Continued: Getting rid of stuff / Clearing out clutter! PART 2

[Car Jack]

Those plastic things weren't Lego's, were they? Lego's are supposedly sellable these days.  At least on EBay.  About 10 cents per Lego.

I tried on Craigslist and had no responses for 3 weeks, so I donated them all, about 200, to salvation army.

No, not legos.  My older son had a summer where he couldn't find a job and went onto a lego selling site (block something) and made a few thousand dollars selling off the legos.  Did you know that each and every lego piece is numbered and from that number, you can find out what set(s) it goes to?  There are seemingly random pieces that'll bring $20 because a collector somewhere needs it to recreate a kit from parts.  There can be seemingly identical parts that are the same color that have different numbers.  Makes a difference when you're completing your first run Millennial Falcon and need a few correct pieces.

So look up the block sites.  I also have found that any of the larger sized Legos are of zero value as well.  We have kids consignment shops near us and they won't take any of this unless it's a full set with the instructions and box.  I have boys.  They've destroyed all that long ago.

[NotJen]

Woo hoo!  One book lot I posted on eBay sold already - that's 9 paperbacks out of the house today.

[Rimu05]

I am already a pretty decluttered person but sold my 13 year old PS3 to game stop with all the games and accessories for $52. For store credit, that would have been $62 but I no longer play games and while the PS3 worked well, I hadn't touched it in a very long time.

[Car Jack]

Tiny accomplishment but I was going to bring the trash bag out to the bin, so grabbed 2 tiny (like 1" tall) stuffed bears from the pile of toys and threw them in.  Little bite by little bite, I'll get there.

[slackmax]

I've noticed that it's really easy living without a microwave or a car. I didn't use the car in my everyday life, so that isn't such a surprise, but the microwave was a big one. It's interesting to remove items that I think are integral to my life and realize that I like life without them. Whenever I settle again, I'm really going to wait to acquire things until I'm sure they are absolutely necessary.

 
+1 on the microwave. I recycled my huge microwave when it died and wasn't easily fixable. Reheated food tastes better done on a stovetop. I only miss it for warming up cold coffee. Won't be replacing it. Lots more counter space with it gone.   

[slackmax]

I am already a pretty decluttered person but sold my 13 year old PS3 to game stop with all the games and accessories for $52. For store credit, that would have been $62 but I no longer play games and while the PS3 worked well, I hadn't touched it in a very long time.

On the subject of retro gaming stuff, I found an old (in new shape) super nintendo box, with instructions inside, and I think some controller gizmo, maybe. I'm too lazy to set up an EBay account, but I looked it up anyway, on EBay, and the empty box with the instructions is going for $50! (Yes, one empty box sold for $50). Unbelievable. I'm hanging onto the box, eventually will possibly sell it on EBay. (I better get it sold before the retro gamer  market tanks, right, lol ???)

[Sibley]

Don't hang onto it! Sell it now! Get it out of the house.

[RetiredAt63]

7 old but decent coats donated.  Now there is room for visitor's coats in the entry closet.

[slackmax]

7 old but decent coats donated.  Now there is room for visitor's coats in the entry closet.

In my continuing foray into the bedroom clutter, I'm opening up plastic bins and finding 'perfectly good clothing' which is hard for me to donate. I can bring myself to get one bag together at a time, of the low end stuff ( I just have to keep the good stuff to attempt to sell in the Spring/Summer/Fall at the car boot sales)  and take it to Salvation Army.  Argghhh. I was hoping to find more stuff like old papers, magazines, or worn out clothes, which are easy to get rid of, lol.   

Anyhoo, the bedroom is a lot roomier than it was when I started decluttering it. So good to be able to see the results of one's work, no?       

[RetiredAt63]

7 old but decent coats donated.  Now there is room for visitor's coats in the entry closet.

In my continuing foray into the bedroom clutter, I'm opening up plastic bins and finding 'perfectly good clothing' which is hard for me to donate. I can bring myself to get one bag together at a time, of the low end stuff ( I just have to keep the good stuff to attempt to sell in the Spring/Summer/Fall at the car boot sales)  and take it to Salvation Army.  Argghhh. I was hoping to find more stuff like old papers, magazines, or worn out clothes, which are easy to get rid of, lol.   

Anyhoo, the bedroom is a lot roomier than it was when I started decluttering it. So good to be able to see the results of one's work, no?     

I did a garage sale many years ago (decades, actually). The money I made was definitely not worth the time and effort I put into it. After that I told myself that I would never do that again. I donate almost everything, mostly to a dog rescue group that has the resources to do both yard sales and online auctions.
I do sell really valuable stuff, I sold my old curtain rods ($200 new) to the new occupants of my last apartment, and I will sell my table loom if I decide I want the space more than the loom. I'm not donating something that is worth about $500. But generally, donation just works so much better. Figure out your true return on time invested (money made/hours wasted) - is it worth it? Just find a good place to donate clothing and give it all to them. Except things that should really go to the garbage. I'm loving my new place more and more as I get rid of the excess stuff (downsizing is a pain, don't wait until you are to old to cope).

[Captain FIRE]

Slackmax, do you enjoy the car boot sales?  If that's not a fun hobby for you, I'm with RetiredAt63 to quit trying to monetize every last penny out of your gf's stuff, particularly clothing which has such low resale value.  If you just can't bring yourself to do that, consider at the very least if thredup will accept it.  Then at least it's easy and done - you just bag it up and ship to them.

I just seeing you posting over and over with negative tones about how long it's taking you to recover your home and life, and it seems it's taking so much life energy and time away from you for so little monetary return.  I suspect you'd make a better return by throwing everything away and spending that free time at a second job.

[NotJen]

Today I dropped off a box at FedEx with 2 textbooks for a reseller.  If it works out, I'll get $95.  If it doesn't, I got 2 books out of my house.

It worked!  They just paid out my $95!  I was nervous because of mixed reviews (TextbookRush), but the books were in really good shape.

[MountainGal]

7 old but decent coats donated.  Now there is room for visitor's coats in the entry closet.

In my continuing foray into the bedroom clutter, I'm opening up plastic bins and finding 'perfectly good clothing' which is hard for me to donate. I can bring myself to get one bag together at a time, of the low end stuff ( I just have to keep the good stuff to attempt to sell in the Spring/Summer/Fall at the car boot sales)  and take it to Salvation Army.  Argghhh. I was hoping to find more stuff like old papers, magazines, or worn out clothes, which are easy to get rid of, lol.   

Anyhoo, the bedroom is a lot roomier than it was when I started decluttering it. So good to be able to see the results of one's work, no?     

I did a garage sale many years ago (decades, actually). The money I made was definitely not worth the time and effort I put into it. After that I told myself that I would never do that again.

+1  About a decade ago DH and I had a yard sale along with another couple.  We made $180 in 8+ hours work that day, sitting in the sun, getting up at 5:30 or whatever it was, never mind the prep beforehand.  He said never again, and I agreed, LOL.

[oneday]

I kept the box I carried the computer & tablet in yesterday, now it's full of my old ski jacket, a second robe I don't use, some chair pads given to my god knows why and a few smaller items.  Won't have time to get that to the thrift shop or the electrical stuff to the ReStore or the haz mat to the haz mat place this week or maybe next.  I shall pout, for being too busy to have time to get the discarded items to their proper homes.

So, that box I kept.  I wanted so much to find a good use for it.  It was a double thick cardboard banker box with attached lid and cutout handles in the sides.  So handy! So much potential!  In the end, it was too small for the other things that were going to thrift, so I recycled it.  There was much agonizing, but I survived, lol

Today I dropped off the ReStore and the thrift stuff!  Woo!

I think I'll be able to find a day next week, before next Saturday in fact, to drop the haz mat, so that will feel good!  Trying to make the place look nice for the holiday decorations that are going up!

[slackmax]

Slackmax, do you enjoy the car boot sales?  If that's not a fun hobby for you, I'm with RetiredAt63 to quit trying to monetize every last penny out of your gf's stuff, particularly clothing which has such low resale value.  If you just can't bring yourself to do that, consider at the very least if thredup will accept it.  Then at least it's easy and done - you just bag it up and ship to them.

I just seeing you posting over and over with negative tones about how long it's taking you to recover your home and life, and it seems it's taking so much life energy and time away from you for so little monetary return.  I suspect you'd make a better return by throwing everything away and spending that free time at a second job.

Captain Fire, Thanks for the constructive suggestion about thredup.com as a possible solution to my problem. I will check them out.

And yes, I do enjoy the carboot sales, so no worries, mate. 

         

[marion10]

I have also sold to swap.com

[Frugal Lizard]

We decorated the Christmas tree last weekend and could only fit half the decorations on it.  I think it is time to look really hard at the rest of them - and say adios instead of putting them back into the cupboard.  Many of the ones that are too heavy to use on our real Christmas tree, are from my stepmom who likes to give us each an ornament every year.  And we had a full tree before each of the kids came along.  Add to it, all the ornaments they have made since daycare, preschool and school - we have way too much.  I shall have a careful look again this January.

[LinneaH]

We are picking up our Christmas tree tomorrow. I will think long and hard about which Christmas decorations we will hang and place in the rooms. We don't have a lot but we also don't have a lot of space so maybe we don't need to keep everything.

Today I gave away a kid's Santa dress that will fit a four-year-old. My youngest is seven... A really small thing leaving the house but good anyway.
I am happy to give away these type of things (don't want to make the effort to sell, will probably get $1-2), but it annoys me a bit that the woman who got it picks up a lot of the free stuff in our local Facebook group (buying/selling/giving away in the neighbourhood-type of group).  She does not live here, she does not have kids. I think she sells the stuff, and that is fine, she may need the money and want to go through the effort - fine. But I'd rather want to give away to parents who are our neighbours. Is this bad of me?
I am really clueless when it comes to Facebook. Can I block her so she doesn't see my postings in this group? (Or anywhere on Facebook).
I have more stuff I just want to give away for pick-up so I don't have to take it to charity.

[RetiredAt63]

Slackmax, do you enjoy the car boot sales?  If that's not a fun hobby for you, I'm with RetiredAt63 to quit trying to monetize every last penny out of your gf's stuff, particularly clothing which has such low resale value.  If you just can't bring yourself to do that, consider at the very least if thredup will accept it.  Then at least it's easy and done - you just bag it up and ship to them.

I just seeing you posting over and over with negative tones about how long it's taking you to recover your home and life, and it seems it's taking so much life energy and time away from you for so little monetary return.  I suspect you'd make a better return by throwing everything away and spending that free time at a second job.

Captain Fire, Thanks for the constructive suggestion about thredup.com as a possible solution to my problem. I will check them out.

And yes, I do enjoy the carboot sales, so no worries, mate. 

         

Just in the interests of optimizing your life, you may enjoy the carboy sales, but is there something else you could do at those times that would improve your life/bring joy even more?

[Rimu05]

I am already a pretty decluttered person but sold my 13 year old PS3 to game stop with all the games and accessories for $52. For store credit, that would have been $62 but I no longer play games and while the PS3 worked well, I hadn't touched it in a very long time.

On the subject of retro gaming stuff, I found an old (in new shape) super nintendo box, with instructions inside, and I think some controller gizmo, maybe. I'm too lazy to set up an EBay account, but I looked it up anyway, on EBay, and the empty box with the instructions is going for $50! (Yes, one empty box sold for $50). Unbelievable. I'm hanging onto the box, eventually will possibly sell it on EBay. (I better get it sold before the retro gamer  market tanks, right, lol ???)

I was surprised how my controller was worth the most. I got about $25 for it even though it was about 11 years old. Apparently, people mod these controllers for PC. The retro gaming market can definitely get you money back.

[NotJen]

5 more paperbacks sold and out of the house.

[Prairie Gal]

Electric wok and George Foreman Grill donated last week, both of which have not seen the light of day in many years.

[slackmax]

Electric wok and George Foreman Grill donated last week, both of which have not seen the light of day in many years.

Good on the donations!  I just tried to fix an old countertop oven I have. The temp adjuster broke and it only heated up to 300 degrees. It was OK for making lasagna and roasts, but no good for things at 450 degrees, obviously. It is unfixable, since the screws won't even come out, for me to look inside.

So...... I will recycle it (metal) if possible, or throw it out. More space! I am planning to buy a brand new countertop oven, so it's a neutral declutter situation, I guess.

[slackmax]

RetiredAt63 wrote:

----------------------------

Just in the interests of optimizing your life, you may enjoy the carboy sales, but is there something else you could do at those times that would improve your life/bring joy even more?
------------------------------

Thanks for asking, RetiredAt63.  My answer is, probably not.  I am male, age 65. I do think that finding a woman I click with, for a relationship, would make my life better. And I am working on that. Going to various groups to meet people. But it takes a lot of time.  I'm even looking for a good male friend.   

Even if If I were to find a 'good' relationship,  I would still want to do the car boot sales, I think.

And here's the kicker.... I meet interesting people at the car boot sales, so who knows, right?         

 

[RetiredAt63]

RetiredAt63 wrote:

----------------------------

Just in the interests of optimizing your life, you may enjoy the carboy sales, but is there something else you could do at those times that would improve your life/bring joy even more?
------------------------------

Thanks for asking, RetiredAt63.  My answer is, probably not.  I am male, age 65. I do think that finding a woman I click with, for a relationship, would make my life better. And I am working on that. Going to various groups to meet people. But it takes a lot of time.  I'm even looking for a good male friend.   

Even if If I were to find a 'good' relationship,  I would still want to do the car boot sales, I think.

And here's the kicker.... I meet interesting people at the car boot sales, so who knows, right?         

If you are enjoying them, great.

[happy]

A carload of guinea pig equipment has  left my building...donated to RSPCA who were pleased to have them.  It was nice to be thanked cheerfully instead of being interrogated about whether my donations were good enough. ( this seems to happen all my local op shops ).

[LinneaH]

Woke up this morning with a slight fever and a partially flooded basement. It is only clean water, but there will be damages to some inner walls and baseboards. So we have to move everything and throw away some stuff.
It is not too bad w/the stuff, I think the only furniture we have to throw away is an old IKEA Billy book shelf and this was in pretty bad shape anyway (so this makes me slightly happy to get rid of).
For stuff it is mainly paper - I had my paper piles in that area... Some of it is good - it will give me a push to just throw away the papers I have been indecisive for such a long time. Some of it not so good, it will give me some extra job. But I don't think anything is really really bad yet. Will know nore after the continued 'going through everything'-process later today.

[shadesofgreen]

I got new lamps for the bedroom and over the weekend I donated the old ones along with some clothing and a large humidifier. I felt good to get those gone.

[slackmax]

Donated 2 books to the senior center.

Bought myself a brand new countertop oven. Tried it out. Works great! A little bit larger than the old one, but that's good, imo.

Will keep the enormous box it came in, in case I have to send it back somewhere under warrantee. Enormous box going into basement. Maybe I'll toss a few smaller boxes, to compensate.

Old countertop oven going to recycling (metal) if they accept it.   

Can't wait to make lasagna in it, at the right temp.     

[SunnyDays]

My last 3 items:

23. Semi-truck mattress - given to friend of friend for foster dogs.
24. Paperback - going to animal rescue garage sale.
25. Portable phone charger that doesn’t fit my phone - garage sale also.

So that’s my list of 125 items in total (well, since I started keeping track - there were hundreds before that too.). Now that I’ve gotten rid of the surplus, my 2020 goal is to finish all the decor projects I have, like picture framing, rearranging furniture and refinishing and reupholstering some furniture.  Time to create the home ambiance I really want.

[Tyson]

My last 3 items:

23. Semi-truck mattress - given to friend of friend for foster dogs.
24. Paperback - going to animal rescue garage sale.
25. Portable phone charger that doesn’t fit my phone - garage sale also.

So that’s my list of 125 items in total (well, since I started keeping track - there were hundreds before that too.). Now that I’ve gotten rid of the surplus, my 2020 goal is to finish all the decor projects I have, like picture framing, rearranging furniture and refinishing and reupholstering some furniture.  Time to create the home ambiance I really want.

That's an awesome  place to be.

[slackmax]

Took old broken countertop oven to metal recycling. They took it, yay!  Threw out the detachable glass door. Kept the trays and the power cord. 

[SunnyDays]

Thanks Tyson, I think it’s awesome too!  I’ve been wanting to do this for quite a while, but didn’t have the time when I was still working and then had too much junk laying around when I retired.  Not to say I didn’t enjoy my home before, but it just wasn’t what it could be.  Looking forward to a revamped space.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

That is awesome (and inspirational) @SunnyDays !

-I was able to finally get ahold of someone for a return/drop off for a school item that's been in my closet for 3 months. So happy.
-Put a pair of too small kid jeans in the donation pile

I need to go through the kids drawers & start making piles of keep & donate. A good project for a rainy day in January.

[SailingOnASmallSailboat]

So that’s my list of 125 items in total (well, since I started keeping track - there were hundreds before that too.). Now that I’ve gotten rid of the surplus, my 2020 goal is to finish all the decor projects I have, like picture framing, rearranging furniture and refinishing and reupholstering some furniture.  Time to create the home ambiance I really want.

This is awesome. I love that creating the home ambiance includes limiting what is in there. Great inspiration!

[SunnyDays]

Thank you, Sailing!  At one point, my thinking was that there was always something more/better that I could buy to improve my home (hence all the excess stuff), but after years of this and getting increasingly frustrated, because I couldn’t seem to arrive at “finished,” I decided to take the opposite approach and pare down.  I already have enough stuff and some nice stuff too, but I couldn’t appreciate it because all the clutter was detracting from it.  So now I can see the things I love and actually enjoy living with them.  It’s liberating!  I’m sure that as I continue to redecorate, I’ll find even more to get rid of and I’m looking forward to that.

[happy]

Another large green garbage bag full of clothes/linens is resting in my car awaiting disposal.

[slackmax]

Going through my kitchen cupboards some more. Finding multiple bins I can combine into one, finding some empty containers that I can put in the recycling. Using up some stuff when I cook.

My cupboards finally have some open space in them!   I can now get something out without causing an avalanche, lol!   

[oneday]

Finally made it to the haz mat place! No suspicious chemicals hanging around the house anymore!

[happy]

Finally made it to the haz mat place! No suspicious chemicals hanging around the house anymore!

Good on you! We need to make another trip. The previous owner left states of "useful" NOT paint in various locations around the property. We've made 2 trips so far...but there is probably enough for 2 more.

[Tyson]

Going through my kitchen cupboards some more. Finding multiple bins I can combine into one, finding some empty containers that I can put in the recycling. Using up some stuff when I cook.

My cupboards finally have some open space in them!   I can now get something out without causing an avalanche, lol!   

I think you are officially reaching the "light at the end of the tunnel" stage.  Nicely done.

[Fresh Bread]

I was on here a while ago for decluttering strategies. I did nothing! I was so busy painting ceilings and working.

So now we are slowly moving house. New place is in our garden so I can do it literally box by box and be ruthless. Once the wardrobe shelving is in I will take a picture of the tiny space I want to fit my stuff into. It's a big challenge! At the level of tiny house living I'd say. The risk is the large double garage with storage areas - I keep thinking "oh well I could put it in the garage" but of course only so much can go in there and two vehicles must must must get parked in there.

What I have done so far is get rid of quite a lot of unneeded building materials and some storage. The stumbling block might be wedding gift kitchen items. If we entertain two people have wine, everyone else drinks beer from a bottle, yet we have white, red & champagne glasses!

[Frugal Lizard]

Good luck everyone through the next couple of weeks of accumulation season!

[Nancy]

Decluttering before moving has shown me that I was wasting so much space keeping items that I rarely used. It's so nice to have just what I need now and for everything to have a home. I hope I don't forget this when I settle somewhere someday.

Donated a big box worth o' stuff.

[Roadrunner53]

Have any of you moved to another state and just sold off most of your possessions and planned to buy all new stuff at your new location?

I have considered that.

If I were to move, I would get one of those companies that drop off a container to fill with the rest of my possessions and have them ship it to my new location.

[Plina]

Have any of you moved to another state and just sold off most of your possessions and planned to buy all new stuff at your new location?

I have considered that.

If I were to move, I would get one of those companies that drop off a container to fill with the rest of my possessions and have them ship it to my new location.

When I have moved to another city I have normally sold my sofa because it cost more to transport then to buy a new one. Everytimed I have moved my stuff I have started the decluttering a couple of weeks before the move and considered If I am prepared to pay for transportation. I have also  disassembled a lot of furnitures to save space. Bookshelves is also one thing that has been cheaper to buy new ones then to transport.

[oneday]

Checking my credit report, I see that the last two addresses on the report, since the time I shared an address with my ex, are HIS last two addresses, grrrrrrr.

But making lemons out of lemonade.  I have a USB drive that belongs to our former neighbor, who the ex remained friends with.  I'm taking advantage of the address snafu to address an envelope & send this USB drive out of my life!  I'd just chuck it, but it has photos of the former neighbor & his daughter that he'd be delighted to have.

[horsepoor]

After nearly 14 years, the plates we received as a wedding gift are getting rather worn and chipped.  We actually received like 15 plates and have been using 8 of them, so I'm rotating new ones in.  I'm posting here for accountability that I'm getting rid of the old ones.  I also bought new pasta bowls today, and solemnly swear that I will get rid of the old ones ASAP.  Cupboard freed up in the China hutch now where the unused plates have been living.

[Roadrunner53]

Stupid me. This summer I saw this little kitchen appliance and thought it was a good idea to pick it up. It was only about $22. I used it one time since I had it. DUH to me! I am going to donate it to Vietnam Vets. It is taking up space, not a lot, but space is precious around here!

Oh, and I had a huge 7 quart slow cooker for quite a few years. I loved it. It was stainless steel on the outside and a ceramic crock on the inside. I just finished making beef broth out of prime rib bones and when I went to clean the crock I noticed a large hairline crack in the bottom of ceramic crock. I did see some other small cracks too. So, I tossed the slow cooker and am donating the lid to Vietnam Vets. Nice oval glass lid.

I was going to purchase another slow cooker but didn't find what I wanted and then it dawned on me that my Instant Pot has a slow cooking feature so I will use that now. If I don't like it compared to my slow cooker, I will purchase a new slow cooker. The one good thing is that I now have an empty spot in my hall closet where I stored my slow cooker. An actual empty space! Very rare in my house!

Does anyone use the slow cooker feature on your Instant Pot?

[brooklynmoney]

This year I have been purging my wardrobe as well as purging and reorganizing my pantry however I am most excited about the stealth purging I’ve been doing of my mother’s place. Her closets are packed with stuff she doesn’t use from candles to personal care products to canned food etc. she’s not a hoarder as the house is clear and immaculate but every space has Knick knacks on it and every closet is packed. With her permission I have been removing things that she doesn’t use but I can use. I also say I will use some things but then take them to Goodwill ha.