As you know, I've been cleaning stuff out of the living room. See the photo above? Those books were in the living room...and now they are in the sunroom on the floor. I noticed this because the open space where I used to step to get to the computer is now blocked with these books. In fact, it is HIGHLY likely that when I last cleaned out the sunroom, I moved these books into the living room!I finally get it! (I know this is way too simple, but a huge AH-HA for me)!
You see, I sell stuff online...Etsy, eBay and my own website and I occasionally use Craigslist, too. So when I see stuff I don't use any more, I think, "I can sell that". THIS IS A PROBLEM! I never actually get rid of anything because I see the value of each item and feel compelled to get something for it. I do often give things away but I need to give away MORE! Maybe a guideline if the item is over $10 I can make the effort to sell it, otherwise in the box!
What if I ignored the fact that I might be able to sell these items and just put them in the ever-present "giveaway box". In fact, if I'm short on boxes, why not just use a plastic bag...what if...once a week or every other week I made a deliberate trip to Goodwill for a drop off?!?
GOOD IDEA!
What about this idea...why not host an online garage sale...friends and family can subscribe and look over my junk! That way if anyone wants something, they can tell me! After being posted for one week, into the bag. I'm going to try it...
Michelle, The online garage sale is a good idea. I also thought about having a group trading sale... basically each family set up a table of their stuff that is in good shape but no longer needed. Like a garage sale or more like curriculum sales I have been too, people can go look around at the stuff at each table and take home what they need FOR FREE! It's an idea I have had for years, but have never implemented it.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I do with books, is I take them to Homeschool Potpourri in Kirkland and consign them. When they sell a tab builds up for me and then I take the kids in and find out how much I have my tab which is the budget my kids get to use as they pick out any reading books they would like off the shelves. There are many books to choose from at Homeschool Potpourri.
I am often moving stuff around my house like what you mentioned above. My collection room is my office... I have been feeling overwhelmed and reluctant to dig in... thanks for spurring some motivation to set aside some time for it. I really am enjoying you sharing your process within your home. I love how you are keeping the areas you started with clean on a regular basis. I have been making an effort to do that in my bedroom as a starter for me. My bed is the laundry folding area, so it's kind of important I make my bed daily. That's not something I have done naturally, but have been doing so much better at. While the Lord has been nudging me in my own areas, it's been encouraging and motivating to watch a sister share her process so openly. :-)
Hey Michelle, I don't know if they have this in Washington, but here in Georgia, there are tons of online yard sale Facebook groups for nearly every county in our state. You might also try that. I have tons of books, too. I list a lot on paperbackswap.com and also use their dvd swap. We used to have a store in town that also does book exchange. I would collect credit there and make it a fun outing with the kids sometimes...ice cream and a trip to let them pick out a book.
ReplyDeleteIt DOES help with me finding cheaper books in exchange, it does NOT rid my house of the extra books...I'm only exchanging them. lol
~Rhonda
@Nancy Nancy, I like that idea of a family garage sale!
ReplyDeleteYou're RIGHT! I should take them to Homeschool Potpourri! I've been selling things directly on HomeschoolClassifieds.com but I like the idea of getting them OUT of my house while they are being sold! Thanks for that, I don't live too far from them.
This process has really been about allowing the Holy Spirit to lead me in contrast to "cleaning up" which never has any lasting impact. I find that I'm surprised every now and then that something got cleansed when I didn't have it on my radar. God is so good!
@Mom Hi Rhonda! When I first saw your comment I thought, "My MOM is commenting?!" but it is YOU! Thanks for visiting!
ReplyDeleteMy husband collects books...any books and they are all crammed in our bedroom! I really am committed to REMOVING my extraneous books so I haven't done the swaps in the past, but excellent idea! And I want to check out the Facebook garage sale thing, too.
I think my husband would LOVE doing a homeschool lending library, he would go nuts with glee (he's a database engineer).
Off to check out Facebook garage sales! Thanks Rhonda!