Decluttering Tips

Lately we’ve been cleaning out – rooms, closets, bookshelves. I thought I’d share some of my decluttering tips.

Luke and I moved from England 16 years ago with only 10 boxes. Somehow we’ve amassed lots of STUFF! I’m no Marie Kondo, but lately I’ve felt the need to rid our home of all the extra stuff.

This decluttering was spurned on by moving rooms around but I think sitting and being in our home over the last few months has made me realize there were a lot of beautiful things we weren’t using or enjoying anymore.

Decluttering Tips

• Decide what things you no longer NEED or WANT.
• Categorize those things in terms of value – is it worth reselling or should you gift them to a friend or donate to a charity?

7 Ways to Get Rid of Your Stuff

Sell Via Facebook Yard Sale

I’ve had great luck selling this way. Take good quality images of your furniture or decor item and post the price. Do NOT give away your address on the listing. Interested parties will contact you directly and organize a time to pick up.

Some things to think about with selling this way:

• Always be sure someone else is home, just in case.
• Some people will try and offer you less upon their arrival. I really don’t like this approach as they’ve already agreed to the price by making the appointment with you.
• Many people post “interested” on the listing for an adrenaline rush with no intention of coming to look at the item.

Sell Via a Yard Sale in Your Yard

In the past we’ve had real success with yard sales, especially when we moved to this house, but over the past few years I’ve found it just isn’t worth the effort to pull everything out of the basement, clean it, price it for people to expect everything to be FREE or a few dollars. Last year we had a yard sale and someone jumped out of the car saying, “What do you have for free?” Another person forgot their baby in the stroller…

Open Studios

When we first moved to this home I had a number for Open Studios where I opened my home to showcase painted furniture and antiques. I loved doing these and meeting local blog readers I didn’t know in person. This was a lot of work though moving all our furniture around and now we just don’t have the space for this.

Consign

I love shopping at and consigning with high end consignment shops. Some of my favorites locally are: Furniture Consignment Gallery, Elite Repeat and B.Home.

Each consignment shop will have an agreement. It’s usually 50/50 or 60/40 and a price is agreed upon when you bring your item into the stop. Usually a price reduction happens after the first month and 2nd one happens after the second month. If your item doesn’t sell you have the choice or retrieving it or donating it to a local charity.

The great thing about consigning is you don’t have to deal with people. You don’t have to worry about people coming to your home or not showing up. You don’t have to worry about haggle price. The other bonus is people are coming to shop at the consignment stores so you have a high chance of selling your furniture and decor items.

Sell to Antique Dealers

If you have vintage or antique items you might want to sell your items to local dealers. Be sure to have good quality photos and know what you’d like to get for your treasures. I’ve had really good luck moving along some of my collections this way.

Donate

Over the years we’ve always given back to charities. We’ve donated to Habitat for Humanity, The Goodwill, and Savers. Just the other week I brought a car load of stuff to Savers. Make sure your items are in good condition before donating. Usually Donation Centers have guidelines of goods they will take. By donating you’re giving back and helping others.

Curbside Finds

Bring your stuff outside and place a FREE sign on it. We’ve done this and people stop. Be sure not to put furniture out when it’s going to rain or it will get ruined. I’ve found vintage books (see above), ironstone, and the beautiful bedroom dresser I painted in Milk Paint this way.

Positive Aspects of Decluttering

• More space in your home.
• Rooms will feel open and airy if you limit the items in them.
• Your collections and treasured items will show up more in your space.
• You may make some money by selling them directly or via consigning.
• You’ll be helping others with donations.

I hope this gives you some ideas of ways to declutter your home!