What do you do with all your clutter, junk, stuff?

[ilovedolphins]

That you no longer want.  Do you trash it, give it away or sell it?  I have a ton of stuff in my house that I would like to get rid of.  I have been trying to sell it on eBay but it is a long and tedious job.  I have sold on eBay since 1996 and I can't decide if I want to continue to put that much time in it.  I started selling on eBay trying to support my two kids being a single mom.  But now I probably don't really need the extra money but don't want to just give away good stuff either.  But I would love to have an uncluttered house also.

[msventoux]

Dumpster.  I did a big clean out 3 or 4 years ago.  Prior to that I had great ambitions of garage sales, donating, etc.  I finally came to the realization that I was never going to do that, and the effort to do so was much greater than the cash I would have received.  I had a huge dumpster delivered to my house for a week and managed to fill it up with old furniture and household goods and other clutter.  I'm glad I did.

[giramomma]

Right now we're just trashing and giving away/donating.

Eventually I'd like to have a garage sale. But I'm just not sure it's worth it, to be honest.

[ilovedolphins]

The items I can't decide what to do with is a ton of fabric that I make Barbie clothes out of and sell on eBay.  I have a lot of stuff that is worth some money but I just don't know if I want to take the time to sell it.

I am 55 years old and instead of coming home to a cluttered house to list things on eBay after work I think I might be ready just to come home and relax.

[Deleted]

Since I plan on moving soon, I started clearing out crap a while back. Well, in truth, when DH died I started the process knowing that at some point I was going to move. Every month I just made some progress, and now I am getting ready to move like a college student with very little going with me into my new space. 

I am selling things on eBay that can be easily shipped. They are helping boost my sales when I need to get more material to sell for my business.

I have discovered that a lot of the random hardware crap in my shop has value, and some of the larger power tools have a fair amount of value. I put an ad on Craigslist and on our local FB groups and have sold some of the larger items that way. Sort of like a private garage sale. Use the word "tools" the dudes flock here.  lol

Anything that's easily breakable, not valuable, but is useful, I am passing along to other people or a local thrift store. I have a new neighbor with a child and she is going to take all of the hang-over crap from when the kids were little and some of my art supplies I won't use/need.

If you get into the habit of using everything you own or finding a new home for the things you don't, you will find that as time goes by you have more room and a lot less crap to think about.

I've found working in stages helps. For example, one day I will hit the local landfill's ewaste pile with all the broken electronics and old TVs we have. Next week I will take down some random tires. I keep a box handy for the thrift store and when it is full I sent it to town with one of my kids to drop off. 

I'm not a fan of dumping things, but I have a dumpster here this month. All the random crap in my shop is going into it each week. I moved all the tools and stuff of value and all the old non-metal crap is going in the dumpster.

I am moving with just my Blazer, truck bed trailer, and my car. If it doesn't fit in that, it isn't going. When i arrive, I will have a new bed and will pick up used furniture that fits the new space. Starting over and looking forward to it. That helps as well when it comes to getting rid of stuff.

[alabamagal]

If you have a bunch of stuff I would do a garage sale or call it a moving sale. Seems like the easiest way, just advertise and people show up with cash. After that you can evaluate what you have left and do eBay or junk.

[Deleted]

I donate a lot. My DIL had a garage sale, and I gave her a lot of stuff. I have a box in the closet that I keep for donations.

I keep thinking that my kids are going to have to deal with all of this someday, and I need to get rid of it before they have to.

I try very hard not to buy new stuff to replace what I am getting rid of. 

[ilovedolphins]

My mom and I have had several garage sales every year for the past 25 years.  We used to sell a lot but now we sell on average $50 worth if even that.  I told her it wasn't worth the time of going through every thing, marking it and then putting it all back away.  Plus I spend a day and a half of the 5 days off a month I get doing the garage sale and not making any money.

I told my mom I was donating all my stuff from now on.

[swamp]

I either donate it, throw it out, or put it by the road with a "free" sign. I'm

[resolution]

Anything that is still useful I drop off at the Salvation Army. If it's in bad condition I toss it. Items that are worth selling go to my father in law, who enjoys selling things on ebay.

[ilovedolphins]

I thought that I could sell the items when I retired to make some extra money but I don't think I can have that much stuff in my house for the next 7 years.

[Blonde Granny]

Trash or donate.

[dogmom]

The majority, I donate. I do have a couple boxes of items that I have ready for a garage sale. Doubting that will happen, so will probably donate it all.


Tried selling things on Ebay, seems no one wants my stuff.

[Ombud]

Disabled vets charity (DAV) picks up what the kids don't want. When my daughter moved out, she took everything in her room and most of the stuff in the room where two kids lived. However I was still left with that final bedroom (actually it still sitting in my garage). When I remodeled, there must have been 20-25 bags that went to disabled vets charity. Yes my daughter-in-law took a bunch. Yes my daughter took a bunch. And my oldest grandson even took some of the kitchen stuff. But it's amazing how much you can accumulate over 30 years!

DDIL tried a block garage sale, made very little, then called DAV

[ilovedolphins]

My mom is cleaning out her house and giving me all the stuff she doesn't want so my house is filling up fast.  Most of it is sewing stuff.  She sewed all her clothes and all ours when we were growing up.

But I get to the point of "do I really need 20 kitchen towels and a large bag of rags"?  No I don't since you can now buy a kitchen towel for a couple dollars and the rags I hardly use.

[Sharon]

Jul 24, 2016 14:35:01 GMT -5 ilovedolphins said:

The items I can't decide what to do with is a ton of fabric that I make Barbie clothes out of and sell on eBay.  I have a lot of stuff that is worth some money but I just don't know if I want to take the time to sell it.

I am 55 years old and instead of coming home to a cluttered house to list things on eBay after work I think I might be ready just to come home and relax.

If the fabric is cotton look for a group that does quilts.  In my area there are different quilt groups that make quilts for a cause.  One makes baby quilts for parents who have lost an infant, either stillborn or shortly after birth.  There is another group that makes quilts for the women's shelter and there might be a group that makes quilts for veterans.

Any group like that would love to have a donation of fabric

[Deleted]

I'm in the process right now of getting rid of a LOT of stuff.  I was never interested in having a garage sale/ebay/online etc. sale, (I'm too lazy to take on the required work for any of that @ 59 y.o. I lead a busy enough life  (like all of us) and am time constrained as is with all my other work I need to accomplish everyday/week/month/year..so that's sooo not happening....our garden alone is about a third of an acre this year out of our 3 acres) Even before we moved to the country fulltime and started gardening, we've always donated our stuff to family members, neighbors, and local thrift stores and Salvation Army.

My DIL had one garage sale a few years ago and I donated a lot of things to include with her sale. I volunteered to help make a lemonade/pop/water/frozen slickers/homemade g'ma cupcakes Stand that my 2 g'kids could operate with help from g'ma. They loved that idea! What fun it was as we truly had a ball and the kids made $$; were excited!


Afterward, however, even she (DIl young and energized) agreed, once was enough! She did make a few hundred bucks over two days on the weekend, (was happy about that) but it was a large sale, requiring a lot of work prepping, cleaning, organizing, pricing, being present/talking, etc. During the heat of summer no less even with canvas/sun coverings; patio umbrellas, it was HOT!

[Apple]

If I lived close to you, I'd be happy to take some of that fabric/sewing stuff off your hands!

I mostly donate, give it away, or throw it away.  Sometimes I have something that is worth a little more money and I'd rather get cash than donate it (rare).  In that case, I use a local online classified ads site.  When I commuted I said I'd be willing to meet between my town and the one I worked in at a public location.  Now that I don't commute, I'd only be willing to meet up in my town (because I'm lazy, lol).

Now I just keep a pile of donation stuff, and when it's enough to fill up a box/bag or two, I take it to Salvation Army.

Like Sharon mentioned, if the fabric is cotton, you can seek out local quilter groups.  I've just become part of one that makes quilts to raffle off for donations to the Senior Center, or to donate to other causes.  You might also find 4H groups or others that could use the fabric.

[Deleted]

I highly recommend "Rightsizing Your Life", by Ciji Ware, who has good suggestions for donating/ recycling just about everything.

I sold some stuff on e-Bay because I hate to just add to landfills. Then I discovered Free Stuff on Craigslist. List it with your address, put it at the end of the driveway, first to come gets it. To be courteous, delete the ad when it's gone.

I got rid of a ton of things that way without having to actually deal with people. Two pieces of advice. First, most of the people who e-mail you BEGGING to hold something don't show up. Second-even if you list a bunch of completely unrelated items separately, the first to arrive usually takes it all. I still found that annoying even though it accomplished my purpose of getting rid of things.

I've put out chairs that needed new cushions, empty canisters from high-end scotch whisky, hand tools, clean but used flannel sheets... They all went.

[TheHaitian]

Will try to sell some once we get situated in our new place!!!

Or just plain get ride of them. My mom has been my junkyard for years and she in turns bring it to church and they donate...

Why mess up a good routine! Yep I will bring all the junk we no longer need to my mom and let her figure it out!

I love my mom!

[Deleted]

I mostly donate because it's just not safe to have folks respond to a FB or Craigslist ad by coming to the house, and I ain't meeting them nowhere either. 

Occasionally, I will advertise something on our NextDoor site because only verified neighbors can see my post and I can I.D. them before I answer.

[sesfw]

Will try to sell some once we get situated in our new place!!!


Carl, are you and your BW moving to a different area?  You guys had so much fun putting together your new home. ............ Good luck in where ever you go ... especially with your new little one.

[TheOtherMe]

Donate, recycle or trash.  If I think it's valuable, I will try Freecycle first.  If that fails, I try eBay.

[ilovedolphins]

What would you do with little knick knacks that you have had forever and want to get rid of?  They aren't of any value - monetary or sentimental.

[Deleted]

Freecycle or free stuff on Craigslist. DH and I think some people are willing to pick up just about anything and try to sell it flea markets. There are also resale shops run by charities that will take knicknacks.

[Artemis Windsong]

Jul 24, 2016 14:35:01 GMT -5 ilovedolphins said:

The items I can't decide what to do with is a ton of fabric that I make Barbie clothes out of and sell on eBay.  I have a lot of stuff that is worth some money but I just don't know if I want to take the time to sell it.

I am 55 years old and instead of coming home to a cluttered house to list things on eBay after work I think I might be ready just to come home and relax.

The fabric can be donated to a church to make quilts.  Nearly every church has a quilt group.

[giramomma]

Jul 24, 2016 15:53:51 GMT -5 ilovedolphins said:

My mom is cleaning out her house and giving me all the stuff she doesn't want so my house is filling up fast.  Most of it is sewing stuff.  She sewed all her clothes and all ours when we were growing up.

But I get to the point of "do I really need 20 kitchen towels and a large bag of rags"?  No I don't since you can now buy a kitchen towel for a couple dollars and the rags I hardly use.

Do you know for certain you don't want any of the sewing stuff? Can you just donate it right away, rather than bringing it into your house?

As for the rest, I find it helpful to have a target number of items...X number of days of clothing, x number of sheets for each bed..that sort of thing. When our numbers get too low, then that's the signal to go out and buy something. When I hit optimal numbers, then I know not to shop.

My only vice is my crafting stash. But, I hardly buy anymore. I really, really have to love it to buy it.

[cronewitch]

Bigbluetruck.org will schedule a pick up on line so I schedule 6-10 boxes for a week or so later then look for stuff to donate then the night before put it on the front porch and they take it away. They give it to Value Village but some of the money goes to Northwest Center which was Northwest Center for the retarded before it changed the name. The help people with intellectual disabilities like Down Syndrome.

[Deleted]

The hardest thing for us to donate is furniture.  Charities around here won't enter your house to pick up.

So we've listed these items as "free" on places like Craig's List and the Facebook trading sites.  We just got rid of a sofa/loveseat that way a few months ago.  The blue/pink upholstery said 1990s/early 2000s, but it was in good condition compared to everything else listed for free.  

My favorite was a dining table/four chairs and a china cabinet (all maple) that we were giving away for free on CL.  I insisted on hearing the "back story" before deciding who got it, and I chose a recent college graduate starting out in her first apartment.

Her mom and her brother came to get it for her.  Her mom said, "This is nicer than what I have.  I think I will keep this and give her mine."

Whatever.  

[weltschmerz]

Clothes go to the Salvation Army. Household furniture is picked up by Les Petits Freres des Pauvres.
Blankets and towels go to the local SPCA. They always need bedding and towels. When they seize animals from puppy mills, they're filthy, and everyone needs baths.
The SPCA is always very grateful. I've even started Blanket and Towel Drives at work.
Everyone has old towels.