WHY A DECLUTTER FOR CASH CHALLENGE?
After a full month of zero unneccessary spending in February, I realized I really enjoy month-long challenges and blogging about the experience keeps me motivated. This month I will be decluttering my house for cash! We had three kids in four years and there hasn’t been alot of extra time to declutter our house while raising our babies and toddlers, including one special needs child. It really seems like the ‘stuff’ just seems to accumulate at a ridiculous rate when you have kids. It is time for use to finally get rid of the excess baby and craft items I have stored. I already have a garage sale pile of items started in the basement and throughout the month of March I will start selling or donating those items. I honestly do NOT want to have to do another garage sale or consignment sale, so this is another option to earn some cash for my items.
My ‘Garage Sale’ Pile, aka BIG MESS
MY DECLUTTER PLAN
I will spend approximately 15 minutes every day going through our stuff and listing it on sale sites on Facebook or Craigslist. As you see in the picture, I have some items already separated and ready for sale or donation. Throughout the month I will also go through drawers, closets and other items in storage to declutter. Posting items for sale online will require separating the items, taking quality pictures and naming a fair price. For larger items under $100, I may also consider running a free classifieds ad in the Omaha World Herald. I will try to group as many items together as possible to limit the amount of time I will spend meeting potential buyers.
For books, DVD’s and video games, I will check for trade-in value on Amazon.
Many items that I don’t find worth taking the time to sell, but still usable and in good condition will be donated to the appropriate charities. Household, clothing and miscellaneous items will be donated to a local thrift store. Books and magazines will be donated to Bellevue Public Library, one of my favorite places.
MY GOAL
My purpose for this challenge is not to make a ton of money, but more focus on decluttering. I really do not want to hold a garage sale this year, but I know I have many items that are valuable, like Partylite candle holders, stamp sets and kid’s equipment and toys. I also have many items that are well loved and I look forward to passing those items on to good organizations within my local community. The money we raise will be added to the cost of purchasing a King size bed (we currently have a 12 year old Queen size bed). A bigger bed is a request from my very tall husband and we look forward to purchasing it with cash.
At the end of every week, I will update about my selling experience, time investment and keep a running total of cash raised during this challenge. I hope you join me!
WILL YOU DECLUTTER FOR CASH?
Do you plan to declutter for cash this month? What are you goals for this challenge? How are you going to sell your items? I’d love if you shared your goals and ideas in a comment.
Good for you, decluttering is great!….I actually like doing garage sales, so I have done one each year here and made a fair amount which we put towards a new couch.
I like doing garage sales too, but my husband doesn’t. We’ve done one the last three summers, but it’s too hard for me to manage with the kids by myself. So, we decided we wouldn’t do another one this year.
I would love to do this challenge. I have had a few relatives move in and out leaving a bunch of stuff. I can sell/donate/throw away most of it. Plus needing extra money!!!!
Woot Woot.. going to declutter with you. I am pretty sure (like 99%) Ryan and I will be moving to Texas around the first or middle of April…. I need to unload some of this stuff so it doesn’t have to be packed, doesn’t get moved, and then finding a location for it when we get to Texas. Any extra cash is going towards bill. I didn’t do the zero spending thing in February and purchases some pricey items. Some went on a charge cards… (not what I wanted to do, but hey my insurance sucks) and I needed a crown for a tooth and then two other teeth have their filling redone… I have a Swap page on Facebook… I have some plus size clothing, and PartyLite candle holders. and some other things. I will be selling some pots and pans, dishes and silverware as one of the purchases we made was dishes, flatware and very nice pots/pans…. I also need extra month for my new home business… If you want to hear what the home business is, please please email me…Sorry for rambling.. but I am all for this decluttering in March… March on to a cleaner and less cluttered apartment!!
Well, you saw my disorganized start to this challenge, but I am there! I love the Facebook groups. I’ve found them to be helpful in accumulating great deals for clothes for Liv, so why not sell some of the stuff we no longer need. Thanks for all of the motivation!