De-cluttering time: How much is it worth??

[Purseval]

You can give logo shirts to charity I see them sold all the time in our local United Way thrift shop and the Goodwill. You can also sell them yourself for 50 cents to $1 each. I work in a place that gets filthy. I buy all of my work clothes at yard sales or thrift stores, wear them until they fall apart then buy more. If I saw a nice shirt with a front pocket for my pens I wouldn't care what logo was on it.

 

[SandrA9810]

But these shirts are company shirts, not something you can do that with. Like I said it comes down to some one impersonating a real employee, and we were told not to give them away.

 

[MrsPete]

Thank you purseval. That's exactly what I mean. For all those that are great yard sale bargian hunters, there's gotta be some one on the other side to sell the stuff. And while some of you... most on here anyways, seem to have families and such that need time and attention to, but not all of us do. I really do think spending maybe 15-30mins trying to sell a shop vac for 30$ is well worth my effort. That's nearly a whole tank of gas or a weeks worth of food.

You make a good point.

When I was younger, poorer, and didn't have children, doing things like this would've made sense: I had more time than I had money. Now I work full-time and have two children who need my attention. I can't really say that I have more money than time, but I have to pay close attention to both. Right now -- for me -- selling small items wouldn't be cost effective. Selling a large item would be a relatively wise option for me.

I have some things that've been piling up around the house, and I've been thinking about letting my teenagers sell them on ebay. I'm thinking it'd be a good lesson for them. They'll learn that it takes effort, but you can make a few dollars -- and hopefully they'll realize that consumer goods (i.e., those had-to-have-'em jeans) cost a great deal, but bring back only pennies on the dollar later on!

 

[MrsPete]

But these shirts are company shirts, not something you can do that with. Like I said it comes down to some one impersonating a real employee, and we were told not to give them away.

I think I'd trash these. I can't imagine there's much of a market for company shirts (for people who don't work for that company), and you could potentially get into trouble. I'd use 'em for rags or yardwork -- even if they're still in good condition.

 

[talulabelle]

I don't want to be the first to break this to you, but there is a recession going on and a lot of people are selling their excess stuff because they actually need those pennies. It matters quite a bit to them.

i realize pennies matter. But my point was - the last yard sale I had, I would have done better working at McDonalds for the day after all was said and done. The time I took to gather, cleaning tagging items, sitting in my yard - If I had been being paid $10 an hour somewhere I would have come out better. So even in a recession and if was on my last dollar, I would not waste my time on it, but would be charitable with it and use my time doing something that would yield more money, even if it was at McDonalds, or working a few hours of overtime at work, or taking a nightime retail job. Rich people pick up pennies, and realize they matter, but they don't get rich wasting their time on something that won't yeild a worthwhile profit, they see the big picture and use their time wisely.

 

[SandrA9810]

Now that you have moved in the complete opposite direction of the topic... I think we get your point.

Now back to the original idea... any one else out want an opinion on their stuff?

 

[BelleWDW]

Now back to the topic...
What do I do with company logo shirts?? Kari's father gave her a bunch of collared shirts after he retired. She was working at home depot and always had to have a collar.

Why are they shredded?Any ideas on what to do with shredded shirts?

Throw them away-with a logo-worthless, even to Goodwill.

Also-I think you are out of luck with the sheets-no way anyone is buying USED sheets-donate them to a shelter perhaps.

Used stuffed animals that you have to wash? Toss them.Uless, like a previous poster said-they are immaculate and look new.

 

[MrsPete]

And you only have to spend one day outside for like 5hrs, maybe two days... way better than 5 or 6 days outside for 10hrs.

To be perfectly honest, you'll spend 5-6 hours outside on the day of your sale. You'll spend at least that much inside gathering things together and pricing them.

Go to a store, see what it sells for or check online. Price it at half that then be prepared to take another half off if it doesn't sell. So if you see it sells for $100, ask $50 and be willing to settle for $25. that shouldn't be too hard to sell.

Half-price is WAY too high for a yard sale. You're counting on the right person walking by on the one day that you're offering the item for sale. Kids' clothes are a sure-bet; LOTS of people are in the market for them. Tools and waterbeds --fewer people are shopping for those things. Regardless of what you're selling, you have to price things low, or you're going to move them right back into the house.

Most items should be priced at 10-20% their new cost. Items that're genuinely new in the box can be priced about 25% their new cost.

You can price higher on eBay because your audience is larger. However, eBay also takes more effort.

i realize pennies matter. But my point was - the last yard sale I had, I would have done better working at McDonalds for the day after all was said and done. The time I took to gather, cleaning tagging items, sitting in my yard - If I had been being paid $10 an hour somewhere I would have come out better. So even in a recession and if was on my last dollar, I would not waste my time on it . . .

I understand what you're saying: If you really need the money, it's more profitable to bring in extra income. HOWEVER, while that's absolutely true, for most of us getting a one-day job at McDonald's isn't realistic. Putting gently-used items onto eBay or having a yard sale IS a realistic possibility.

The "I could make more at McDonalds money" is hypothetical.
The yard sale money is cold, hard cash -- even if it's not much.
The gas station and grocery stores don't take hypothetical money.

Speaking only for myself, I think I'm done having yard sales. My kids aren't outgrowing clothes at the rate they did when they were younger, and we don't buy replacement household items often enough to garner enough "stuff" for a sale. We just donate to Goodwill, which gives us an effortless tax deduction. We do put aside the occasional "this would bring something" item (for example, right now I have a Lands' End coat that my daughter barely wore, and now it's outgrown), and we re-sell those things on eBay or through a consignment store.

 

[MrsPete]

Now that you have moved in the complete opposite direction of the topic... I think we get your point.

Now back to the original idea... any one else out want an opinion on their stuff?

shop vac -- I'm iffy on this. It's not the kind of thing that typically goes well at a yard sale. People wonder whether it's going to work (have an electrical cord running out of your house so people can plug things in). Put it out. You have nothing to lose.

An old Somma water bed -- The era of water beds has come and gone. People can't even buy sheets for them anymore. Mark it $5 or best offer, and hope that someone'll take it off your hands.

Ryobi tools. There's a hand circ saw, drill, and light. Again duplicate buy for my mother for fixing her old trailer. So we have the battery/charger for it too. If anything it's been barely used. I don't actually know what Ryobi tools are, but I'd guess they're in the same category as the shop vac.

Stuffed animals... Do they even sell on craig's list?? Or just goodwill it? -- Good will. Unless they're some type of special collectibles or unless they have brand-new tags (so that people would consider using them as gifts), they don't sell. Most people with kids have an excess of stuffed animals. OR put them out in a box with a sign "Free with any purchase"

Hmmm . . . I'm coming off fairly negative on these things. I hope these were your "questionable items" and you have other sure-fire things for your sale.

 

[greenpea89]

To be perfectly honest, you'll spend 5-6 hours outside on the day of your sale. You'll spend at least that much inside gathering things together and pricing them. Half-price is WAY too high for a yard sale. You're counting on the right person walking by on the one day that you're offering the item for sale. Kids' clothes are a sure-bet; LOTS of people are in the market for them. Tools and waterbeds --fewer people are shopping for those things. Regardless of what you're selling, you have to price things low, or you're going to move them right back into the house.

Most items should be priced at 10-20% their new cost. Items that're genuinely new in the box can be priced about 25% their new cost.

You can price higher on eBay because your audience is larger. However, eBay also takes more effort. I understand what you're saying: If you really need the money, it's more profitable to bring in extra income. HOWEVER, while that's absolutely true, for most of us getting a one-day job at McDonald's isn't realistic. Putting gently-used items onto eBay or having a yard sale IS a realistic possibility.

The "I could make more at McDonalds money" is hypothetical.
The yard sale money is cold, hard cash -- even if it's not much.
The gas station and grocery stores don't take hypothetical money.

Speaking only for myself, I think I'm done having yard sales. My kids aren't outgrowing clothes at the rate they did when they were younger, and we don't buy replacement household items often enough to garner enough "stuff" for a sale. We just donate to Goodwill, which gives us an effortless tax deduction. We do put aside the occasional "this would bring something" item (for example, right now I have a Lands' End coat that my daughter barely wore, and now it's outgrown), and we re-sell those things on eBay or through a consignment store.

I agree. The Shop Vac and other tools should be priced at about 10-20% of their new price if you want them to sell. Too many stores are offering items like this new at half price for it to be a great deal to someone at a yard sale. I also think the waterbed should be in the $5- or best offer range as a previous poster mentioned. Stuffed animals- if you insist on trying to sell them I would imagine they would go in the 10-25 cent range per item. The collared shirts with logos, again, I agree with a previous poster that these would be best used as cleaning cloths. Women's clothing, depending on the item, if they are at a yard sale I would guess 25 cents up to $5-.

 

[C.Ann]

What do I do with company logo shirts?? Kari's father gave her a bunch of collared shirts after he retired. She was working at home depot and always had to have a collar. But now that she's at Disney, and wears a costume provided to her, we really don't need all these shirts. But he told us we can't just give them away, because some one could impersonate an employee, and that would be bad. Any ideas on what to do with shredded shirts?

Are these made of the same material as a man's tee shirt? If so, don't toss them.. Cut them up.. They make THE BEST cleaning rags!!

Good luck!

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Thow out the stuffed animals. If Goodwill won't even take something there is a reason for it. They can't be washed, they are full of dust mites and no one wants someone elses. It's like buying a used pillow or mattress. Ick. Would you want to buy used stuff animals for your child at a yard sale? No one else wants to either. Don't think about how much you paid for it. They served their time, they worked off their cost. A child must have enjoyed them enough to justify their purchase. Now if you don't want them, they no longer have value. Toss them, enjoy your space.

We just dropped off some old linens at the animal shelter, they also took some stuffed animals we had!

 

[C.Ann]

We just dropped off some old linens at the animal shelter,

Great idea!

 

[NYCDiane]

I have a similar problem. I have a ton of stuff that I want to get rid of ---- some to sell on ebay/craigs list, other stuff to give away on Freecycle (I don't like giving to thrift stores because you don't really know if they're going to put it out to sell or throw it away even if it's in good condition). I just don't have the time to do it! I only have 1 day off a week and that day is usually blown doing grocery shopping or going to the laundromat!

I wonder if it's worth dropping the ebay stuff of at an ebay store?

 

[Magic Mom]

1. Rigid 5gal shop vac. At a yard sale I would pay at most 15.00 for a shop vac.
2. An old Somma water bed. You won't sell this at a yard sale unless you are very, very lucky and the one person in your area that still likes them happens to drive by. You are better off trying to sell this on Craigslist, because it is a bigger audience and someone looking for a waterbed will do a search.

3. Ryobi tools. . If anything it's been barely used. Sell these on Ebay or craigslist, you will get more.
4. Stuffed animals... Do they even sell on craig's list?? Can't hurt to try.

.

 

[jlima]

I work for a non profit that supports its programs with a retail operation.

Logo shirts - Donate them anyway. I see all kinds of logo shirts, from really nice Tommy Bahama and Columbia shirts with embroidered logos, to t-shirts that are uniforms from fast food places. If donated clothing meets the standards, then they will be sold; if not, they will be wholesaled or salvaged, sometimes to other non profits, sometimes sold to vendors who ship them to other countries. If a shopper needs clothes and it's marked 99 cents and it's half price day on clothing, someone will buy it because the price is right; they won't care what logo is on it.

IMO , if your employer tells you not to donate them to charity for security reasons, then they should give you a solution. If it's going to wear on your conscious, then I would throw them away.

Vacuum cleaner - I would look on Craigslist and see what they are selling for in your area. IT IS WORTH WHAT SOMEONE WILL PAY FOR IT.

Water bed - Same thing. The non profit I work for won't take them. A lot of apartments and condos won't allow them. I would run a Craigslist ad with a similar price that others are advertising; and if no one buys it in a week or so, then offer it for free; and then toss it. Again, IT IS WORTH WHAT SOMEONE WILL PAY FOR IT. Not what you think it is worth.

Tools - You can probably sell it for $20 - $30 on Craigslist, to the right person.

Stuffed animals - My employer sells them for 50 cents and $1. Maybe advertise them $10 per trash bag full on Craigslist, maybe a school or someone running a carnival or fundraiser will want them.

 

[Purseval]

Half-price is WAY too high for a yard sale.

Half price is way too high for most items but not tools. I wouldn't price a $50 shirt at $25 ( I wouldn't even price it at $5) but a practically new shop vac is a different story, plus I told her to be willing to knock off another half. I see stuff go first thing in the morning to pros every weekend and all I can say is that if they bought it from you then you priced it too low.

Most items should be priced at 10-20% their new cost. Items that're genuinely new in the box can be priced about 25% their new cost.

again, you can always go down in price but you can never go up.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Great idea!

I would have never of thought of it but our local animal rescue league has a sign out front and they periodically list what the need (i.e. cat litter) and once they listed towels and blankets. We even had a quilted mattress pad that the elastic was all stretched out on the sides and they took it.

I was just nervous that when DH took DD to drop the stuff off they would be leaving with a new pet!

 

[SandrA9810]

I've donated old cages, well didn't look old just no longer had the pet that went in them, to the Animal Shelter. I'll probably take the sheets and towels to them.

The shop vac is sold for 70$ new at Home Depot, so I'll try craig's listing it for 30$. They sell a double pack of filters for the same price as one, so I'll pick that up and put one in there. That's the most expensive part of having a shop vac.

I'll try selling the Somma tubes at 5-10$ a piece. I'm not worried about selling it all together... I'm more interested in selling the tubes, because people that still own that bed, will either want to have a replacement around or need one. And they average 30$ new per tube. I'll have to scrap the cover. Maybe cut up the base and place in pillow cases for a shelter to use. And I've never had an apartment complex complain about us using it or making us pull a policy on our stuff to use it. Unless some one slashes all the tubes at once, it's not going to create water damage like a single bladder one.

The Ryobi tools are Home Depot brand, better than Black & Decker, not as good as say Makita or Millwakee brand. Good for the average home owner to have around for basic repairs. The tool kit new sells for 90$, I'll try listing it at 50$ and throw in some extra bits/blades. We've got plenty of duplicates for some things.

Hopefully some one is looking for this. I'm going to try craig's list, then maybe the newspaper (under a 100$ lists for free).

 

[robinb]

I unloaded a Somma mattress and tubes on Freecycle. It was OUT of my house and that's all that mattered to me .