We were able to sell everything we put on the market and were satisfied with the results. We sold furniture, gardening supplies, tools, and other items with ease and were soon ready for our trip. Or so we thought.
We loaded the remaining of our belongings into a large trailer we had purchased and began our trip. We were barely out of our drive way when we realized we had forgotten to check the weight limit of the trailer. After a quick stop at the weight station, we realized, to our dismay, that the trailer was considerably over weight! We had to empty everything and spent two days going through all of our stuff deciding what we needed to keep and what could stay behind. This time there was no opportunity to sell, so we donated everything to a community service center. Not an easy experience by all means. I still ache a little when I think of the treadmill I left behind, but the incident launched me into a journey to a more simple life, so it was worth it!
Since then, every time I go on a simplifying spree, I have to decide what to do with the items I want out of my house. Should I sell, should I donate, should I recycle, or just throw away? These are important questions and I want to offer you some guidelines to help you decide.
SELL
Articles such as furniture, tools, exercise equipment, gardening supplies, appliances, jewelry, big designer items, and certain baby equipment are somewhat easy to sell. If you’re trying to pay off debt, the time investment may be worth to get extra cash. So put your things for sale on Craigslist, Facebook, Ebay, announce it to friends and neighbors, or do a garage sale. If you have large items to sell, a garage sale may also help you sell smaller items that don’t sell as easily. What you don’t sell you can always donate. Keep in mind though, that selling requires your time and energy.
DONATE
There is great benefit in donating the things you decide to remove from your home. If you’re trying to get rid of items such as clothes, books, toys, and other small things, a garage sale may not be a good time investment, as the return is often pretty small. Of course, donating large items is good too as you don’t have to spend time advertising your things and showing them to people who may or may not purchase them. When decluttering, it is ok to donate most of the things as this will remove them from your home quicker. So choose your charity and take your stuff to them. Load as much as you can into your vehicle and take it to the donation center. Many charities offer to pick up the items from your home. You have many options. In donating not only will your remove the extra stuff from your home quicker, but will also help others in need. It’s a win-win situation.
THROW AWAY/RECYCLE
Articles that are broken, damaged, or in bad condition should not be sold or donated. These need to leave your house via the dumpster. Where I live we have two containers which items are weekly collected by the city: one for regular trash and another for everything that can be recycled except for glass. If the item is not in good condition, throw it away.
Which ever method you decide to use, keep in mind that as soon as you start seeing the empty open spaces in your house, the sooner you’ll begin feeling the peace that comes from a clutter free environment. Don’t just move your stuff around. You want it out of your house. Donate as soon as the boxes and bags are full. You know that a clutter free home will help you feel calmer and help improve your life, so dispose of your clutter as fast as you can. You’ll reap the benefits sooner and feel encouraged to keep going.
Happy decluttering!
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