How did you get rid of your stuff?

[mayble]

Those of you who have purged everything from an old S&B life, how did you do it?
Yard sales?  Estate sale/auction? Craigslist/ebay? Charity?
I'm guessing everyone does some combination of selling things and giving things away, but did you put a lot of effort into selling and was it worth it?

So how did you do it, and how did it work out for you?  How would you do it differently if you were starting again?

 

[Mobilesport]

I sold everything on Craigslist for approximately 50%  thru 85% of what I paid for it new , some things that were in demand more around 85%  ,,,, my brand new bed I think I got 45%
Everything sold fast

 

[Almost There]

I didn't have a lot of valuable stuff to get rid of. Most of my furniture was either freebies or really cheap stuff bought from W/M when I had to move in to the apartment under 'emergency get away from the live in partner' era.

The desk/office furniture and book cases went to a g/f who was needing a home office. The deep freeze went to another g/f whose freezer was in deplorable condition. The microwave stand went to someone who was just starting a move in to a new space and needed one. My clothes closet was gone through thoroughly by another g/f who was the same size and height as me...her partner cursed me because of the load of clothes she inherited...   So on and so forth.

I sorted through what was needed in the van, what I wanted to keep (collectibles, good crystal and some stuff my youngest will appreciate) - I have a cargo trailer that I use for storage.

The rest got packed up for a yard sale. I shared the driveway at a g/f's place and between us we did really, really well. She's moving and I had all that stuff I didn't need. We made over $800. at the yard sale.

What I had left over from the yard sale was divided between trash, a bunch went to the church rummage sale and I kept a few higher value items to put up on C/L - they were really too pricey for a yard sale anyways.

 

[IanC]

I'm in the process now. Everything is being divided into; Ebay, CL, yard sale, donate or dump. Things that will do better with a national buyer base - Ebay, some large things - CL, attic, garage and surplus kitchen -yard sale. My main furniture will stay until the house sells and then another round of disposal. My clothes are so beat up that the most desperate third world person would be insulted if I PAID them to take them, so definite dump candidates. Also, I've been putting a couple of cans full at the curb every week. I cleaned the garage last weekend as a staging area.

Since right now I'm pretty much living off the proceeds of selling things my mentality has changed a bit. Things I used to throw away -if I can get a buck at a yard sale, it's a buck towards groceries.

My biggest dilemma is the few pieces of really nice art that I've collected - probably little value except to me. Might ship them to my sister.

 

[Wanderer]

Those of you who have purged everything from an old S&B life, how did you do it?
Yard sales?  Estate sale/auction? Craigslist/ebay? Charity?
I'm guessing everyone does some combination of selling things and giving things away, but did you put a lot of effort into selling and was it worth it?

So how did you do it, and how did it work out for you?  How would you do it differently if you were starting again?

I'd have sold quite a bit before I moved out of Mom's house....Then gone to MO......Kept some stuff, but some got damaged and then gave it away...Now have NOTHING that I remember from the past 16 years....

 

[mockturtle]

All of the above.  When I still had a house, I used Craigslist for bigger items like my kayak, power tools, etc.  My kids took some items.  Most I just donated.  What was left, I took to the dump [just yesterday].  Don't do what I did and keep a storage unit for two years! 

 

[Mobilesport]

All of the above.  When I still had a house, I used Craigslist for bigger items like my kayak, power tools, etc.  My kids took some items.  Most I just donated.  What was left, I took to the dump [just yesterday].  Don't do what I did band keep a storage unit for two years! 

Old clorhs can be converted to rags

 

[mayble]

Thanks all of you for your input. I really need some motivation and direction so I can see progress!
I'm really trying to avoid the hassle of selling stuff - the sorting, cleaning, advertising, dealing with buyers, etc.  I'd rather give the stuff away than have a string of yard sales, because my sanity is worth more to me than a couple hundred bucks.
I'm leaning toward having an estate sale after I've picked out what I want to keep, with a professional handling everything for a percentage of the proceeds.  The problem with that scenario is that I have to keep every little thing until then, which may be a year away.  Everything from furniture to paper clips are fodder for these sales, with half empty rolls of foil/plastic wrap and household cleaners apparently very hot items.
At any rate, my kids won't have much to deal with when I'm gone - just swing by Goodwill and empty the van before selling it

 

[mockturtle]

I'd rather give the stuff away than have a string of yard sales, because my sanity is worth more to me than a couple hundred bucks.

 
Amen to that!

 

[Madpeep]

I had belongings stored at several locations, since I haven't had a place of my own in years. I'm currently house sitting a two story, three bedroom, completely empty house. Perfect for downsizing! I brought everything I owned and placed it all in the master bedroom (empty). Then made the living room the "hold onto" room and the dining room the "sell" room. As I went through items in the master bedroom, I would move them to other rooms. The "hold onto" room had two sections. Keep and give away. "Keep" had two criteria. I need this to live and/or I need this for income on the road. Everything was put into piles and labeled (keep, give to mom, dad, etc). Everything that I wasn't holding onto for now went into the sell room or was thrown out. Paperwork I didn't need anymore, instruction booklets for devices that broke, stickers, postcards, old worthless stuff was all thrown out. Really was't that much to toss. Anything that had any sort of value that friends/family didn't want went into the sell room. New and/or pricey items that are easy to ship are going up on eBay. Everything else will end up on CL. I'm still working on it, but it's going well so far

 

[Cheli]

I'm going through then process now myself. This weekend my sister is going to help me sort everything to sell and I'm going to post it on CL and FB. After that, whatever doesn't sell will go to either donate or trash. I have a whole house with a lot of high price items/furniture so I'm hoping I can rack up a good amount of savings to start my new lifestyle, but we'll see.

I'll let you know how it works out.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

 Don't do what I did and keep a storage unit for two years! 

This should make you feel a little better.

My dad's best friend has always been a nomad at heart and has done quite well traveling and doing finish carpentry ever since his kids moved out and he got divorced about 12 years ago.  He just got rid of that storage unit last year.  12 years worth of payments for worthless junk, mice took over everything in there.  He said he set it up to withdraw the payment every month so he never really thought about it and that's why he kept it for so long. Happened to be traveling back to Maine for a wedding and that's what prompted him to empty the unit to stop the payments.

 

[DesertDweller]

We've had several yard sales in the past year, so we're now down to "bare bones" living until the house sells, or we rent it out. What remains will either go into the RV, listed on craigslist for free, or donated. We've got a truck, a car and a boat still listed for sale on craigslist, so hopefully they'll all be gone, too. It's quite a freeing experience to unload all that stuff! I remember asking myself what I was thinking to keep so much "stuff" all this time? I could have had many lovely steak dinners instead of useless crap I spent money on. Go figure! 

 

[Stephen]

We too are going through that process. My wife keeps giving away (mostly to our children) the things I thought we could sell and get some money for. What we have left is small ticket items that IF we have a garage sale will probably net us $1.50. My wife has a heart of gold, but isn't big on asking others for money even if it in exchange for something like our couches! Well, at least things are leaving and not sitting here collecting dust anymore. I just hope she keeps me!

 

[Van-Tramp]

Yep, Craig's List for as mush as I could (earned some good cash that way), then donated the rest to local thrift stores.

 

[steamjam1]

Those of you who have purged everything from an old S&B life, how did you do it?
Yard sales?  Estate sale/auction? Craigslist/ebay? Charity?
I'm guessing everyone does some combination of selling things and giving things away, but did you put a lot of effort into selling and was it worth it?

So how did you do it, and how did it work out for you?  How would you do it differently if you were starting again?

I threw everything I owned into a dumpster sans my tools, important paper documents, a pot/pan/stove, and two or three changes of clothes. I didn't even take any kitchen utensils, bowls, or plates with me. (Mostly cause I forgot) At that point, I just didn't care anymore.

The only thing I'd change if I had to do it again is not being in such a darned hurry.

 

[Cheli]

We too are going through that process. My wife keeps giving away (mostly to our children) the things I thought we could sell and get some money for. What we have left is small ticket items that IF we have a garage sale will probably net us $1.50. My wife has a heart of gold, but isn't big on asking others for money even if it in exchange for something like our couches! Well, at least things are leaving and not sitting here collecting dust anymore. I just hope she keeps me!

My sister keeps yelling at me because I keep trying to do the same thing.  She'll say something "if you don't sell that I'll buy it" and then I'm like "just take it".  She said I can't be doing that because I have a lot of things I can get good money for so stop trying to give it away.

I'm the same way as your wife, I feel bad asking for money.....even if it is something of value and I'd want the money for it.

 

[mayble]

My sister keeps yelling at me because I keep trying to do the same thing.  She'll say something "if you don't sell that I'll buy it" and then I'm like "just take it".  She said I can't be doing that because I have a lot of things I can get good money for so stop trying to give it away.

I'm the same way as your wife, I feel bad asking for money.....even if it is something of value and I'd want the money for it.

Talking with some folks at work the other day I jokingly suggested instead of pricing things for a yard sale that one could just put out a donation jar.  Take what you want, pay what you want

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea.

Generate some interest on facebook, craigslist, put up flyers, etc telling folks about your plans to get rid of everything and hit the road, living a mobile minimalist lifestyle.  I think you'd have a lot of curious shoppers and probably raise a fair amount of money without having to haggle with the bargain hunters.

Heck, if someone did that in my neighborhood I'd go just to donate a few bucks and not take any stuff.

 

[rvpopeye]

I like that idea , I'm in the group that has trouble asking for money , I'd rather volunteer than ask for pay......

I was thinking of sitting on a corner with my guitar and let people donate to keep me from playing it!!

Getting rid of stuff is a problem we all have at one time or another hope you have luck with yours.

 

[MrNoodly]

I sold the things I knew there was a demand for on eBay. I sold a motorcycle to a friend and parted out the other on a forum for that particular motorcycle. I donated my furnishings to a charity. I gave clothing to another charity. I gave my books to the library. I gave away a lot of computer stuff to a neighbor who was starting a home business. The rest went in a 20 cubic yard dumpster.