2016 Destash - The more things you own, the more they own you

[comicguy]

Added to the Yard Sale Pile last night:
2 books
5 DVD's

 

[pjlla]

Wow good progress pjlla! How does replacements.com work? I have a china set that has never been used and just takes up space in my dining room closet? TIA for the info!

If you go to the website and search around the FAQ area, you will see where you can click on "sell to us"...... you need to provide the brand name and pattern name or a picture and they will contact you with an "offer to buy". Be prepared for them to only buy bits and pieces of your set. I have YET to find a pattern that they will buy all of. And be prepared to be disappointed in the prices (do NOT look at what they sell for because they won't offer you even a fraction of that). They also reserve the right to refuse the pieces you send (at your cost) for condition reasons. But considering I've got a set I've been trying to sell for 18 months with NO nibbles, even a little money is a win at this point. Best of luck with it...........P

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

I got a receipt and took pictures of my stuff before I bagged it. I am a little paranoid on an audit so I over did it.

They picked up a washing machine, huge tv cabinet and a movie tower today from a property we have for sale. my van held 33 bags/boxes plus all my husbands super ugly decor from his living room. So I have a head start on the next load, I have 12 bags waiting.

I believe my tax guy said as long as my over all donation was under either $1000 or $2000 the IRS doesn't usually bat an eye. Any item that is valued over $2000 needs to be appraised. We have a bunch of MIL's furniture that was over that amount but we didn't bother getting appraised. It all got donated to our church for the rummage sale and he just put the maximum amount allowed that wouldn't draw attention.
I'm fairly certain he said $2000 but don't quote me on that.
The year before the big donation and the year after, our donation amount was low so it balanced out.

If you have a tax guy it wouldn't hurt to give them a call.

 

[neatokimmo]

I believe my tax guy said as long as my over all donation was under either $1000 or $2000 the IRS doesn't usually bat an eye. Any item that is valued over $2000 needs to be appraised. We have a bunch of MIL's furniture that was over that amount but we didn't bother getting appraised. It all got donated to our church for the rummage sale and he just put the maximum amount allowed that wouldn't draw attention.
I'm fairly certain he said $2000 but don't quote me on that.
The year before the big donation and the year after, our donation amount was low so it balanced out.

If you have a tax guy it wouldn't hurt to give them a call.

I hope it isn't 2K, the first batch of stuff was almost 3K. There are many many batches to go.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

I hope it isn't 2K, the first batch of stuff was almost 3K. There are many many batches to go.

You might need to spread it out. Are you going by retail cost?
I have a sheet from my tax guy with the value breakdown but it might take me some time to put my hands on it.

ETA: If you google salvation army donation sheet, a few pop up. I usually pick the middle ground of high and low value price points except kids clothes. I get closer to the lower end because my kids are rough on clothes.

 

[neatokimmo]

You might need to spread it out. Are you going by retail cost?
I have a sheet from my tax guy with the value breakdown but it might take me some time to put my hands on it.

ETA: If you google salvation army donation sheet, a few pop up. I usually pick the middle ground of high and low value price points except kids clothes. I get closer to the lower end because my kids are rough on clothes.

A few new items were retail. Most of it was new or almost new at like 25% of retail cost.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

13 cinder blocks have left the garage and made me $10
clarinet that I haven't played in 25 years is leaving tomorrow and bringing in $100

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

Elaine, I have been 'spreading the wealth' so to speak. I've done My Sisters Place (women and children's support for those living with abuse and violence), Mission Services, Goodwill and Canadian Diabetes. I have a bag of towels/comforters that I intend to drop off at the animal shelter. I had a pile of stuff one time and dropped it off at Value Village and got a 30% off card. It came in handy when I needed new jeans/capris for the summer. With all my KMing, I have lost weight, and the pants were getting so ridiculous, they wouldn't stay up. No complaints. Just makes it hard to walk.

Thanks for the info and congrats on the weight loss....my friend's husband works for the local police force so I was able to obtain the information for some local women's shelters. Once I get going, I am guessing that there will be a lot of plus size clothes that will be ready to find a new home and I thought that a shelter would make the process easier for me knowing that they were going to a good cause...

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

I got a receipt and took pictures of my stuff before I bagged it. I am a little paranoid on an audit so I over did it.

They picked up a washing machine, huge tv cabinet and a movie tower today from a property we have for sale. my van held 33 bags/boxes plus all my husbands super ugly decor from his living room. So I have a head start on the next load, I have 12 bags waiting.

WOW!! Good job...

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

I hope it isn't 2K, the first batch of stuff was almost 3K. There are many many batches to go.

Yes if you are getting rid of a house worth this year, then definitely consult with a CPA that's familiar with personal taxes. If you have a high number, you need to make sure you have supporting documentation, so you're off to a good start by taking pictures.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

Thanks for the info and congrats on the weight loss....my friend's husband works for the local police force so I was able to obtain the information for some local women's shelters. Once I get going, I am guessing that there will be a lot of plus size clothes that will be ready to find a new home and I thought that a shelter would make the process easier for me knowing that they were going to a good cause...

I always give our clothes to charities that I know give them away for free. It helps me feel so much better. I like that the people who need them will just get them rather than have to pay for them, even if they are at discount prices. I donate to a thrift shop for an organization I work with and I know where the money goes, but I know that only $0.70 of every dollar goes to the welfare fund and the pants sell for only $1-$2. The $1.50 max that the charity gets doesn't seem worth it to me knowing that someone who needs it will just get it free.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

I have done a good job selling a couple things this week though, so that's excellent. I buy a lot of "boutique" clothes for my daughter and I usually find I can resell the ones I don't save well enough to make it "worth it" and then I turn around and buy more baby clothes.... OOPS!

My husband might also thwart my decluttering mission this week, because of the spend $50 on toys and get $10 off coupon at Target. He LOVES buying toys and playing Santa Claus all year round.

I am feeling pretty good though that Fly Lady's declutter mission this week is an area of my house that doesn't have old junk I need to get rid of, so woo hoo. I just need to continue fighting the paperwork battle in my one "hot spot."

 

[toystoryduo]

Well, after that marathon garage cleaning last week, things kind of came to an abrupt halt. My hubby was super happy about how clean the garage was though and said he will try and finish the rest. Maybe he can get a couple of hours in this weekend.

My plan over the next few days is to start going through all of our school stuff, and see what is selling on eBay and get it listed. It won't make a huge dent in our de-cluttering process, but it will help a little. It will be nice if we can make a little extra money too.

 

[pjlla]

Minor victory to report...... yesterday was town-wide yardsale day..... and I only went to ONE!!! And with one exception, everything I bought (I spent a big $3.50) was something I would have shopped for anyhow. I bought one small glass pitcher (I collect clear glass pitchers), a HUGE wooden bowl (for the dining room table.... I cannot wait to fill it with apples or shells!), about 20 white plastic hangers (I always need more hangers and I'm trying to change over to all white), a few small glass bowls/dishes to transplant some succulents into (I've been rooting succulents), a Tupperware (the real stuff.... not the Rubbermaid knock-offs), and one cardigan sweater (not sure if I will keep it or give it to DD).

AND...... I have a box and bag of twice that amount of stuff waiting to go to the Goodwill this week, so overall I'm ahead! Also, today is a rainy day, so instead of a yard work day it will be a housework day...... I plan to clean out EVERY kitchen drawer. Most will only need a wipe out (like the one that holds the dish towels and the one that holds the food scale and cloth napkins), but the utensil drawer and junk drawer are ewwwww! Not sure that will PURGE much, but they need to be wiped and straightened.

I did clean out my kitchen cupboards not long ago (maybe 2 years ago) and I did another mini-purge of one last week (and put two serving pieces in the Goodwill box), so they only need to be scrubbed on the outside.

I also plan to clean out the buffet in the kitchen and the buffet in the dining room. I'll report back later!.................P

 

[Debbie]

This week I went into the mess that was supposed to be my "work room" (desk, bookcase, filing cabinet) but became a junk room with so much stuff, I couldn't walk in it. I removed everything, sorted and packed, put the Christmas stuff where the rest of the Christmas stuff was, threw 4 garbage bags out on Thursday, and on Saturday dropped off 3 big garbage bags of clothes and 6 boxes of other stuff at the local St. Vincent de Paul. I added the treadmill to my work room, and the room is a joy to look at! Just in time to pick up all of DD's stuff as she is finished her undergraduate degree and everything (but the huge old tv) came home. Very proud of her, though, since, in amongst the tetris-packed Rav4 were 2 stuffed garbage bags of clothes that we dropped off at a clothes donation box. It was a successful week.

 

[pjlla]

Okay..... I'm reporting in. I made it through EVERY kitchen drawer, including the kitchen buffet. I filled one paper bag with donations and about half a bag with trash. I also hit the kitchen closet (part school supplies, part crafts, tiny bit of kitchen supplies) and re-arranged, emptied one medium plastic storage bin completely, and found a real home for my big stock pot..... plus discovered another smaller stock pot I probably got at the same time (gift) that I had forgotten about! WOOHOO on a new soup pot! I flip-flopped two kitchen drawers so that I have more room for kitchen tools all in one place and put my cloth napkins and food scale into the smaller drawer..... it makes more sense, but it will take some getting used to!

I never made it to the dining room buffet.... but I'm not working my evening job until 6:15 tonight so I may have time to do it after my day job. WOOHOO for progress.......P

 

[toystoryduo]

Quick update... My DH is working on the garage in the evenings without me having to ask him to. YAY! He's going through all of his stuff that he has accumulated through the years. Hopefully, it will be done before we leave for vacation.

I, on the other hand, haven't gotten much done in the way of de-cluttering. After going through the house once and spending 5+ hours in the garage, I feel like I've lost my motivation a bit. Hoping to find a big dose of motivation soon!

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

Quick update... My DH is working on the garage in the evenings without me having to ask him to. YAY! He's going through all of his stuff that he has accumulated through the years. Hopefully, it will be done before we leave for vacation.

I, on the other hand, haven't gotten much done in the way of de-cluttering. After going through the house once and spending 5+ hours in the garage, I feel like I've lost my motivation a bit. Hoping to find a big dose of motivation soon!

The 15 minute mission for today is an easy one. Your office supplies in and around your desk!

 

[toystoryduo]

The 15 minute mission for today is an easy one. Your office supplies in and around your desk!

That is an easy mission! Are these missions on the Fly Lady website?

 

[Debbie]

The 15 minute mission for today is an easy one. Your office supplies in and around your desk!

Thanks. I'd love the mission posted each day!