along with some dirty clothes that are 3 sizes too small for her so I know they have been in there a while. Gross. I also broke down and threw away all those little samples I get from Ulta that I never used, along with 4 makeup cases that I have no need for. I also started decluttering the master bedroom.

[msomnipotent]

I am so happy. Yesterday, I happened to stumble on to the fact that our county was having a recycling/hazardous waste day today. We got rid of 4 desk top computers (after taking some parts for my old computer and smashing the hard drives), 8 cell phones, 2 printers, a scanner, various cords that we haven't touched in years but will need them now that they are gone, 2 car battery jumpers, 18 gallons of old paint (one was from 1999. I don't even know where it came from), 15 smaller containers of paint and varnish, and a monitor. Unfortunately, you can't even tell the difference because we have way too much storage here! And I hurt my back, hands, and a wrist dragging the stuff out of the basement. Still worth it, though!

[JoeP]

Took another load of recyclables over to our county's free eco-park. This consisted of a bunch of scrap, cardboard, old peanut oil, and about 4 gallons of used motor oil and atf. This has inspired me to scour my basement and garage even further to locate unneeded items to donate, sell, throw away, or recycle.

[cypher1]

Yesterday I sold a pair of bookshelf speakers on CL (one more pair to go). Today I sold one of my cars, along with a set of winter tires. It will be nice to have the free space in the garage until my friend moves back in temporarily.

[msomnipotent]

So far I have started to break down the old aquarium (I need help to finish because it is huge), decluttered most of the family room (just one cabinet to go), and cleared out 3 kitchen cabinets. I don't know where we got all of these coffee mugs from and I need to stop buying a beer glass every time I go to a brewery. I had 3 whole shelves of nothing but beer glasses. I really need to get my butt in gear since we have started looking at houses now!