I really had fun with the declutter for cash challenge. It was great to earn money for items we no longer used and declutter my house at the same time. Did you participate in the Declutter for Cash challenge? Leave a comment telling us about your experience.
WEEK 4 RESULTS
So, the last week of the challenge was slower than the first three weeks, because many items I listed did not sell. Here are the items that did sell:
Partylite candle holder $8
Kid’s Desk – $10
Play Kitchen $15
My total for week four was $33 making my grand total for March $288! This week, I dropped several large boxes and bags off at the local thrift store full of kid’s toys, clothes and more. The library also received a large bag of magazines. It felt good to get rid of those items that weren’t worth trying to sell, but still had lots of life left.
See all my weekly recaps:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
IS SELLING ONLINE BETTER THAN GARAGE SALES?
I made $288 this month, which is the same amount I make during a back breaking three day garage sale. I noticed that I sold much less stuff than I normally would during a garage sale, but earned more money for the items I did sell. At garage sales, I put everything out to sell, even if I’m only charging a quarter. When I’m selling online I only post items over $5 (and preferably over $10) to make it worth my time. Selling online allowed me to connect directly to interested buyers for specialty items (like craft supplies) that may or may not happen during a three day garage sale.
The big bonus of selling online is that I don’t have to coordinate help with my children or try to watch them while running a garage sale. Garage sales can be great to get rid of lots of items very quickly, but they are three days of heavy lifting, early mornings, sitting in the hot sun and haggling with buyers.
However, if you have a really busy schedule, it may be easier to have three days of working a garage sale, rather than try to coordinate pickup with interested buyers for individual items. I have lots of flexibility in my daily schedule, so meeting buyers was very easy for me to do, but I realize it’s not as easy for many people. I am glad lots of people still hold garage sales, even though I won’t be this year, because garage sale shopping is one of my favorite summer activities.
IS IT WORTH THE TIME TO SELL YOUR ITEMS?
For me, it was definitely worth the time. I found a large Facebook group that only allows people to pick up items in the city I live, Bellevue, so I wasn’t worried about driving all over town to meet interested buyers. I met almost everyone at a public parking lot only three blocks from my house and grouped several buyers into the same time slots to save trips. A few buyers that were picking up larger items did stop by my house.
With a SmartPhone, it was easy to snap a picture of an item and post it online to the group. Coordinating pick up was generally very easy and usually occurred within a day or two. Most items I sold took less than 10 to 15 minutes each to take a picture, post online, arrange a meetup and then actually meet.
In my experience this month, items that sell really well include kid’s toys (especially larger items), craft supplies and electronics. Things that did not sell well for me were clothes, shoes and home decorations. Unless you have brand name clothing or shoes or have a huge lot of items, it would probably be better to just donate them. If you have kid’s clothing to sell, consignment sales are probably one of the best options to sell them for a decent price. I typically sell a majority of the items I consign and make around $150-200 per sale. It does take some time to prepare and label your items, but if you have alot of kid’s gear, clothes and toys, it’s definitely worth it.
THE DECLUTTER CHALLENGE CONTINUES
Even though March is over, the declutter for cash challenge will continue at my house, but not as aggressively. As I find items we no longer use, I will post them online to sell or donate them. It is great way to stay on top of the clutter and make some extra cash at the same time. There are a few valuable items that did not sell during this challenge and I will try Craigslist to reach a larger audience.
DID YOU DO THE CHALLENGE?
Did you participate in the Declutter for Cash Challenge? Please leave a comment and tell us about it.
Great Job Nicole and as always thanks for the inspiration. We managed to clean and declutter a lot!! I believe we are right at $250 for the month and that includes another $24 I made today! Woohoo!
Great job! That’s awesome! Any plans with the extra cash?
Nicole
I sell on lots of Fb sites thst are out in west Omaha & I do it about once every month. I find these sites are much better than Craigslist. It’s faster. & you don’t have to deal with spammers. Also I have them come to my house much like they would with garsge sale that way I don’t have to run anywhere. For clothes I group them by season- take a few pics & list them as season group for anywhere between $50-$70/ sells quick that way.
I pry make about $50-$75 each time averaging out over the year. It’s a great way to declutter all year & throw a little cash in my pocket!
I agree that Facebook groups are the way to go. I think that’s a great idea to sell clothes by season. Do you hold onto them until the season starts again? For example, box up winter clothes at spring and then sell them in the fall or do you just sell them as soon as winter is over?
Hi, I am interested in the Facebook groups to sell some things, can you tell me the names of the groups or how to find them. I would be interested in the west o groups
Brad, You can search buy/sell/trade + location on facebook. I actually asked my friends what groups they use and found the one in Bellevue. There are lots of facebook sites to sell and buy items in Omaha.