Money, Honey! It’s that simple.
How does less stuff equate to more money?
First, know that every time you buy something you do not need or love, you are throwing away your money. Getting control of impulse buying can certainly save you money.
Next, if you have bought things you no longer need or love, don’t pay money to store them just to keep them out of your space. One in ten U.S. households rents a storage unit. It’s the fastest growing real estate segment over the last 35 years.
Last, you may be able to retrieve some money by consigning or selling items. The average woman has 27 pairs of shoes; the average man has 12. Men and women have on average 88 articles of clothing each. Of these clothing items, 25% are typically unworn. Clark Howard in today’s AJC talks about getting rid of stuff that you no longer use and making a profit. For clothing he suggests consignment stores, for furniture he suggests Craig’s list, and for antiques he suggests eBay.
There is an estimated $15 billion in unused tech gadgets in junk drawers worldwide according to IKEA. Clark Howard suggests the following sites for getting rid of electronics.
Glyde.com for gadgets and games
Gazelle.com for Apple products, plus Android, Blackberry and other phones
Gizmogul.com for selling old phones for cash and donating to charity at the same time
NewtonsHead.com for Apple products, even damaged iPhones
BuyBackWorld.com or BuyMyTronics.com for all electronics
NextWorth.com for phones, camera, tablets, and games
Swappa.com for Android devices
If you don’t want to go to the bother of selling your items, you can also donate and get a tax write off.
Not only will you make money by getting rid of your excess “stuff”, you will also feel so much lighter. Enjoy that extra space!
Jonda S. Beattie Professional Organizer