Getting Serious About Decluttering

The 365 Day Declutter Challenge continues, and I'm getting more serious, not just in getting The Stuff out of here, but in ramping up my eBay and craigslist sales.

Determining what to try to sell, what to give away to charity thrift stores and what to give directly to individuals is often a guessing game. It's generally pretty easy to determine if something has value and will sell, but its value, size, popularity will determine whether I list it on eBay or craigslist. Large items and those I want out of my way quickly get listed on craigslist. Highly popular items (like certain books) and collectibles usually get listed on eBay instead.

Giving away items is actually a little trickier. On the one hand, there is the tax deduction to be had when I give things to charity thrift stores. On the other, I like the idea of putting useful items directly into the hands of someone who can use them. I don't get the tax break, but I do get the warm fuzzy feeling that I never get when I drop stuff off at Goodwill. Thus I try divide my freebies evenly.



Here's the rundown of days 76 through 94.

Day 76 – Shipped a requested book to a Frugal Reader member.

Day 77 – Sold a set of spring form pans on craigslist.

Days 78 & 79 - Put 5 cookbooks in the donation box, listed 1 on eBay and listed 4 on half.com.

Day 80 – Removed 4 baking dishes and two Wilton cake pans from my kitchen cabinets. Will sell some and donate the rest.

Day 81 – Spent the day decluttering the computer room (aka catch-all room) and sorted things into piles to donate or sell.

Day 82 – Sold two attic ventilators on craigslist.

Days 83-87 – Sold 3 books and 2 CD on either eBay or half.com.

Day 88 – Donated. All the stuff I’ve been putting in the donation boxes adds up, as you can see:



Day 89 – Sold four pairs of Kat’s outgrown jeans and two of her skirts on eBay.

Day 90 & 91 – Discontinued my Frugal Reader account as the books I have to trade have been listed there more than a year; they probably aren’t going to be requested any time soon, and heaven knows I don’t need to request any for myself since my “to read” stack is about 40 books high. Ended up giving away 61 books via a craigslist ad.

Day 92 – Sold another CD on eBay.

Day 93 – Sold an outgrown coat and sweater of Kat’s and a never-worn fleece pullover of Shane's on eBay.

Day 94 – After culling out a few I think I can sell, I gave away 23 cookbooks and 28 cooking magazines to someone via a craigslist ad. I may officially be in recovery!