What to Do With Your Stuff After You Declutter

Apr 8 | Household Tips

What to do with your stuff After you Declutter. Organizing tips.

We live in a townhouse that is less than 1,000 square feet so it doesn’t take long before I’m feeling overrun by stuff.  Especially with a toddler in the house.  I usually have no problem adding items we no longer need to a pile in our room, it’s the getting it out of the house for good part that I’m not good at.  Okay, I’m just lazy actually 😛  But once I get off my behind and do something with the stuff, I’m happy with the extra cash I can get from most items!

This post is for those of you who need help knowing what to do with your stuff after you declutter.

Facebook Buy & Sell groups

This is my current favourite method for getting rid of stuff.  It takes less effort then some of the other options.  I simply take a picture, upload it to the Facebook group, add a good description and my price.  I usually have someone interested pretty quickly. Often times I have the buyer come to our home, but other times I meet them in town if I’m doing an errand anyways.

There are several Facebook buy & sell sites for our city, which I found by seeing friends that joined these groups.  You may also have success in finding a group by doing a search within Facebook using the terms “your city” Buy & Sell, or some variation on those words.

Consignment

Consignment stores are another way I like to make some extra cash with my unwanted stuff.  Consignment stores take your things and sell them for you and offer you a percentage of the purchase price, can’t get easier than that!  So far I’ve only brought in clothes and shoes, but I’ve enjoyed stopping in at the store occasionally to pick up my cash!   At the store I bring my clothing to, I earn 50% of the purchase price.  I also have the option to pick up the clothes that never sold or allow the store to donate the items to a local thrift store.  I opted for them to donate my stuff, because frankly, I don’t want to have to deal with my clothes again!

Here are four tips for selling on consignment.

Kid swaps/Sporting good swaps

Our city has a twice yearly kid and baby stuff swap, which I’m sure happens in most cities around Canada.  Individuals have the opportunity to rent a table for a small fee in hopes of selling all their unwanted baby/kids clothing, gear, and toys.  Since I’m not ready to part with our baby things yet, I haven’t actually taken part in one of these.  Though, I did shop at one when Sienna was a baby.

Our city also has an annual sporting goods swap that I’m sure other cities also do.  These swaps are a great way to get rid of any old ski/snowboard equipment!

Kijiji/Craigslist

Because I’ve had great success with our local Facebook buy & sell sites, I haven’t ever used Kijiji or Craigslist to sell anything.  But, these sites are still a great way to get rid of stuff and make some spending money!  Sites like Kijiji and Craigslist are great because there are never fees to list your items.

I’ve got a few tips for successfully selling stuff online here that may interest you.

Garage Sale

The traditional garage sale is also a fun option to consider when it comes to selling your things.  While they do take quite a bit of work, garage sales are a great way to sell things, especially if you have a large quantity of stuff.  Every couple of years, my mom and I team up to host a garage sale with all our things.  It’s fun because we spend the day together and help each other out!

Here are 10 Tips for a great garage sale.

Thrift stores

Quite a bit of our stuff goes to thrift stores, especially when I don’t want to take the time to sell everything.  Just drop off a box or two and I’m done with it!  I like to take our things to a thrift store that directly benefits our community.  So if this is important to you, make sure you research your local thrift stores to see what their community involvement is.

Trash/Recycle

Finally, if I’ve exhausted all other options, the final resting place for our things is the trash or recycling.  But, this is only the case if the stuff in question is actually trash (not useable) or recyclable.

What is your favourite way to get rid of your unwanted stuff?

3 Weeks to a Spring Clean Home: Task 12

Apr 8 | Household Tips

3 weeks to a spring clean home

Are you ready to get your Spring Clean on?  I am!  For the next three weeks, I’m setting aside some time to complete one task a day to be on my way to a cleaner home.  I’d love for you to join me!

Task 12

  • Clean kitchen drawers.  Empty each drawer, throw out the garbage and purge any unnecessary items.  Wipe out each drawer. Replace items in an orderly fashion.

Never have I appreciated our small home as much.  I only have three kitchen drawers to clean! 🙂

As I go along, I’ll be purging items that I see we don’t need or use anymore.  I’ll either put them in a donation box or try selling them on a local Facebook Buy & Sell site.

Get your FREE printable checklist

I’ve put together a printable checklist for you to reference over the next three weeks.  If you’re interested in getting this free printable, sign up here for the Spring Cleaning email list!  Along with the printable, you’ll receive an email each day with that day’s task and my end of the day update.  There will also be useful articles for Spring Cleaning thrown in.  At the end of the challenge, I’ll also be putting together an ebook that you will be able to get access to if you’re signed up for the Spring Cleaning email list!

Will you be joining me today? If so, leave a comment below!

3 Weeks to a Spring Clean Home: Task 11 Update

Apr 7 | Household Tips

3 weeks to a spring clean home

Today I managed to clean the microwave, stovetop and oven quite easily! The oven didn’t need a super duty clean because I recently did it.  All I did on the stove top was take off the knobs to clean behind them.  I threw the knobs into a sink full of soapy water.

stove before after

For the microwave, I used my lemon technique that I outlined here.

When I clean my oven, here’s how I do it with only two ingredients!

How did you do with today’s task?  Are you ready for tomorrow?  Let us know in the comments!

3 Weeks to a Spring Clean Home: Task 11

Apr 7 | Household Tips

3 weeks to a spring clean home

Are you ready to get your Spring Clean on?  I am!  For the next three weeks, I’m setting aside some time to complete one task a day to be on my way to a cleaner home.  I’d love for you to join me!

Task 10

Can you believe we’re starting the last week of Spring Cleaning tasks?  I hope your home is felling cleaner already!

As I go along, I’ll be purging items that I see we don’t need or use anymore.  I’ll either put them in a donation box or try selling them on a local Facebook Buy & Sell site.

Get your FREE printable checklist

I’ve put together a printable checklist for you to reference over the next three weeks.  If you’re interested in getting this free printable, sign up here for the Spring Cleaning email list!  Along with the printable, you’ll receive an email each day with that day’s task and my end of the day update.  There will also be useful articles for Spring Cleaning thrown in.  At the end of the challenge, I’ll also be putting together an ebook that you will be able to get access to if you’re signed up for the Spring Cleaning email list!

Will you be joining me today? If so, leave a comment below!

How to Clean Your Microwave in 5 Minutes or Less

Apr 7 | Household Tips

Cleaning the microwave can be pretty gross at times, especially if it’s been a while since the last cleaning.  Who likes to scrub all that baked on food anyways?  Well, simply using a cut up lemon, some water, and only a little bit of elbow grease, you can have a sparkling clean microwave once again in no time flat!

Cleaning the microwave can be a messy task. But here is how you can easily clean the microwave in 5 minutes or less!

Here’s how to clean your microwave in 5 minutes or less:

  1. Pour a cup or two of water into a microwave safe bowl.
  2. Slice a lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the water. Drop the lemon halves into the bowl.
  3. Microwave the water and lemons for about 3 minutes, or until you see the water boil.
  4. Once the water has boiled, do not open the microwave door, let it stand for about a minute so the steam can coat the inside.
  5. Open the microwave door and carefully remove the bowl with the water and lemons.
  6. If your microwave has a turntable, lift it out and wipe it clean.
  7. Next wipe the inside of the microwave starting with the ceiling and the sides. Finish with the bottom, making sure to sweep out any crumbs.
  8. Finally, don’t forget to clean the door!

If you come across spots that won’t easily wipe away, simply dip the corner of your cloth in the bowl of lemon-water and scrub away until the spot disappears.