Author Topic: Decluttering!  (Read 2553 times)

never give up

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Decluttering!
« on: October 22, 2017, 01:42:27 PM »
To raise additional funds and to get rid of things I don't use anywhere near enough I have had a major decluttering over the last 3 months. I hate clutter and the feeling that I own something I don't use. It seems such a waste when someone must be out there that would use it to its full extent.

If I can sell my camera (my phone is good enough, didn't need a specialist camera) I should reach £1750 worth of sales in total. Most of the stuff was some sort of past purchasing mistake, and I've tried to step back through the logic that went through my mind when I was considering buying, in order to try not to make the same mistake again.

I thought a post on this subject and any decluttering hints and tips would be good to share. I would love to hear yours.

Here are mine:

1. Ebay works well, I haven't had too many issues, people are generally friendly to deal with and it gets your items out there to a large audience.

2. If an item doesn't sell after a month then I'll give it to charity (providing it's not a really high value item)

3. If an item is more than £30 I now allocate some deliberating time before actually purchasing and I'll increase this period the more expensive an item is. It's amazing that leaving it only a few days the strong desire to purchase disappears and you're left with a much more logical, unemotional view of the item. I like to call this my clear head! My clear head makes the best decisions and in future I will be consulting clear head every time I need to make a decision with my job, investments, pension or budget.

4. I've started adding up things I wanted to buy but don't go through with as a form of encouragement. This total is currently £5000 because my car is ten years old and I thought I should get a slightly newer one as I was running scared of potential higher servicing bills going forward. I soon talked myself out of that one and am looking forward to having my existing car at least 20 years. I will compare this total with my saving rate every now and then and appreciate how much higher my savings are because of good clear head decisions.

LFH86

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Re: Decluttering!
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2017, 02:47:21 PM »
Have you read Marie Kondo's book? Her viewpoint is basically to get rid of everything that doesn't make you feel joyful. She seems a bit bonkers to be honest, but some of her points are actually quite good (and really makes me think about how much I need something in my life).

Trudie

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Re: Decluttering!
« Reply #2 on: October 23, 2017, 02:53:03 PM »
I'm listening to Joshua Becker's book on this subject right now.  Francine Jay is also quite good.  Marie Kondo is all-right if you're ready for the extreme approach but she is bonkers.

TartanTallulah

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Re: Decluttering!
« Reply #3 on: October 23, 2017, 03:45:01 PM »
I think we all have a clutter comfort zone. Fortunately, my husband and I are compatible in that regard. I'd never declutter for the sake of decluttering because we'd just reclutter until we were back at our comfort level.

Having said that, I've done some badass decluttering this year. At the beginning of the year I decided I wasn't going to buy any clothing for myself or any crafting supplies for the whole of 2017, and apart from some cycle shorts and an essential piece of running club kit I've stuck to it. In April I decided to try to sell the leftover stock from an online business my husband used to run. Some went to personal contacts, but most went on eBay and apart from the occasional tyre-kicker that was a reasonable experience. So much so that I sold some of my crafting supplies on eBay too.

This generated over £4,000 after fees and postage costs. £1,200 has gone into my husband's SIPP, the rest into my S&S ISA.

I've also offloaded some books and clothes to the charity shops, but not enough to make a noticeable difference. I did get rid of hundreds of books when we moved house a few years ago and haven't missed them.

never give up

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Re: Decluttering!
« Reply #4 on: October 24, 2017, 10:30:49 AM »
I haven’t heard of any of those three people. I’ll have to take a look. I’m certainly not extreme in this area but I do feel it’s an important area to focus on and it’s surprising how the money adds up on items that are not being used.

I agree Tartan there is definitely an individual comfort level here which is worth understanding. Numerous items I have sold were gifts (sorry family/friends) and were not things I would have bought myself. There is no point decluttering for the sake of it. If something has no use or value it’s worth moving on.

Congrats on the total you reached and especially on putting the proceeds in your ISA/SIPP. That’s amazing! I’ve had to use my proceeds on my emergency fund but you’ve taken items there you didn’t need and converted them into £’s that will carry on working for you forever more. There must be so many people who would benefit from what you have done here.

ramblez

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Re: Decluttering!
« Reply #5 on: October 25, 2017, 04:00:13 PM »
I always have a giveaway bag (sturdy garbage bag) in the trunk of my car.   When it's full I drop it a random charity drop box at whatever parking lot/grocery store that I may be near at the time. 

The good news is that I'm mostly on top of clutter.  The bad news I never get the big thrill from a massive cleanup/giveaway.

draco44

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Re: Decluttering!
« Reply #6 on: October 25, 2017, 08:32:27 PM »
Congrats OP on biting the bullet and working through your stuff!  For eBay, my number one tip is to set prices based on searching for similar listed items and selecting the recently completed items filter. Simply viewing the price at which others are listing is not enough – you want to know what buyers are actually willing to pay for your item.  Also, you are totally right that an item not bought is one you'll never have to worry about eventually getting rid of.