You have finally done it–you have decluttered either a room or the whole house, but now you are staring at the pile of things that didn’t make the “I love it and use it and therefore I am keeping it” pile.

Your family could always do with a bit of extra cash and the items in the pile sure could create some if you resell it–but should you?

 

How To Decide Whether To Resell it or Toss it?

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Be 100% percent honest with yourself when pondering each of the points below–if you are you will be happy with the outcome whether you tossed the clutter or decided to resell it.

When to toss

Toss it if  you simply do not have the time to take on the task of re-selling your items.

Toss it if  you can’t come up with a small financial goal you can reach with the sale of the items.

Toss it if  you are the type who steals from the throw out pile if it sits in your home too long.

Toss it if  you have no place to store the items until they are resold that isn’t a part of your main living space.

Toss it if  you have a history of saying, “I am going to resell these,” and then never do.

Toss it if  the amount of money you would earn from selling an item divided by the amount of hours it takes you to list it and sell it is less than your target per hour rate of return.

(For example, I set mine at $10 per hour. Any less and I just don’t feel it is worth the effort since it takes me at least an hour to clean, list and then deal with buyers. If I can’t sell the item for $10 or more it goes straight into the giveaway box)

Toss it if  the items are causing you emotional or relational stress.

Where to toss it

Obviously the type of items I am referring to in this article have plenty of value left in them–otherwise you would not be considering reselling them.

That said, your choices of places to toss your items are:

Give them to friends

Giving items to friends can be an opportunity to pass on a blessing or a chance to pass on a curse. Make sure you are doing the former and not the latter. You don’t want to get rid of your clutter by making it your friends’ clutter.

(Marie Kundo in her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing talks about this problem extensively. Although I found some things in the book quirky, I do recommend reading it if you struggle with clutter)

Ask yourself –-Has my friend asked for an item like this in the past? Have I seen her/him using an item like this? Have I seen her/him admiring this? If the answer to these questions is no, give the item to charity instead.

Donate them to a thrift store

There are so many thrift stores to donate to. My favorite ones are local thrift stores that support local needs in my area. Of course there are other things to consider, such as ease of drop off.

If you are the type of person who has been known to take things out of donation boxes before you get them to the drop off center, then perhaps the best choice for you is the closest drop off center.

If you are the type of person who puts the items near the front door to donate but they never seem to make it to the drop off center, then the best thrift store choice for you is one that does pick up.

Get creative

There are many more ways of donating items beyond friends and thrift stores.

When my sister was a college student she observed a homeless person digging through a dumpster near her home. She decided to put a bag of clothes she no longer needed on top of that dumpster that next week. Sure enough, she saw the homeless lady the following week wearing some of the clothes she had left for her.

I get numerous free, and almost free,  paperbacks through Tyndale Rewards and Paperback swap. It gives my thrifty bookworm heart a thrill to leave these books in Little Library boxes whenever I see them. I keep a bag in the back of my SUV at all times and place books in it as I read them so I am ready whenever I see a Little Library with room for donations.

When to resell

Resell it if  you can find either a day in the next month to have a yard sale or a three to four hour block of time each week you can devote to selling the items through other avenues until they are all gone.

Resell it if  you can come up with a financial goal that you know you could reach with the sale of the items.

Resell it if  you are not at all inclined to take things out of the sale pile and keep them.

Resell it if  you can find a place to store the items until they are sold that isn’t in your main living areas.

Resell it if  you are truly willing to put in the effort to clean up the item, research what it is worth, list it, and go through all the steps of getting it sold.

Resell it if  the hourly wage you will get from the sale of item is worth it to you.

Resell it if  having it in your home while you sell it isn’t bothering you or someone else in any way.

Places To Resell It

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