My Great December Purge

[Lj Unlimited]

I would like to thank Bob and everyone who has posted their tips on getting rid of excess stuff. 

I started my purge of "Stuff" in earnest on Dec 1st. While I am not even close to being to the point of being able to fit everything in a vehicle, I have made good a good start. I took a trailer full of things to the county landfill, and another to a Goodwill donation center. 

Where I am having issues in in selling stuff. I spent 3 hours at Bigby Coffee using their wi-fi (I live in dial up country) posting to Craigslist. Craigslist is great for some things, hell I had calls in 10 minutes for a bunch of 1950's Lionel train stuff and made 6 bills within the hour. I have sold a lot of sporting goods as well in the last few weeks as well. But I am not getting any replies for more common house hold items. Most are 5 to 10 dollar items. All are in good working order and clean. Any advice on how to sell this?  Or would I be better off taking them to Goodwill and getting a ticket for tax time?

 

[Reducto]

Small dollar items are hard to sell on craigslist. People aren't searching for things they can buy new for $10 and it's not worth the drive for them to buy one thing. The only success I had with that sort of thing was to post higher dollar items like furniture or power tools and lots of smaller items at the same time. In the listing I'd make sure I pointed the two to each other People showed up to buy the couch and bought cheap lamps and whatnot while they were there.

Otherwise, Goodwill or freecycle are probably your best bets.

 

[dhawktx]

The less expensive 'useful' items usually do well if you can find the local online classifieds or a facebook 'virtual yard sale' for your area.

 

[MrNoodly]

All my small appliances, pot & pans, dishes and utensils (and most of my furniture) went to a local charity that, among other things, helps set up battered women in new apartments.

Sure, it would have been nice making some money on a pile of $10-or-less stuff, but I realized it wasn't worth my time and energy. So I donated it and took the tax deduction instead. Besides, if I were having a yard sale and a woman came up and told me she needed some dishes and utensils because she was running from her abusive husband, I would have let her have whatever she wanted.

 

[GotSmart]

Salvation Army.  I know the money goes to doing good for the homeless there.  

When I cleared out of my last place, I kept making trips to the curb, but the pile never got any bigger.     Word spread... 

10 trips of the good stuff went to the no kill shelter thrift store.  

Three days of yard sales, and still we had too much stuff left.

 

[highdesertranger]

for the low dollar items a garage sale works. price the items to move and they will go quick. highdesertranger

 

[TMG51]

When I got rid of all my stuff, anything worth less than $100 went away free, to a thrift store, or in the trash. I also lived in a city though, so anything I didn't want I could leave on the curb at night and the homeless would cart it off for me.

 

[Lj Unlimited]

Thank you for all the replies. I am out in farm country so a garage sale wouldn't attract many visitors. Facebook has less appeal to me than rap/hip hop. So I guess from here on out I am taking TMG51's advice and just donate the small stuff. As for what's left when I sell the house, I will include it with the house if my friends and family do not want it.