Lately, I’ve received several emails from readers who are anxious to declutter their stuff. The problem: they don’t know whether to cart it to the charity shop, or painstakingly sell it piece by piece.
Oh, I’ve been there.
I know just how you feel: gazing at your mountain of discards, and seeing all the dollars that should be in your bank account. Hoping you can recoup even a fraction of the cost, to make up for your mistakes. Dreading the weeks (or months) of photographing your items, writing descriptions of them on eBay, answering emails about them, and hunting down boxes to ship them out.
And conversely…feeling the temptation to just pile it all in the car, unload it at Goodwill, and return home to a freshly decluttered space.
So what did I do? Well, a lot of both, actually.
In my early minimalist days, I was a fervent eBay seller. In fact, purging my stuff became a second job—I’d come home from work, power up my laptop, and patiently chip away at my pile of castoffs. It took a little over a year (yes, a year), but I sold three-quarters of my clothes, shoes, books, collectibles, and household décor.
My stuff didn’t disappear overnight—but I became a better minimalist because of it.
Why? Because in the following years, the threat of “having to sell something on eBay” loomed over me whenever I set foot in a store. My auction extravaganza had left me burnt out, with little desire to ever list another item. I was reluctant to buy anything I wasn’t sure I’d keep forever—because when I did slip up, I made myself pay for it. Ebay became my penance for ill-considered purchases.
For me, the mere thought of eventually selling a purchase on eBay was a powerful deterrent to shopping. Crazy, perhaps—but it kept my wallet full and my closets empty. :)
Fast forward to our overseas move: my husband and I had four weeks to whittle down a 3-bedroom household to two duffel bags. While we owned much less than most, we still had way more than we could carry to the airport.
We started off selling things on Craigslist, determined to extract some cash from the furniture, tools, electronics, garden equipment, and housewares we’d accumulated over the years. However, as our departure date neared, our generosity surged. We threw open our doors, invited all takers, and gave away our possessions with abandon—to friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, charities, and strangers on the street.
It didn’t make us any richer; but boy, was it exhilarating!
So, to sell or not to sell – that is your question, and here’s my advice:
If you have the time and inclination, give eBay a whirl. A little hassle is not necessarily a bad thing, and can actually be conducive to your long-term minimalism. But to save your sanity, I recommend the following:
- Set a minimum threshold. In other words, sell only stuff that’ll net over a certain dollar amount (whether that’s $10, $20, or $50 is up to you). Make sure the reward is worth the effort.
- Don’t expect to make a fortune. Start the bidding at the minimum you’ll accept, and regard anything higher as a bonus.
- Limit the time. If an item doesn’t sell within 7 days, for example, send it to the donation pile. (Give only particularly valuable items a second chance).
- Use Craigslist for large, heavy, and fragile items. Don’t waste your time and money on elaborate packaging or expensive shipping services.
Alternatively – if you don’t have the time, don’t need the money, and don’t feel compelled to suffer for your sins:
- Be generous. Donate the things you don’t want; your discards may bring a great deal of joy to someone else! Consider it a wonderful chance to “do good” with your decluttering.
In summary: don’t let financial guilt bring your decluttering to a halt. Either grit your teeth and get thee on eBay—or support a good cause and move on with your life.
When your resolve wavers, ask yourself this: what’s more valuable, your stuff or your space?
Have you struggled with this dilemma? Let us know in the Comments.
{If you’d like to learn more about minimalist living, please consider reading my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or subscribing to my RSS feed.}
I’m a bit like you. I sell on eBay when I’ve got the time and energy. We also did a move overseas and started with a garage sale but ended up giving most things to charity in the week before leaving the country.
I have also had great success with “freecycle” (http://www.freecycle.org/) – where seemingly useless stuff that I may otherwise send to the tip (like old, old, old magazines) have been snapped up by other people. They come and collect it and take it away – no fuss!
I’m actually in the process of selling, giving away, donating. It’s good to read it took you a year. I’ve only started since 3 months.
In the beginning when I put things up for sale on the intenet I gave myself a month before transferring it from the sell pile to the donation pile. Because of the holiday season the month became 2 month and there were surprising interesting sales that I made in this second month. So if you’re not in a hurry and have the time to leave your pile “for sale” in a seperate box/room/cellar, why not give yourself some time.
Here are some other suggestions:
* bow things up for a garage sale. Put clearly garage sale on the box, only open them on the day of the sale. Have a wonderful day and at the end of the day pass by a charity to donate everything not sold yet.
* if you have a child in your family/friends circle that has time and/or is interested in making some money. Let them try and sell your stuff and let him/her have a good portion of the revenue. We did that with a nephew and told him that 50% of the revenu was his. Good experience for him, less hassle for us, win-win situation.
I’ve only just discovered your blog and I’m finding it hugely inspirational – thank you!
I’ve packed a huge bag this morning to take to a day centre for homeless people. Sleeping bag, blankets, hats and scarves. These people need it far more than I do.
Thanks for your advice on eBay. I’ve had a tendency to relist things if they don’t sell, I realise now I should just let them go.
I have also been through this process at the end of last year, which included selling 2 sofas, 2 dining chairs, a coffee table and some large exercise equipment that I have never used. But these were the items I found easy to get buyers for. The surprises where the items I have held on to because they will be worth something one day. For example a Kodak Brownie 127 camera, circa 1960 and made of Bakerlite, worth a small fortune, right? Wrong, there are today 65 of them on UK ebay prices around £5 and absolutely no bids on any. These sort of things ended up at the Charity shops where I imagine they won’t sell and end up at the tip.
BTW did you know that 60% of the books donated to Oxfam are immediately pulped and used for their recycled paper products. Apparently rare and unusual books sell but the latest blockbuster doesn’t so it’s straight to the shredder.
I did both too. I sold most of the valuable things and large things on-line, went to sell at a flea market three times, and donated piles and piles. I had some heirlooms (like silver and porcelain) that I didn’t want to keep but felt bad selling or giving them away to the closest charity shop, so I took them to a Animal shelter charity shop across town. I could justify letting them go in order to raise money for homeless animals (one of my favorite charities), even if it was a bit more trouble for me. I really don’t like selling at all, but like you, I made myself do it in order to ease my guilt over past costly mistakes, and to drive the point home of how dreadful it really is to get rid of things so that I would not be in this situation again.. I think it has worked. I have made over 5000 euros selling things, so I feel much less guilty now, and I’m pretty confident that I will not have to list many (if any) more items on our ebay-equivalent.
So for me too, new purchases come into my life with the intention to keep them forever, or until they are worn out or broken beyond repair.
Before my last move (overseas), I lived in a house full of (scarsely) furnished rooms in which mostly international university researchers lived. I just left all the stuff I did not care to sell on a big table in the hallway with a sign “for free”, and boy, did this stuff disappear quickly!
Some larger items like a bookshelf and a carpet I sold over the internet. It was easy. I was also happy to see my terrarium go to a teenage girl and my aquarium to a very young couple in their early twenties. These people could not have afforded these things new and were happy to get them. I hate to see stuff go to waste and I am happier to make an extra effort and see it go to someone who can make use of it.
great post, and timely for me too. I’m also selling and donating a lot right now. Unfortunately the selling is not going well. I have a new breadmaker on craigslist for $10 and it’s still not gone. The costly mistakes make me feel so bad, but eventually I think I’ll be ready to just donate the stuff.
I was surprised that this was the hardest part of decluttering (I was more worried about sentimental items.)
I put everything in the basement, and had great intentions of having a garage sale at the end of the summer. Later I went down to the basement to assess how much stuff I had – and it all smelled musty and some of it was even moldy. *Whoops*
I have a few things I plan to sell – my hair straightener which cost over a hundred dollars. I’m definitely more wary of buying new things.
I agree, Layla! I’ve been decluttering for the past few years and donated piles and piles, but kept the “good stuff” to sell, thinking that I couldn’t just give away something that has real value!
For the past month, I’ve had ebay/craigslist piles and boxes haunting me. But, just this last week, I’ve given myself permission to just donate it all. Even asked my husband’s permission, though after watching the latest episode of Antiques Roadshow he may have changed his mind!
It’s interesting to me why this is so hard. We have no problem supporting many charities and causes on a monthly basis, but, “No, I can’t just give that slicer/dicer to Goodwill. It’s Pampered Chef!” ha!
Haha, it IS funny how we give money to charities but then wince at donating stuff we paid lots of money for :)
Wow–what a light bulb moment!!!! I have been dragging my feet on some of my more valuable items–I have been decluttering/minimizing for a good year now, and it’s down to the good stuff mostly. Since we paid off our mortgage last year (a very liberating thing if you can scrape up enough to do it; focuses your finances–a minimizing strategy for those of us who aren’t going to move from our houses), we are unlikely to benefit from a charitable deduction–which hasn’t stopped us from donating cash! Why not give away good stuff instead or as well? I won’t even need to catalog it for a receipt!
I have decided that a valuable lithograph will go to a Rotary Club auction b/c that will yield a higher charitable return, though. I just can’t get too hung up on maximizing the return on the other donations!
I love your blog! I’ve been reading for a while now, and it’s my favorite blog to check each week.
I’ve been in a declutter phase for about four years now. It started the year after my husband and I were married and just snowballed. We have had many garage sales over the past few years and I now hate them! I have reached the point where I just donate unwanted items to a children’s home. I definitely pay more attentionto the things I purchase and bring into my home because getting rid of “stuff” is so much harder than buying it!
The sad thing is that most material items depreciate in value very quickly once you acquired them.
It’s literally sunk money.
I value my time, so if I have some extra items that need to leave the house, I donate them. I value my time more than to spend it trying to get back 10% of what I once paid on ebay. I consider it as a lesson learned to be more careful about what comes into my house in the future, and in turn make someone at the thrift store very happy (Hey – I was very happy when I ran into my Emporio Armani sweater in perfect colour and size for $4.99 while dropping off some donations). Spread the happiness!
The only exceptions lately have been some gold items which I sold as scrap, and some large furniture which was craigslisted (for $1 to $10).
This is where I am now in my decluttering project that I started in December. I have books in a bin in a closet. I’ve given some away, and now I’m stuck on whether to sell or just give the rest away. Which I know I won’t have time to set up to sell until May, but your post put it back on my mind.
I share the exact sentiments of happy clam. I value my time and donate everything, either to charity or my adult children who have actually earmarked certain items. I sold my gold to a reputable jeweler several years ago. If I buy a new item of clothing, it immediately replaces an old one and that goes in the charity box; the number of items I have remains constant. This month I am putting a piece of blue masking tape on all of my kitchen goods: containers, appliances, etc. I will remove the tape when an individual item is used. If an item still has the tape on it in May, out it goes. It is very easy to accumulate excess and unnecessary kitchen items and I intend to stop that madness too. Cheers. Great post! I was feeling rather guilty for not using e-bay, but no more.
The tape is a BRILLIANT idea!!
I agree, this is such a fantastic strategy so that the end decision is not emotional or spontaneous but based on real usage.
Love the tape idea. I’m going to do that in my kitchen too.
Thank you for this post. You were reading my mind. I have gotten stuck in stuff purgatory because the idea of giving, selling, or listing items has paralized me. Organization is the key and a combination of all of these steps will get me where I want to go – to a clean, clear, clutter free home and head.
I so agree with this. To me, the awesomeness of having a tidy, well-considered space is well worth a few winces as I allow stuff I paid money for to walk out the door.
We gave almost a whole houseful of stuff away about 3.5 yrs ago, to a woman’s shelter, single moms, the Sally Ann, Crisis Pregnancy Centre and to freecycle. The feeling of giving (sowing) without any re-imbursement was exhilarating. Whenever I plan to sell things such as books/CD’s, my dh questions me about how much time/energy it takes to recoup such a small pittance compared to the joy of giving, and we always end up giving it away.
Learning to bring less in the house of course, but when we do slip up we still enjoy the giving.
This blog post is very pertinant. I have a pile of stuff which should really be sold but the question is can………I…..be………bothered? The answer really is “no” but I think I will give it a whirl, if nothing else, to strengthen my resolve never to accummulate STUFF again! Thank you Miss Minimalist, wise words, as always!
I’ve never had an eBay or Craigslist account. Seems like all that would be a bother–I’d rather donate.
The public library and Goodwill are both within walking distance of my house. I’ve taken books, magazines, CDs, and DVDs to the former. Everything else with any resale value goes to the latter.
I used Freecycle a few times until I noticed a local moderator had a pattern of eagerly responding to my items the moment she’d listed them. I gave her the first couple of things. I politely turned her down on a third. My “offer” post then mysteriously disappeared, and the follow-up “taken” message never even appeared. Hopefully no one else has experienced that issue, as Freecycle seems like a fine organization overall!
Thank you for posting to sell or not to sell.Post like this keep me mindful of why I buy only when needed and the
hassle it can be to get rid of things. I’ve been told that I shouldn’t wear my heirlooms, but my response to that is if I don’t the theives will! I think I’m special enough to wear them before I die.
I know I am one of the people who wrote to you on this subject! My very favorite way to get rid of stuff is to put out a Free Box next to the sidewalk outside of my house. I get a huge kick out of seeing the pile diminish, and am constantly amazed by what people do and do not pick up. However, it’s a rainy winter where I live, and I’m certainly not waiting for spring with the piles I’ve been gathering as I declutter!
I get hung up a lot on donating to the “right” charity. In the past week I have donated to Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul (clothes for those in need out of a local Catholic Church, not a storefront), Books to Prisoners $1 clothing shop (inside a used clothing store in my town), and the “Free Store” at my neighborhood food co-op.
I listed several collectible Beer Mirrors & Signs on Craigslist, but with no luck so far! I have been to two used clothing stores and traded for store credit, which I am saving for next time I need something. I also have a bunch of old towels I am going to take to the Animal Shelter when they are open (they were closed on a Saturday mid-morning!), and a couple of stacks of books to take to a used book store that will take your whole stack, and give you cash for it (Half Price Books – I like that they take them ALL off your hands!).
There is definitely a part of me that considered taking it all to one place, so that the “stuff” wouldn’t take any more of my time & energy!
Thanks for the tips! Frankly I’m pretty touched that you wrote a post on the very topic I emailed you about (obviously I’m not the only one who did, but still!). Awesome community building, and it’s fun to read everyone else’s answers.
Nice post! I’ve just realized — I tend to want to sell items that I’ve paid my money for, and I tend to give away/donate items that were received as gifts. Yet both have helped me toward a more minimalist mindset – the work of responsible decluttering is a good deterrent to unnecessary accumulation!
I have done my share of selling on ebay in the past. When we homeschooled I bought and sold textbooks and curriculum all the time. It has been so long, I don’t even remember what to do to list an item! I do have quite a few things I would like to try selling, maybe I will get my stack together and begin the process!
I believe that yard/garage sales can work in certain areas and depending on what you have. I finally broke down and had a garage sale about 5 years ago, specifically because I had replaced white appliances with black and wanted to sell them. I also had a piano. By 11 am that Saturday morning, I had sold about $20 worth of stuff. I immediatley took some pics and posted on Craigslist. I sold the piano within an hour and the appliances, one by one, by Sunday evening. The rest, I took to Goodwill. So, the moral for me is, forget yard sales and head to craigslist for the big stuff!
Bernice
In pursuit of happiness, or joy?
THIS IS FABULOUS ~ Thanks Miss M! And, I love all the helpful comments, too ; ) I’ve been selling my unused clothes/shoes on Ebay for the past few weeks and it is a lot of time/energy, so I really feel it is a useful exercise, as you mention, for helping to curb the buying appetite! So far I’ve made about $500, so there’s some profit as well ~ it’s like a paid education. Yah :)
@Crystal : For books, Amazon is an amazing (and easy!) place to sell (Half.com has cheaper overall closing fees; HOWEVER, they sell faster on Amazon). Easy to sell and you can see in advance if it’s worth your while, based on past sales of same item. If it’s not worth my while, I donate the rest to charity thrift store or library OR if it’s been listed for awhile and remains unsold, I just delete the listing and don’t have to pay any fees.
I like to take the clothes I’m not wearing any more to the consignment store! That way, I can turn several pieces that I’m not using into one new item (well, new to me) that I’m thrilled to have! More space in my closet, and something for ‘free!’ Then I just take whatever the consignment shop didn’t want to the donation bin. Done and done!
I donated most things in about 4 car loads to Goodwill. I also took many, many trips to the Salvation Army drop box with clothes. I sold two pieces of furniture on Craig’s List. I did keep one box of items to sell on eBay. 3 months later it still sits there. I think I’m just going to take it to Goodwill and get it out of my house.
I am an eBay seller but with their hike in sellers fees, the potential for buyer negative feedback for anything possible and the increase in shipping fees, eBay is becoming less and less feesible to the small seller. Most of us have left for ubid or bonanza or other places but for the few left at eBay it just isn’t worth the effort to list a small amount of items for little or no money. eBay is becoming great for large sellers with huge inventories and don’t mind a loss on one item in fees to make money on something else. Bulk selling is eBay now and the little guy seller isn’t welcomed anymore. Save the items to donate to a local church or charity, give them away or hold a good old yard/tag sale with your friends and neighbors or your social group. Stay away from the auction sites because the time and effort are not worth it for the small stuff. Craigslist or your local paper are good choices – remember the days we would look in the classifieds for stuff?
Sell or Donate?
I sold everything on craigslist. I am up 2k just selling on craigslist alone and 6k total from teaming that with a garage sale.
Ebay is more of a hassle which is why I prefer craigslist. I’ve also found on craigslist that no one bargains, maybe three people got a good deal. Everyone bought my used junk for retail prices. Suuuuuckers!
I still have things left over I am still trying to sell on craigslist and since I have the space I am going to continue using craigslist. Until the moment that I absolutely need to get rid of my stuff is when I will donate. Unless it’s clothes, I donate my old clothes.
I really like consignment stores for clothing. You drop off all your “gently used” clothing, wait a few months, then pick up a check! It’s the best of all worlds! As for other stuff though… ugh this topic of ebay vs Good Will has been a struggle. I’m to the point where I mostly just drop my stuff off at GW, but I was a big e-bayer in the past!
Can I ever relate to your e-Bay experience! I spend about 2 years selling all the valuable stuff from my in-laws home!
When it comes to my own stuff, there’s much less valuables… so it’s easier. Most are donated. Once I even had a “free for all”. I put “free garage sale” signs and just lined everything on the lawn… only a few items were left and at the end of the afternoon they were delivered to a charity!
LOVED IT… :)
“The threat of “having to sell something on eBay” loomed over me.”
You made me laugh!!! I can’t do eBay. I feel like I’ll have a nervous breakdown if I do. That sounds melodramatic but it’s true. I just had to chuck stuff when I was downsizing. I’d sold on ebay before as a real seller, not just an occasional around the house seller and it drove me so batty I can’t make myself sell anything on there anymore.
So the penance of selling on ebay. I understand! I really do.
My motto is donate. Donate fast. Donate within a week.
Thanks, MM, right on target! I started seriously decluttering last June and had decided I was just slow since I’m still at it. Good to know for others it’s a process, too! And the post motivated me to take 20 mins to run a stack of stuff to the consignment store as that pile has been sitting there a while (shhhh, including a few christmas presents…). And the re-selling “penance” point totally hit home! I’ve been blessed/plagued with that, too, though mostly a blessing as I try to bar the doors from stuff coming back in. It takes much less time to tidy up the house these days – a tangible, delightful benefit of less stuff!
I don’t donate to Goodwill. We have a thrift store in town and the money goes to an attached homeless shelter. Also families who are on food stamps can get vouchers to buy clothes. They will take almost anything and I like knowing that the money goes to support local people. There is a church in town that accepts clothing for resale and does the same good work in helping those in need. This is a pretty small town and we have those resources. I would think most towns either have something similar or there is one in a town that is close.
When it comes to getting rid of unwanted books that I will not ever realistically return to I took the middle ground. Amazon.com now lets you sell your used books in bulk and will pay for the shipping for you to mail them in. While you do not get as much as you might have gotten for individually selling each book yourself on the site it is a lot easier as if it wasn’t for the little extra money (in the form of Amazon credit) I would not have taken the step toward getting rid of the books that were just collecting dust on overstuffed bookcases.
My best feeling is ringing the Good Samaritan,they came and took the lot away,they were happy as was I.The stuff had little value once it was no longer part of my space.
Selling ok but giving away is liberating.
Thanks for another great post Fracine.
I just got into getting rid of stuff within the last 3 weeks. I had been saying I need to give this away, sell this, trade in that. I finally got up off my lazy butt and started. Textbooks went to Amazon, other stuff I listed on ebay, and what did not sell on ebay went to a local auction. I even gave a set of children’s encyclopedia’s away to a person that works at the library because the library did not want the books. I am just doing small sections of my house at a time. I love seeing the room get bigger and stuff leaving it is a nice feeling.
I have never used ebay, to sell or buy. It just seems like too much hassle.
I used to have a lot of books, which I tried to sell to a second hand book shop. They took about half, and I think I got about $80 for them. The rest I gave to St Vinnie’s. Since that experience, I rarely buy books, I use the local library instead.
Clothes, household items – I just donate these.
I did have a piece of furniture, a wine rack/cupboard/display case that I tried to sell. For a few years. Every time I walked past the spare bedroom (it wouldn’t fit anywhere else) it would be sitting there, mocking me. Even second hand furniture dealers wouldn’t take it. I couldn’t give it away because it had cost so much. But, after the recent floods in Queensland, where a lot of people lost everything (I wasn’t affected), I gave it to Lifeline. I was so happy when they came and picked it up.
I drive my friends and family crazy sometimes, with the amount of time I spend deliberating whether or not I will buy something. I now take the time to consider every purchase, asking myself whether I really want the item, and whether I want the hassle of disposing of it in the future.
I dread adding to landfill more than I dread missing out on potential money. So I have donated most of my “stuff”, but anything that I think will not find a buyer in an charity shop I have held on to with the intention of selling on e-bay. I don’t mind getting a pittance if it’s going to someone who’ll use it. As so many other contributors have said – those things I intend selling are still sitting there, waiting. But hopefully one day I will get around to doing it. Thanks for another great post, and all the contributors great stories.
Very timely article! Looking very likely that in the next few months I’ll be transferred overseas with my job and as you can imagine, I’m just thrilled to think about all the stuff we’ll need to get rid of!! One of the difficult decisions is exactly what you’ve outlined in the post – how to get rid of it. I have trouble taking things to charity shops because so many here in Australia are already inundated with items and have taken to refusing to accept more (can totally understand!). So I guess it’ll come down to a mix of Ebay (groan…), garage sales and giving things away to friends. Your tips on Ebay are very helpful – will stick only to valuable items / things I think will sell rather than trying to put everything on there and wasting time. Thanks!
“So many [charity shops] are already inundated with items and have taken to refusing to accept more.” Wow! That’s amazing. We rich Americans (and Aussies and Europeans) have SO MUCH STUFF we want to get rid of (never mind how much new stuff most people are still buying) that we’ve overwhelmed the charity shops. This just illustrates how the accumulation of stuff has gotten out of hand for everyone. I don’t know the answer to this, because every country’s economy is based on producing and buying more and more and more, but it seems obvious that we can’t continue this way. Good thing we’re becoming minimalists now, while it’s still our choice to do so.
a few years ago, i moved from the US to the UK and got rid of every single thing I owned. I used a combination of Craig’s List, Ebay and donations. At the end though, when I had to leave town, and there was still stuff in the house, it all went into the skip. I am moving again and will re-start the process. It feels good to “de-accession”.
I’m still in the early phases of decluttering my life/home and find this blog to be a great inspiration.
I’ve found http://bookscouter.com/ to be a great site for selling used books. They provide instant buyback quotes from Amazon, Powells, and about 16 other sites. I’ve probably gotten over $500 back from about a bookcase and a half worth of books.
And I still haven’t found anything as rewarding as giving clothes to the homeless shelter, especially during winter.
I find that I would much rather donate things to people who need/want them or to charity or thrift stores. I think I keep the local Goodwills in business around here :) When it comes down to it, space is definitely more of value than the stuff that sits in the space.
When I am undecided about something, I ask myself: “Am I simply keeping it because it reminds me of someone I USED to be?” “Is there a substitute or alternative I already have that could fulfill the need for the current item (i.e. very true with consumables, which also cost us money and clutter our space: instead of buying laundry detergent, cleaners, deodorant, antacids, and toothpaste, how about just using baking soda)?” “Will I even care that this item is gone an hour after it is gone?”
I found something quiet enlightening: when my grandmother died in 2008, we had a heck of a time cleaning out all of her “stuff.” She lived in a condo and it was crammed with decades of “stuff” that nobody valued (sentimental things were taken) – and probably not even valued by her. My father died last year, and I had the task of cleaning out his stuff, and he had very few things. I don’t think he was a minimalist, but he had very few personal items that I took, but the majority of it was donated, and took very little time to complete. I often think about stuff and what happens to it when we don’t need it anymore (i.e. through death)…things that we think we “need” will either go to someone else, in the trash, or donated. So why do we need it now? Puts things in perspective.
I also forgot to mention that I practice minimalism at work!! I am teacher, and teachers are notorious for having “STUFF” piled int their classrooms “just in case.” I used to do that, because it was easier to keep it…but when I started downsizing, I found that most of the stuff was donated to new teachers (who really needed it after I was done with stuff), to other teachers who badly needed supplies, and the like. I am proud to say that I have 9 (yes…nine) personal items of mine at work. Believe it or not, it helps me separate my home life from my school/work life.
Mostly I give away and think of it as a portion of the charitable donations I would like to make. It always feels better when I think of the “good” all my crap is doing.
When I was trying to pay down debts in 2004 I sold a bunch of books and cds on Amazon, but they were worth a little more back then. I only sell anything if it’s more than a little valuable (or if I think the future owners might be part a particular group who would best be reached online rather than a thrift store). I’ve learned from my mom, who wants to sell EVERYTHING to recoup some of her money, even though she doesn’t need the money at all. She keeps unwanted items for YEARS (she even moved them to her new house 6 years ago). I don’t have the desire or space to do that.
I absolutely think of how I will one day dispose of the item before I buy it now. It helps tremendously.
I cannot believe all the responses this one post has garnered in a day, wow!!
Like many others, I would love to sell my excess stuff and reap some financial rewards, but nothing is really selling during these financially tough times. I’ve decided to set my sights on donating to my favorite local charity and enjoy the tax write-offs. Besides that it feels great!
Best wishes to us all in our quest to minimize our clutter!
I just found your blog and I’m loving it. I already consider myself a bit of a minimalist (750 square foot house plus a career as a dumpster diver (sustainability) sure puts a bad taste for unwanted stuff in your mouth). Anyway, its still amazing how much stuff I have, though it has all been hand picked and well loved. My husband and I are selling all of our things to travel the world for awhile and I am so totally struggling with the giant project of cataloging all of our belongings and selling them on the various sites: ebay, craiglist, garage sale, etc. There are many, many times (like tonight, for instance) when I just want to load it all up and give it to Goodwill or put it in the front yard with a gigantic “FREE” sign.
How fantastic. I’d love to hear more about what you will keep and what you’ll bring with you.
I just recently got rid of, perhaps, one third of my overall belongings – how refreshing! I consigned a good deal of my things, mostly out of laziness (!) but also because it emptied my space rather quickly while still holding some promise for at least a small amount of financial return. Some ‘pricier’ home decor items, however, were donated to a local charity simply because I’d rather see them benefit from them.
I love donating to Goodwill. It gives me sort of a rush to declutter and help someone in need. One former neighbor (who had never been in my home before)stopped by and said, “Where’s all your stuff?” She was really looking all around the living room and dining room like I was not normal. I couldn’t understand it because I have the full living and dining room furniture, plus a few pictures on the walls. I guess she was really looking for the clutter. LOL
Unless it is a large piece of I don’t want to move it furniture :) it gets donated. I feel like I have been blessed and I am putting out good karma and pray someone else will get a kick out of it. I have had yard sales in the past but I just don’t have the time now nor do I wish to sit for 6 hours haggling with someone over my old shoes or a pot. Plus, I like instant gratification and the space I can immediately claim.
After reading this I went home and filled a larg box full of items that I plan on taking to my favorite local no kill shelter this weekend. Just so happens they are having a rummage sale in April and are requesting all kinds of household stuff. I am taking most my books and DVDs that I have been holding onto for years. Who needs DVDs clogging up shelves when there is Netflix and Blockbuster.com? As for the books, I just kept a few I cant part with and I have a Nook now and plan on downloading my books. I used to do the ebay thing and it is sooo stressful. I still do Cragslist now and then but plan on giving the bulk of it away.This is a great site and I see it being a great help to me down the road to becoming a minimalist.