Try donating your stuff prior to selling.
Get in the giving spirit and donate what you can (you can’t sell everything!)
Selling stuff sounds great in theory—get rid of all the things you currently don’t need, want, or use, and make a buck (or several hundred). What could be better?
But the reality is that all that pricing, mailing, tagging, and organizing takes energy and effort, whether you’re visiting an online marketplace or hosting a good ol’ fashioned garage sale.
According to Monica Friel, organizing expert at Chaos to Order in Chicago, people often expect that selling their stuff is going to result in a hefty financial gain.
Chances are, it’s not.
“People think they can easily sell the basics for a good amount of money,” Friel says. “It takes a lot of work to put items on eBay or Craigslist or something similar and to manage those listings. Secondly, buyers are looking for a good deal, so often the tax writeoff is the same amount and less work.”
That goes for used appliances, gently used clothing and furniture, dishware and flatware and beyond. Your collection of designer handbags and your barely used Crate Barrel sofa? See the “Sell Your Stuff” section below.
Tips for donating items in your house full of stuff:
1. Put some thought into the causes you’re giving to:
Yes, you can take everything to your local Goodwill or nonprofit-owned second-hand shop. But consider what you have to give, and find a nonprofit that could benefit from your stuff.
- Your art supplies and crafting tools may be invaluable to a summer camp or after-school program. Your tools and extra appliances might be much appreciated at a soup kitchen.
- There are also numerous organizations that take old things and give them new life. Take The Blue Jeans Go Green Program, which upcycles your old denim into insulation. Some stores, such as Madewell, will even give you $20 off new jeans when you donate your old ones to The Blue Jeans Go Green Program.
- You may have nonprofits in your community that accept wood, windows, trim, furniture, hardware, fixtures and beyond in your neighborhood or city. Think Habitat for Humanity Store.
- Donate your items through Freecycle.org, a nonprofit network made up of thousands of groups and millions of members that collectively are the “largest internet-based gifting community” in the world. Through Freecycle, you can gift any item that can be reused. Simply join your local Freecycle community to post your “Offer,” and you’ll receive emails from groups or individuals in your community who are interested in the item. You get to select who you’d like to give it to and arrange the exchange.
If you have the time, make some calls and find the right cause for your donation.
2. Your trash is not always their treasure.
You also want to make sure you are donating what a charity needs and wants, so don’t force your “generosity.” Again, call and ask before you drop anything big off, like your old Macintosh from the 90s or lethally heavy Tube TV. You don’t want your donation to cost the organization money because they are forced to haul it away. You might be better off putting large electronics, for example, at the curb with a large trash sticker for pickup by your city.
3. Find a loving home for your most-loved stuff.
Sometimes donating doesn’t mean dropping off a big box of stuff to a local nonprofit. It may mean finding relatives who want your vintage T-shirt collection or friends who’d love to get their hands on your massive British murder mystery library. Similarly, think about the people in your life who may be in need. Consider your church or your office, your friends or co-workers who may have suffered a loss and no longer have the basics.
4. Post a “curb alert” on Craigslist.
It’s not the classiest way to get rid of unwanted stuff, but desperate times call for having strangers haul free stuff from your curb. Consider putting an “I need to get rid of XYZ” post in the “free” section of Craigslist’s For Sale category. If you want to simplify even more, put your stuff on your curb with a “free” sign and post a notice on Nextdoor or Facebook Marketplace.
Next week, we will discuss how to sell the valuables.
See more at…https://www.homelight.com/blog/how-to-sell-a-house-full-of-stuff/
P.C. Turbotax