Comments on: Ask Unclutterer: Sell or donate?

By: Spring Cleaning Roundup | OMFG

Spring Cleaning Roundup | OMFG — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:41:18 +0000

[...] cleaned out the closets. What to do with the stuff you don’t want, but might not be trash? Unclutterer’s Ask Unclutterer: Sell or Donate? Brokelyn’s response to yours truly’s inquiry: Where can I get decent cash (or some [...]

By: Malc

Malc — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 08:43:05 +0000

If you have a bunch of unwanted, but still working pens (or pencils, rulers, erasers etc), there are kids in Africa desperate for these to help with their education. All it will cost you is a stamp.

We have 4 voluntary not for profit organisations that collect pens, and will ship them to underprivileged children in Africa.

http://www.pensforkids.com USA
http://www.pensforkids.co.uk UK
http://www.pensforkids.dk Denmark

You can also make a donation to help with the shipping costs if you wish, details on each of the sites.

Your unwanted pens can make a big difference.

By: Red

Red — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:31:25 +0000

Erin, it surprises me that your threshold for selling items online is so high! I’ve sold things for $3 before! Of course, I don’t use eBay. I don’t like the inconvenience of going to the post office. Craigslist has always been a hassle-free way for me to make some extra money on clutter. Sometimes it takes a little while for an item to sell. And, true, you have a larger audience with eBay. But I like that Craigslist is free. You can post up to four photos of an item. And people can meet you to pick it up. I certainly don’t invite strangers into my home though. Like @Christine said, I don’t like that idea. So I meet them at the gas station at the end of the road instead. But any profit is worth it to me!

By: Christine

Christine — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:19:30 +0000

eBay works best for me. It takes me about five minutes to list an item and you should only see the things I’ve made money on. I sold one doll that I owned from my childhood for $300. Do some research before tossing your items out – you might end up making more than you think! I don’t like the idea of craigslist because I really don’t like the idea of people just coming over to my house. However, everyone I know who’s listed items on craigslist has been successful! Any items that I can’t sell on eBay get donated to Goodwill as long as they’re in good shape

By: When is it worth it to sell something? - Simpler Living - timesunion.com - Albany NY

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:15:03 +0000

[...] Unclutterer gave its guidelines for making that decision: 1: Log onto eBay and find out how much money a similar item recently sold for on the site. [...]

By: Bonnie

Bonnie — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:53:58 +0000

I donate quite a bit to Goodwill and the like. I do throw away my worn-out underwear, etc. and would never donate it. (Side note: My mom used to use (clean of course) holey underway as dusting rags!) I’ve never sold anything on eBay or Craigslist, and I’ve never asked for a receipt at Goodwill. I agree with the previous posters who said “good karma”! For me, I don’t need a tax reduction when I’m helping others AND de-cluttering my apartment. I do sell back some CDs, DVDs, and books to my local used/new music and book stores, for which I either receive cash or credit.

By: Katharine

Katharine — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:20:42 +0000

Our local thrift store also encourages beyond-use clothes and shoes. They recycle them and use the money to pay some of their part time employees. I love that nothing is being wasted and that they are being good stewards.

We put our bulkier items in our front yard (we live on a well-traveled road in a small town) with a FREE sign, and they are always gone by the end of the day. Great as we’ve remodeled our bathroom, exchanged our swingset, and gotten rid of our college furniture collection.

E-bay used to be a wonderful way to get rid of stuff, but as others have said, it just isn’t worth it (or fun) anymore : (

By: gayle

gayle — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:16:23 +0000

Books: if at a loss, contact the librarian at your state prison. They will often take them, but they have strict procedures for sending them in.

Half-used shampoo and lotion: Before donating, can you use it for something else? Hand-wash clothing? Otherwise, for lotions you can try the local day care or nursing home. The caregivers wash their hands all day and appreciate the lotion. The nursing home might take the shampoos/conditioners, or a local battered women shelter. They definitely take travel-size stuff if unused.

Freecycle: love it! Almost everything has gone, the people come to me to get it and are grateful. I’ve given lawn mowers, book cases, christmas tree, VCRs and other electronics.

And… yes, don’t sweat the receipt. Go for the karma and bank it. Pay it forward, ya know!

By: Nancy

Nancy — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:44:21 +0000

This is an interesting article about how thrift stores operate and what they do with everything they can’t sell. It’s from the Sunday issue of The Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_11365083

By: Beaner

Beaner — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:30:55 +0000

I generally give stuff away and have never sold on e-bay or Craig’s list. Not that I wouldn’t, I just haven’t had anything big to get rid of. Here’s were my stuff goes:

books and CD’s: I use Swaptree.com to trade my books, CDs and DVDs for other ones I want. It is free and you just pay the shipping. Works great! I’ve also given some old books to the library if no one wants to trade for them.

National Geographic Magazines: The ones we don’t want we give to the local library. They LOVE them because they sell fast during their fundraisers.

Everything else (clothing, toys, and miscellaneous beauty products, etc.) goes to Safe Passage, which is a service for abused women and children. They have a few homes in the area where they house women and children that need a temporary place to live, so they gladly accept shampoo, toothpaste, and the like, and of course clothing and toys. I shop sales and buy things like toothpaste when it is free or better than free (the store pays me to take it home) using coupons, and then donate those things if they won’t get used at my house. I’ve never given partly used shampoo, etc., but I’m sure they would accept it if I did.

By: Michele

Michele — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:36:50 +0000

While decluttering my bookmarks (irony!) I re-discovered this article with tons of links for donating to specific-needs groups:

http://www.marthastewart.com/a.....ntent_home

By: Viv Evans

Viv Evans — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 04:42:04 +0000

Ben, I’ve done vermicomposting, and it’s very easy. The big surprise is how sweet the earth smell is – very much like turning over garden soil in the spring. I did mine in a plastic bin under my sink. I know some people put their contributions in the blender first, but we never did. You quickly learn how much is too much to add and that a few orange rinds keep things fresh.

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 03:13:10 +0000

One of our local non-profit thrift shops also accepts stained, torn, etc. clothes that they sell to a wholesaler for rags or fabic recycling. Call around to see who might in your area. Fabric will sit in the landfill forever, so it’s best to avoid that option of possible.

Between Freecycle, craigslist, eBay, non-profits, and libraries, etc. (plus composting and curbside recycling) there is really very little that should be sent to the landfill.

One of my plans for the spring to to begin vermicomposting. I’s reading up on it now to make sure I get the right setup.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:31:46 +0000

Because my business is helping people downsize my partner and I deal with the sell or donate question frequently. I almost always donate my own things. I’ve sold several things on Craigslist but there is always some hassle involved. For example, yesterday I listed 2 items and immediately got 6 responses. I called all the people who responded. One wanted to trade, two said they would come immediately but didn’t show and 3 never replied.

Most of our clients are enamored with the idea of selling online. They soon get disillusioned.

Donate to some great cause – it’s a win-win!

By: Jenzer

Jenzer — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 15:12:38 +0000

I’m experimenting with doing “freecycle” within my Facebook network. Last night I posted a note listing three items that were below my eBay sale threshold but still in usable condition. One of the items was claimed within an hour.

I’m in the same position as jan — living in a semi-rural area where donation centers are not easily accessible, and Freecycling means driving long distances to drop off or pick up items. In the past, when I tried Freecycle to pass along items, I ran into problems with no-shows. By using Facebook, I’m working with people I trust to come pick up what they want, and I don’t mind paying to ship smaller items out to long-distance friends.

Re: unlikely places to donate items … my local library has been grateful to receive ball-point pens and pencils that we had in excess (my husband travels a lot, and tends to come home with lots of freebie pens from hotel rooms). Having worked in libraries myself, I know that patrons are constantly asking to borrow pens from the circulation desk, and often those pens don’t come back.