Not quite a horder - decluttering

MinusTwo

On my chair - springs were tied down and MANY inches of hard foam were added above & below the springs - before the final upholstry.

DivineMrsM

I really wish I’d taken a photo of the disorganized, helter skelter tools on the pegboard over dh’s workbench in the garage before I rearranged it because there’s a world of difference. But I found a before photo of this set of shelves where dh keeps stuff like oil. Why do you need all that, I asked. Well, he said, there are two cars, a fishing boat, lawn mower and weed eater. Okay, but still. He did manage to get rid of some of it. Not sure why we need three spare lightbulbs for the garage door opener. My big pet peeve is how he leaves stuff in paper and plastic grocery bags. It clutters up the space and you never remember what’s in the bags.

Sadiesservant

Still chugging along on the clear out but it is such a slow process. I got a bit down after spending a full day sorting through a couple of boxes of stuff, listing items for sale. I quickly sold two items but thought whoa…. At this rate I will never get through everything. However, I also started posting on FB Marketplace which has proven to be a pleasant surprise. The couple of pieces I initially posted (furniture) weren’t showing any action but when I posted some more unique antiques and collectibles - bam. Sold two items within minutes at full asking price. They even e-transferred the funds immediately to hold the items! Things may be looking up! Several of the other items have been tagged as saved so I’m hopeful an offer will come.

As long as I can whittle it down, I can send box lots of the stuff that’s harder to move to the auction or offer the lot to dealers. At least I think (hope) my mom is starting to get it….. tick, tock, tick, tock….

DivineMrsM

That sounds rather exciting, Sadie! My husband’s had great success on FB Marketplace, too. One thing that’s nice is you can sell locally, making it easier for people to come and get it. If it’s nicer items, like your antiques, people often are willing to travel a bit for them. At the apartments where he works, dh happened on a motorized mobility chair. A woman put it out for the garbage and was getting another from her brother. The chair originally cost several thousand dollars.Other than a mechanical issue dh was able to fix, the chair was in like new condition. Since dh got it free, he sold it for $300 to a man whose wife needed it when they traveled. The man drove an hour and a half to pick it up but he got a fantastic bargain. He had a mechanical background and had already looked up the chair’s manual and knew all about it.

It’s been five years since our big garage sale which was fun but so much work. With FB Marketplace, dh was able to sell the more useful items which eliminated all that effort.

Sadiesservant

It is exciting. Of course, it’s always difficult to know how serious people really are (someone reached out last night but now no response) but if I can just shift a thing more quickly I will be thrilled. 😊 I’m pleasantly surprised at how many people look at items. We have another local buy and sell site that I think your items drop down the list quickly so often very few see it. FB seems to have a way of making sure items appear in multiple categories. Fingers crossed that I can empty a corner by June

ParakeetsRule

I dropped the ball this week. Ugh. My neighborhood Buy Nothing group is doing a massive "driveway free sale" with something like fifty people coordinating to all put out their stuff on one day, with maps and everything! But I just couldn't summon up the energy to collect stuff, much less haul it to a neighbor who was going to let me add mine to hers since I don't have all that much.

Oh well. Maybe next weekend for Buy Nothing Driveway Giveaway Round 2!

DivineMrsM

parakeet, don’t be hard on yourself! Pretty much all of us have to be in a certain frame of mind to go about the decluttering process. It’s hard to get motivated otherwise. Do you have a spot in your house where you could put stuff as you come across it that you want to get rid of? That’s a strategy that’s worked for me. One year beginning around Thanksgiving, any time I cleaned out a closet or a drawer or container with items I didn’t want to keep, I put them in a pile in a spare room, and instructed dh to do the same. We did this until the following May, so it was a very casual (i.e. lazy) thing that transpired over half a year (haha, how’s that for lack of motivation!). Then we had a garage sale. If you tried something like this, you’d have a ready made pile for the next buy nothing giveaway.

Sadiesservant

Red letter day today! Sold a chandelier that has been cluttering up the basement for years. It was hanging in our sitting room when we moved in - we tried to get the previous owner of the house to take it as it was his mother’s but no luck. My mother described it as coming from a house of I’ll repute. Ha! It was a steal as it is actually a good quality crystal fixture (but was damaged) but I wanted someone to be motivated. It worked! 🥳 Happy dance!

DivineMrsM

How does it feel to have it sold and gone, sadie?

Sadiesservant

Still to be picked up but paid for. Tomorrow I’ll see some space!