Lately I’ve been on a tear of letting go: Letting go of STUFF. Stuff that’s accumulated over the years, lurking in the basement, in the garage, in closets, on shelves, in drawers, waiting patiently to be noticed and used. Now and then I’d look at it and think, “I ought to get rid of that stuff… But it’s too good to throw out! And besides, I might want it some day…”
Yeh, right. And so the STUFF has sat gathering dust over the years.
But no longer! About a month ago I began dragging the STUFF out of the darkness of neglect into the light of stern assessment: Use it or lose it. With a thumb on the scale of lose it. And so the trashman saw his burden increase from my humble abode. With each bag of STUFF decluttered from my home, my spirits rose.
But wait! Some of that STUFF really is too good to throw away. Why not pass it on to someone who could use it? So all the clothing that no longer fit my body or my needs went into the charity bins dotting the landscape. Which left a lot more STUFF needing a new, appreciative home.
Enter Freecycle: http://www.freecycle.org/ – As its homepage describes it: “The Freecycle Network is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them’s good people). Membership is free.”
I joined. Joined two groups, in fact. And more STUFF found happy new homes, often with my pick of multiple responses. So far I’ve given away an SLR camera and accessories, a roll of aluminum screening, old horse magazines, cowboy boots, Jorgensen Pony spring clamps, umbrellas, a bicycle helmet, cat-chewed plants, a CRT computer monitor – and there’s more to go! Today I’ll post a steam iron, a teapot, and a light table. Someone somewhere out there will want them and be delighted to get them. I’ll be delighted to lighten my burden and my soul by giving them away. The local landfill will be unburdened by their presence. Letting STUFF go – it’s all good.
Ah, yes - the joy of purging. Hubby and I learned a very valuable lesson from TLC’s show “Clean Sweep” (of all places) - things are not memories. It’s been very helpful for both of us to remember that as we purged when we bought our house and afterwards when we realized that we didn’t have room for all of the leftover stuff because we no longer have a basement.
It’s a good idea! I’m browsing around the site right now. I have to wonder though…does it take long to hook up with someone to take stuff off your hands? And would you get a good response during garage sale season?
I wish I could get rid of a bunch of my husband’s stuff. He’s a real pack rat.
We’d already kept our wardrobes fairly clean just by annual purges that went to Goodwill. Then Katrina hit and we had urgent requests from friends of friends that pretty much depleted everything but our everyday and very best items. Then my cousin’s house burned to the ground. They lost eeeeverything. After getting them back on their feet our remaining effects now are so picked over that we’re actually in need of replenishing some things ourselves. I really enjoy the simplicity of our situation though. I can find anything in nothing flat.
Take long? Heh. The first items I posted were the computer monitor and the SLR camera and accessories. They both got multiple responses within minutes of being posted. Almost everything, in fact, has had more than one response. If for whatever reason an item you posted doesn’t get taken, you can repost it after a couple of weeks.
I dunno how it would go during garage sale season, but since it’s free as opposed to whatever you’d pay at a sale, I’d think you’d still get takers.
No clue how “garage sale season” affects it… I can’t imagine going to the trouble of retrieving other folks’ crap to sell at my garage sale (I’m guessing that’s what you meant).
However - usually when I list something even remotely desirable, I get multiple responses within an hour. Might take a couple of days before they actually come over to pick it up though. Only once or twice, when I’ve had something less-mainstream, have I had trouble getting rid of something. Once, a kitchen sink - really - that I myself had gotten off of freecycle then decided I couldn’t use; another time, a set of ankle weights; when I gave away a chandelier, it took posting to two local groups before I found taker.
I’d considered doing that, and I might, with stuff that’s small/light/easy to ship but likely to bring a good price. Most of it, though, wouldn’t bring enough of a return to justify the hassle. I’ve sold on eBay in the past and it’s all been good so far, but the packing and shipping part is the hassle for me.
Matter of fact, I had a pair of kick-ass bright red soft leather Italian boots, with blue/green/white parrot appliques on the sides, that I’d ben planning to sell, but when I talked on the phone to the woman who wanted the cowboy boots, I asked her if she’d like them, and she said yes! Her husband loves parrots. So there they went.
I haven’t posted anything myself, but I like to browse Freecycle to see if anyone needs something that I’ve got. Got rid of an old coatrack that way. It was unsellable because it was missing some of the hooks, but it turned out to fit someone’s needs perfectly.
Another occasional freecycler here - I’ve given away some great stuff, and have received some in kind. It doesn’t seem particularly seasonal.
I’m not at all a packrat and it makes me uncomfortable to have lots of stuff around.
However if it’s small and I think it’ll sell, I put stuff on eBay.
I got divorced last year and after splitting up all of the stuff, we were left with a huge amount of things. Piles of clothes, books, furniture, wedding gifts we never used. We’re talking half a garage full. I gave it all to various local charity thrift shops and got a big tax write off.
It felt great to get rid of all of those things, the wife included. (Just kidding, hon, if you ever read this.)
I recommend offering mystery boxes on Freecycle, first come, first pick, general description of types of stuff being stored but no peeking. Keep offering till they’re all gone. Don’t, whatever you do, look inside any of the boxes.
Thanks for your tales, everyone, you’re really inspiring! We’re moving sometime this summer, and I’ve pledged to get rid of 20% of our crap before that move. How will I know when I’ve hit 20%? I dunno. Maybe when I can walk without stepping over things!
I’ll have to check out freecycle - it sounds like a great system.
I actually said something about this in another thread the other day.
My mother died almost a year ago. She was a packrat, and a bad one. Since I was the oldest, and the only one in the state, I got to take care of everything. Here in Maryland you have to bring in someone to value everything, and then either sell it or keep it. My mother’s house was around 1400sf, and was packed to the brim with stuff. She even had a one car garage and a 10x10’ storage area that she paid for.
I spent two weeks off of work, every day too, so almost 14 days worth of cleaning up the house and helping to get rid of stuff. Because clothes do not sell I donated them, two pickup truck loads. I also got rid of almost a ton of trash at the dump.
Then they came and took everything else to be auctioned off. There were four 24’ trucks that came out, well two acutally, but they came twice. They were packed and still not everything fit so they brought out a trailer for a couple of larger items.
When all was said and done everything in the house “made” around $8000. After all the fees I ended up paying someone $31 to do it all so I lost money on the deal. Plus because the house had to sell at auction as well I had to sit around all day watching things get sold. That’s not easy, and to watch people act like vultures looking for “deals” on her stuff.
From that I learned a lot. One, I sure as hell do not need a lot of crap, and there’s no reason to have a storage area. My mother had a lot of “antiques” that she said was worth a lot of money, they were not. Two, most things that you think are worth something probably are not. The most expensive items were the washer and dryer and riding mower, both of which were new and she still owed money on so I owed even more then. Third, all that crap I think is part of the reason my mother died, she was always stressed about her house and money.
I figured part of how my mother could of had a lot more money had she not bought all this crap. She had that storage area for at least five years. It cost $100 a month, so that’s at least $6000 she could have saved right there. Had she not bought all the stuff in the storage area it would have saved even more, but I don’t know how much she paid for it all.
Next was the house, because of all of the stuff the house was a wreck. I estimated that it would cost at least $100,000 to fix it all up. Had she not had all the stuff in there I know it wouldn’t have been so bad, but if you have a room packed with stuff and something leaks, then everything is ruined.
I don’t really like to talk about the money, and I’d much rather have my mother around, especially since she died at 51, but between my brother and sister we would have made a lot more money had she not gotten all that stuff.
Since then I’ve changed my ways, I get rid of most everything I can. I’ve been to the dump a number of times, gotten rid of clothes, and the other day called Got Junk. My house looks much cleaner, because it is, I have more room, and I feel better. I’ve still got a ways to go, but a lot of what I have left are clothes that I’m trying to figure out what I want, and a lot of old Star Wars toys that I’m getting rid of on eBay right now. Hopefully over the next couple of weeks and months everything will be gone.
I’m not saying don’t collect stuff, far from it. Hell I have a ton of Indiana Jones stuff, but now that everything is cleaned up I can display it nicely. That’s the point, if you want something use it or look at it, don’t keep it boxed up. I plan to only have a couple of boxes of halloween and christmas stuff, and maybe some Star Wars stuff for the kids, but only a handful of boxes. Plus once the basement is totally clean we might put up a projector to watch movies.
There is good news to all of this, my half sister now lives with my father, who is not her father, and is doing well. She might even be better off because she doesn’t live in a dirty house, and her grades have gone from Cs, Ds, and Fs, to As and Bs. She might be able to get into a four year college right away, but even if she doesn’t she’ll at least be able to go to one at some point if she wants to. She could have never done that before.
So for all of you people who like to keep stuff, I say get rid of it. Donate it or just junk it. At some point in time, either you or someone you know will have to go through it all, and after someone dies is not a great time to do it. Take your money now if you think you have something and maybe keep somethings, but keep them so you can see them or use them.
I’ve put up some pictures here. The first one is my old room, the next one is one of the truck loads of stuff I took to the dump, then a picture of the auction, a picture of one of the four trucks, and a picture of the garage. Some of these pictures were taken after I had already cleaned out parts of the house.
Sorry if this post is so confusing, I’m trying to get the little one to sleep.
