My Move Diary: #5 Clearing the Clutter and Making Some Money

    The best thing about packing to move is that you're forced to go through everything you have and make decisions on what stays and what goes with you. Choosing wisely can save you money.
    If you read my previous post about choosing a mover, you know that most reputable movers charge you by weight. So, once they give you an estimate, you can conceivably lower the cost of your move by lowering your weight (but make sure you know if the mover has a minimum weight limit).
    That was plenty of incentive to ditch stuff I didn't use, want or need.
    I went through all my closets and created 3 piles a la "Clean Sweep" -- a makeover show on TLC -- a keep pile, a trash pile and a sell pile. There was very little in the "trash" pile and I went through the "keep" pile more than once to identify things to sell.
    This is the tricky part -- actually selling everything.
    There are lots of ways to go about this, but I was pressed for time and, frankly, I'm lazy when it comes to this stuff.  I just want to get rid of what I've got without doing a whole lot.
     This is what I did:

1. Sell online. Books and CDs I didn't want I listed on www.half.com, an eBay site. It's faster and easier to sell these kinds of items on Half.com than on eBay, but you might not get as much money for them as you would with an auction. I've already sold a CD and four books.
2. Hit up your friends. I sold my Nintendo Gamecube plus two games to a good friend in New York. She paid me via PayPal.
3. Hire some help. I hired eBay "trading assistants" to sell bigger items on eBay. I've tried to sell things on eBay before and it was just too much trouble for me. Plus, I feel like amateurs like myself will only see their auctions ignored or eaten alive by eBay nuts. So, I went to some folks who do this all the time. I read a local news story about two women who sell things on eBay for people and use the proceeds to fund their charity. I contacted them and they came to my apartment, going through all the items I wanted to sell: a Harmony bunny lunchbox, a one-of-a-kind coat made by an African designer in New York, GAP jeans that were too big for me, a J Crew dress and on and on. I know they'll be able to fetch much higher prices for my junk than I would. And it saved me a TON of time. While this does make life easier, keep in mind that trading assistants get commissions -- a bite out of your auctions. But anything they can't sell will be considered a donation to their charity and I can write it off come tax time (I even get a receipt).
4. Use a consignment store. I took some designer suits that no longer fit to a local consignment store specializing in women's fashion. This also made my life much easier, but they get a whopping 50% of the selling price for my clothes.

    Long story short, being lazy like me will mean you won't get all the money from your sales, but I think I'll still come out better than I would have if I just sold things myself or donated it all to charity.
    There's also the yard sale option, but once again, that was more time and effort than I wanted to spend on clearing the clutter from my place.
 

Comments

[leanne]

Great post! We should all do this every once in awhile, even when we aren't moving! :) Hey, just think of it as everything you are clearing out, you aren't paying to have moved. A penny saved, is a penny earned! :) Good luck with your move, I hope it all goes smoothly!

[panasianbiz]

I stumbled across your blog while I was doing some online research. It's a proven fact that being surrounded by clutter impedes creativity and productivity. Perhaps we should all remember Thoreau's advice: simplify, simplify!