2024 Destash Dare to be Bare!

[zanzibar138]

I finally managed to get my pre-prepared box to the op shop yesterday, with another 26 items in it. Half was books my partner had before we met, that have literally just been sitting in a box in a back room for years. Neither of us really cook, so doesn't make sense to have a lot of recipe books, particularly when you can just google whatever you need.

The other half was sewing stuff that I got from Nan when she and Grandad moved into a home earlier this year. She was a seamstress earlier in life and very keen sewist for a very long time, so she had a massive stash. This part of the clean-out was going through all the different feet for the sewing machine and deciding which ones I *might* use. I suspect I really don't need any fancy additional feet, but have kept several that seemed like they could be useful. If I don't use them in the next couple of years I'll get rid of them too.

Total of 41 items so far... got a way to go to reach 1000 lol!

 

[weewuvvdisney]

Decluttering is high on my list of things I want to do this year, but need motivation to actually accomplish - so here I am.

My personal challenges are keeping things for sentimental reasons and what I call "counterproductive successes" - when something I should not, by all logic, have kept in the first place does turn out to be useful / the perfect solution to a problem....and encourages me to keep other things "just in case" - especially craft stuff and containers.

Counting individual items kind of stressed me out the last time I tried it, so I'm just going aim to do something at least five days a week - whether it's a whole closet or just the papers on the fridge (what I did today, while listening to this video.) -

I loved the idea in it about stuff being not a permanent resident, but something you hire to do a job. (The middle gets a little ad-heavy, but the skit at the beginning is hilarious!)

I have found any easy way to pass on some sentimental items is to take pictures. I had items of my parents that I didn't want to forget the memories associated with them. Items that our dd made in school, we did keep a few but took so many pictures. I usually would show it to her beforehand and she would say, "Why did you want to keep that" LOL! Pictures! We really can keep only so much of the past. Good luck!

 

[delmar411]

So far this year we've sold 40 items (for $370 total!) and gotten rid of a bit more. Slow but steady progress. The goal to meet by the end of Feb is to get rid of the broken down car in front of the house. It's got to go so we can get a different car and so the HOA doesn't come after us! LOL

 

[newski_mom]

I worked in our storage room yesterday on some of the boxes that DS and I filled cleaning some things out of his room last fall.

So far, I have sold 3 pairs of shorts, a twin bedding set (comforter and 2 sheet sets) and a pair of crocs on facebook trader pages.

I also boxed up quite a bit to take to our local hospital resale shop, but I won't count those yet because they are still in our house - hopefully will drop off later this week.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Today we took down our Christmas tree and decorations. Wife wanted to leave it up all year and just rotate the tree decorations (Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, etc.) I said no to that. So we packed up all that and threw away anything we thought didn't need to last another year (mainly some balls and other Christmas tree ornaments, some tinsel, etc). Also cleaned out 4 boxes we still had packed from when we moved here 1-1/2 years ago (we're probably the only couple that has boxes still packed from a move 18 months ago). Threw away 2 boxes worth of stuff, probably 40 items if I had to guess. Did a nice cleaning, and now the bottom floor of the house looks like someone actually lives here and not just a nest for a pack rat.

 

[zanzibar138]

(we're probably the only couple that has boxes still packed from a move 18 months ago).

I can personally guarantee that's not the case In fact, I think getting to it within 18 months is pretty good going

 

[robinb]

Check out the stuff I got rid of today!

I have been working my butt off going through all my books and other things on a heavy duty shelf in my basement. I have over 1000 books and I'm looking up nearly every single one of them on Amazon and picking out the cherries (selling for $30 and more). The rest goes into to 3 piles: one of "specialty books" which may sell at a used book store near the University of Wisconsin campus, one of "moderately valuable" books (those that sell for $5 - $30 on Amazon) and "popular genre fiction" books (like Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood series by Charlene Harris) that I will attempt to sell at another local used bookstore (NOT Half Price Books, I've read that they don't give you anything for your books), and the "remainders" which I will simply donate to the library.

The stuff I got rid of today includes 2 boxes of glassware and plastic cups. Yes, there are vintage Disney refillable mugs in the box, but I have not used them in literally a decade. I put all of them through the dishwasher last night. I also have another bag of stuff and a Cabbage Patch kid with a water damaged box. I thought about selling the doll myself years ago but it was too hard. I figure someone else will find the treasure and put the effort into selling it. I also had 6 (SIX!) sealed Disney VHS tapes. I looked on eBay and they were pretty much worthless, so they went into the box too. All of that went to Goodwill.

I also had 4 boxes and 1 bag of remainder books (about 70-80 of them) which I brought to the library for their Friends of the Library sale. Since I acquired a number of books for my Amazon business' stock from library sales, it was kind of a homecoming for them, LOL.

I also purged through a shelving unit which held cleaning supplies and the "Justin Case" video popped up in my mind. I had a 1/2 of a container of deck/house cleaner that attaches to a hose that I used years ago to clean my screened in front porch. I hesitated to throw it away but then I remembered that little kid under the sink and thought to myself: "If I end up needing this kind of cleaner again, I'll just buy it." and it went into the Clean Sweep box.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

For some of this stuff, do you use Marketplace? Or eBay? Or something else? Trying to figure out the best place for clothes and stuff like that. I'm not big on someone coming to my house, and I'm really big on meeting them in public (hear too many stories of people getting robbed, shot, assaulted, whatever when they meet up someone they met on Facebook. So just trying to look for ideas.

I worked in our storage room yesterday on some of the boxes that DS and I filled cleaning some things out of his room last fall.

So far, I have sold 3 pairs of shorts, a twin bedding set (comforter and 2 sheet sets) and a pair of crocs on facebook trader pages.

I also boxed up quite a bit to take to our local hospital resale shop, but I won't count those yet because they are still in our house - hopefully will drop off later this week.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Is Half Price Books bad about not paying much? I've got about 10 books, all sports books, some from the 60s-70s, that I was going to take up there cause I didn't know where to take them. But they don't give much in return?

Check out the stuff I got rid of today!

I have been working my butt off going through all my books and other things on a heavy duty shelf in my basement. I have over 1000 books and I'm looking up nearly every single one of them on Amazon and picking out the cherries (selling for $30 and more). The rest goes into to 3 piles: one of "specialty books" which may sell at a used book store near the University of Wisconsin campus, one of "moderately valuable" books (those that sell for $5 - $30 on Amazon) and "popular genre fiction" books (like Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood series by Charlene Harris) that I will attempt to sell at another local used bookstore (NOT Half Price Books, I've read that they don't give you anything for your books), and the "remainders" which I will simply donate to the library.

 

[newski_mom]

For some of this stuff, do you use Marketplace? Or eBay? Or something else? Trying to figure out the best place for clothes and stuff like that. I'm not big on someone coming to my house, and I'm really big on meeting them in public (hear too many stories of people getting robbed, shot, assaulted, whatever when they meet up someone they met on Facebook. So just trying to look for ideas.

I'm from a small-ish town (about 8,000 or so) and I use our local trader page. My preference is to do porch pickup where they give me a general idea on time they'll pickup and I leave it on the porch or by the garage door and they pickup and put the money under the rug. The nice thing about doing that is, even if it's only a $5-$10 item, it makes it worth it since I don't have to waste time meeting with someone away from our house. If it's pretty expensive (over $25 or so), I usually meet in our local Walmart parking lot.

I sometimes do Ebay if it's a more expensive item and would be easy and cheap to ship. I know the buyer pays shipping, but if it's something big and hard to ship, it will probably lower the amount they are willing to pay for the item because they would need to figure their total cost to purchase the item I'd think.

 

[robinb]

Is Half Price Books bad about not paying much? I've got about 10 books, all sports books, some from the 60s-70s, that I was going to take up there cause I didn't know where to take them. But they don't give much in return?

Figure out how much your books are worth using Amazon. If they’re worth some money, like over $10-20 each Half Price may give you some money for them. Half Price will buy your entire lot from you so you can get rid of everything at once. But they really don’t pay a lot … literally just pennies on the dollar. I guess since it’s only 10 books you can try and see what they’ll give you. If you don’t like it, you can always say no and donate them to a charity or the library.

 

[comicguy]

Jan off to a slow start. Hoping Feb gets a bit better

1 dog sweater - donated
3 $10 Amazon GC’s found - used them and recycled

4 / 500 items
.008% of goal

 

[robinb]

For some of this stuff, do you use Marketplace? Or eBay? Or something else? Trying to figure out the best place for clothes and stuff like that. I'm not big on someone coming to my house, and I'm really big on meeting them in public (hear too many stories of people getting robbed, shot, assaulted, whatever when they meet up someone they met on Facebook. So just trying to look for ideas.

Ebay, Mercari and Poshmark are all options if you are afraid of FB Marketplace. They all require a lot more work, IMO. I sold books on Amazon and things on eBay and it's a real pain to figure out packing materials and postage in advance and then actually shipping it often requires a separate trip to the post office because packages don't fit in the local mailbox. I might consider selling online for ultra-premium name brands, but would not do it for normal clothes. I would have to make enough selling it to be worth my time and effort. You've had 3 WDW trips in 13 months ... I would guess that a couple-three bucks is not worth it to you either.

Does your area have a neighborhood yard sale? You won't get much, but you'll find a new home for some of it. I actually had a blast at my last yard sale because a bunch of neighbors all gathered together in one driveway and we talked and chatted while we sold our stuff. I didn't make a lot (I think it was about $50), but I had fun.

Frankly, I simply donate 95% of my unwanted clothing to a local charity. It's out of my house which is the main goal.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

Got rid of an old mattress topper that was way past it's prime, a broken beach umbrella (someone please explain why we needed to hang on to it after is broke at the end of the summer?), an old beat up pair of sneakers, old faded baseball hat, some more old cosmetics, some outdated condiments from the fridge, and trashed a few dried up pens.

We put our trash out Thursday morning so I go around Wednesday night and try to find at least 5 things that can go in the trash no matter how small. I've completely let go of finding the perfect home for something or saving it to sell it (we never get around to that). If I can find a good home for it then fine but otherwise it goes out by the trash. If it is useable and in good condition then I've got a box and bag going in the spare bedroom for donations to the Goodwill, but I need to get better about actually dropping the stuff off rather than letting it accumulate. I try to be mindful of how inundated they have been with junky donations and get rid of that stuff myself.

 

[disneyseniors]

I have found any easy way to pass on some sentimental items is to take pictures. I had items of my parents that I didn't want to forget the memories associated with them. Items that our dd made in school, we did keep a few but took so many pictures. I usually would show it to her beforehand and she would say, "Why did you want to keep that" LOL! Pictures! We really can keep only so much of the past. Good luck!

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! for that wonderful idea for sentimental items. I seem to be the family member who receives all these items, and I don't know what to do with them? Some, I just let go of and give to charity or thrift stores. There are others that are very sentimental but I don't have the room for all of them.
Your idea of taking a picture and keeping the memory alive like that is priceless
I am going to do that from now on.

 

[disneyseniors]

For some of this stuff, do you use Marketplace? Or eBay? Or something else? Trying to figure out the best place for clothes and stuff like that. I'm not big on someone coming to my house, and I'm really big on meeting them in public (hear too many stories of people getting robbed, shot, assaulted, whatever when they meet up someone they met on Facebook. So just trying to look for ideas.

I guess it depends where you live? If you live in a big city then I wouldn't attempt to do it. My daughter sells a lot of things on FB marketplace, and buys from there too. She arranges to meet the person in a busy Target parking lot or a busy place like that. We live in a small town in a rural area, so she wasn't afraid to do trading. I think the key is to be out in the open with lots of people around. I haven't tried it, but give most of our things to our local thrift stores or charities.

 

[DisneyHardin]

For some of this stuff, do you use Marketplace? Or eBay? Or something else? Trying to figure out the best place for clothes and stuff like that. I'm not big on someone coming to my house, and I'm really big on meeting them in public (hear too many stories of people getting robbed, shot, assaulted, whatever when they meet up someone they met on Facebook. So just trying to look for ideas.

I'm not the person that you asked, but I'll answer anyway I sell a decent amount of stuff on Nextdoor and Marketplace and I do always have them come to the house because I don't want to waste my time driving up to the meeting spot and then the buyer be a no show. I did have a lady one time who said she wasn't comfortable coming to my house, so I agreed to meet her at a gas station up the street, but made her text me when she got there and then I ran up there with her item. My time is too valuable to sit for 30 minutes in a parking lot to sell an item for $10.

Is Half Price Books bad about not paying much? I've got about 10 books, all sports books, some from the 60s-70s, that I was going to take up there cause I didn't know where to take them. But they don't give much in return?

I take a decent amount of books to Half Price Books. If they make you an offer on your books and you think it is too low, you aren't bound to it - you can say no thank you and take your stuff back home. I mostly take things like mass paperbacks - for that kind of stuff - I feel like they generally pay .50-1.00 per book and I am fine with that. I buy them all at yard sales and stuff, so I am just looking to get rid of them and make a couple bucks.

 

[weewuvvdisney]

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! for that wonderful idea for sentimental items. I seem to be the family member who receives all these items, and I don't know what to do with them? Some, I just let go of and give to charity or thrift stores. There are others that are very sentimental but I don't have the room for all of them.
Your idea of taking a picture and keeping the memory alive like that is priceless
I am going to do that from now on.

I have made files for myself, dh and dd. Just add the "memories" in the important one or perhaps two files. I keep copies of the files of two external hard drives where I have stored all our family photos along with my Grandmothers family photos. If one hard drive croaks, I have the other. Biggest job now is to make sure I add to both of them. Good Luck!

 

[robinb]

I took about 60 books for a little trip yesterday and I learned an important lesson.

40 out of 60 books were selected out of my inventory to be somewhat valuable on Amazon ($8-$30) or very popular mysteries. I took them to the local bookstore named Fugal Muse. I had hear that they pay well. They cherry picked 13 books (worth about $200-$250 on Amazon) and offered me $11. It took her 30 minutes and I took the money and my leftover 27 books.

I then took 20 of the remaining books to Half Price Books. Again, somewhere between $160 - $200-ish on Amazon. It took him 15 minutes and he offered me $4 for all 20 of them. Whoo Hoo! 20-cents a book! I did not take it.

I donated the other 20 books that I knew were not valuable at all to St. Vinny's because it was right there.

So, in short, I was offered $15 for 32 books, or about 46-cents per book for a group of books which sells on Amazon for at least $320, that *they* would sell for much, much more. I did not expect them to give me anything near the value of the books, but I did expect more than $1 per book for the quality of book I was offering.

Hmmm.

My lesson? It is a complete worthless waste of my time and energy to "sell" books at 46 cents each, or even the 86 cents a book Frugal Muse gave me. I find it insulting. In addition, it takes the about 2-3 minutes per book where I have to sit around and wait for my paltry payment. I don't need the money so I would rather just donate all my books to the library. That way, I make someone's day when they book scout the library book sale and find one of my Amazon treasures that I am too lazy to sell. I know that some folks would say, "Robin, a pittance is better than nothing." But for me, "Nothing is better than being taken advantaged of by being paid a pittance for valuable items.". YMMV.

Good news, though. I found out that the library has a place that I can drop books off easily on Thursday between 11-1, so I know where I will be in 2 days! Someone will be happy with the books I drop off and the library gets the profit instead of some slimy low-ball used bookstore.

 

[robinb]

The best thing is that not selling the books makes my life so much easier. Now I have a "keep" pile (which is to be kept under 100 books) and a "donate" pile.