Multiple Avenues to Getting Rid of Stuff
It’s truly amazing how much utter crap you accumulate over 20 years of living in one space. We did have a mini-clear out in 2009 when we took the kids cruising and rented the house out, but if I remember right we rented the house furnished AND kept an attic-full of aforementioned crap. Plus, of course, whatever we took on board. Oh, and I think we stashed a few boxes in a friend’s garage.
An earlier iteration of the garage. AFTER one of the sporadic clean outs!
With the close of the house just around the corner (side note - how can time move SO SLOWLY?), we’re getting serious about the junk purge. This has been made a bit more difficult during the pandemic, mostly in not wanting to have a lot of people traipsing through the house. That said, we’ve had some luck in finding new homes for many things.
(Before I go any further - a solid plug for Chris DiCroce’s course, Downsizing For A Life Afloat. He’s got really useful tips for how to sift through your stuff as well as practical advice on how to sell it. Full disclosure: this is an affiliate link, meaning I earn a small commission if you purchase through the link - I would not recommend the course if I had not gone through it myself!)
Gifting items
Friends with local connections to non-profits. My weakness is kitchen items, specifically dishes. There was an embarrassing collection of containers filled with different dishes (and other kitchen gear) from over the years mounting in the garage in the section I’d reserved for “Goodwill Stuff”. My friend Cecelia reminded me that The Haven, the local homeless shelter, also helps people get on their feet when they move into housing on their own. Plus, the shelter feeds people and is always in need of dishware. An entire carload of useful items went off to The Haven. It’s not that Goodwill is a terrible place to donate, but this felt like a more direct way of helping. I’ll take over another box after we wash dishes that last night in the house.
Goodwill. Try to weed out stuff before just taking it all to Goodwill; there’s a reason there is often a huge dumpster right near the collection site. Don’t treat it as a lazy way to run to the dump. Goodwill employs people of differing abilities while offering a budget-minded shopping experience.
Local Buy Nothing Group on Facebook. I love these groups, whose stated purpose is creating community while keeping stuff out of the landfill. When I posted a beautiful wooden box on there, a pre-school teacher almost immediately chimed in. “Ooooh! I’d love this for a treasure box for my classroom!” I love thinking about 3-year olds carefully placing revered goodies inside, or digging through to fine something new to love on.
Offsetting the Cost of Moving
Yes, you can sell some of your stuff! It takes some time and a little attention to detail, but it’s kind of fun to trade items you no longer need/want into cold hard cash. And other than Ebay (or selling to someone you know), my strong suggestion is to require payment in cash, not Venmo or anything else. Scams abound.
Hocking it to any audience you have. Kidding. Sort of. These barstools are for sale. Want them? ($450 for all 3. Solid wood. These are the 30” high version!) Don’t forget your own Facebook page, or even Instagram.
Barstools? You know you want them!
Ebay. Just make sure you are clear in how you list your item! This is particularly good for items that might be of higher value (camera gear, I’m looking at you). It can take a while to sell; don’t pack it up and forget where you boxed it. This blog post might help you take the Ebay plunge!
Craigslist. The more photos the better. We’ve had better luck with larger items than smaller ones - the trailer went on Craigslist but nothing else recently. Watch for scams around texting and identity theft, and of course the certified check thing.
Facebook Marketplace. The dreaded Facebook. I start with any local yard sale groups (on Facebook!) and then also “list for sale in other places”. People will text and message so make sure you have messenger turned on (or as an app on your phone). Our preference is to tell people we’ll hold it for them until xxx time, within reason (24 hours) and otherwise it goes to the first person with cash. There are those who will try to bargain down even a brand-new posting; think about this before you post. Make sure to either remove your post once it’s sold or mark it as sold.
NextDoor/Neighborhood list serves. These can work both for gifting items as well as selling them. I’ve had better luck with our neighborhood email list than with NextDoor but neither has been particularly productive in terms of downsizing. Those feel like places better suited to find information/get recommendations for service providers. Your mileage, however, may vary!
And don’t forget the dump. Or the “put it on the curb with a FREE sign.” Or the “pack it up to decide later” option. I fear we’ve employed this one a few too many times in the last week. Unpacking in Vermont will be an adventure on its own.
I swear it looks better than this picture seems to show.