Destashing ideas??

[katt95]

New to this board, but I so need to get busy, both with the finances and the house. I have hopped on the coupon train, borrowed Dave Ramsey's book and reading it now. Now on to the clutter in the house. How do I begin? Any ideas? My husband and I both work full time and have a 15 year old daugher. We are all packrats and it is driving me crazy!!!

 

[lovesmurfs]

I got great information from flylady.net, but the best advice she offers is "You can do anything for 15 minutes!".

Set a timer, and see how much you can get done in 15 minutes -- it's amazing. And you're not taking so much out that it takes forever to put away again.

 

[weluvdizne]

I have been working on this as my New Year's resolution. So far, so good. It is the first resolution I have kept up with for this long into the year. I have been selling things on Amazon, and E-bay. Both very easy. I earned enough money for us to take a 3 day - 2 night vacation to an indoor waterpark, and had money to spare. I have also been gathering things to sell at a yard sale when the weather finally breaks around here. I have not tried Craig's List yet. I think that's my next project. Since I started destashing, I have really analyzed any purchases thoroughly so I don't have to try to destash more stuff. As I sort through things to get rid of, if I am not sure if I want to keep it or not, I just think of it in terms of - do I need it, or would I rather put that money it would bring me towards a Disney trip? It works. My garage sale pile is getting quite large.
There is also a destashing thread on this budget board that I follow and it gives me great motivation to see others making progress!
Good luck. If you have any more specific questions, ask away. Also, I'm open to suggestions and ideas, too!

 

[mrsklamc]

It's all too much by Peter walsh is great at helping let go of the extra junk.

We've also noticed on the destashing thread that it seems to be contagious- once we started our families seemed to join in.

 

[Justsyd2]

Set goals. Do one area at a time. It's much easier that way. You can even mark it on a calendar; Saturday is bathroom day, Sunday kitchen cabinets, etc.

 

[jmartinez1895]

I hate clutter, but live with some pack rats. One of the rules in our house is when your cleaning things out and the words " I forgot I had that " come out of your mouth, then it you don't need to keep it.
Good luck with the Ramsey method with your money. I am 3 months in and loving it. I used our tax refund to pay off some credit cards and I should be free from credit card bondage in 3 years.