Decluttering. Now there is a word we haven't heard around here in awhile. Never fear! My quest to free our lives of excess is ongoing, I just became a little overwhelmed by the many things that are happening in our lives right now.
You've all heard me talk about Kijiji before. Kijiji is like craigslist in that you list things to sell locally. It's really handy when you don't want to go to the trouble of having to ship items, or hold a yard sale. I've made hundreds of dollars by selling things we no longer need on kijiji.
Here is the hard part for me. I've learned to distinguish between what will fetch me a decent amount of money and what is not worth trying to sell. But when something isn't selling, how do you decide that it's time to let it go to donation?
Here are some of the things I am learning (and relearning):
Price items higher than what you want to sell them for. Things are worth as much as people are willing to pay for them. People will almost always try to negotiate on the price, so you have a better chance of getting what you really want for an item if you price it higher. I just sold our highchair for $90, it was listed for $100, and I would have taken $80!
List books in one ad, not individually. Books are difficult to sell because someone has to be looking for that specific title. I just posted one ad with all of the books that I am currently trying to sell. I listed the book and author names, as anyone can use google to find more information about a book and that saves me a lot of time by not having to list all the story descriptions.
Sell kids clothes in 'lots'. I have been selling about 40 pieces at a time for $20, usually a specific age group (for example, 6-9 months). In your ad note the price breakdown, 40 pieces for $20 is about .50 cents a piece. How often will you find clothes for that price in a store? It's a good selling point.
Maintain a presence by posting new ads regularly. Thousands of new posts appear online every day, if you want your items to be seen you need to be listing new things regularly (or alternatively paying to have a top ad that is displayed above all the others on each page). You can do this either by keeping a copy of your item description and pictures, deleting your ad and reposting it, or by posting an ad for new items every day or several times a week. Be sure to include a suggestion that the viewer look at your other ads. Perhaps a little time consuming, but ultimately rewarding.
If selling isn't for you, participate in a stuff swap! I attended one of these a few days ago. Lots of mothers brought clothes that their children had grown out of, along with toys and books. Everything was free, you just went through and took what you wanted. When we were all done the rest was donated to charity. I picked up one outfit for each of the girls and a little toy purse for Desana. We are blessed to not need much right now.
Now here is the part I am struggling with;
Set a deadline to sell items by and firmly commit to that deadline. If something hasn't sold in a month, six weeks, or whatever length of time you deem sufficient, it may be time to let it go to charity. The exception to this would be big ticket items, for those you might need to consider reducing your asking price.
I get stuck and trick myself in to keeping clutter because I think, "But it's worth something!" The reality is that things are only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. If no one wants to buy it, it is worth nothing. In the meantime all the STUFF takes up space in your home, and I personally find it depressing to see giant bags filled with things I no longer want or need, just sitting and gathering dust. Especially when I consider that there are people in the world who don't have the many things we take for granted.
Just let it go. In the end it is all just STUFF!
Image source: Smemon87
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