For starters, I didn’t sell EVERYTHING I owned. A few things I kept that were important to me and I use frequently are: My mountain bike, my two vehicles, automotive tools, workout equipment, camping/hiking gear, electronics like laptop, phone, drone and camera and miscellaneous household items like coffee maker, pots/pans and necessities. I did keep one large painting, although I am debating on selling that too. My reasoning behind this is simple: I just don’t want stuff anymore. Clutter I see as useless, stuff that just holds me back, stuff I have to keep clean, organize or move around. I found having more stuff to be more stress. I want freedom to go wherever, whenever and not have to haul a semi-trailer around of personal belongings. So, I donated and sold my belongings to trade for freedom. Here is how I did it.
Step 1: Lose Emotional Attachment
By far the hardest and most important step. We often find ourselves holding onto belongings because of a memory with them, a place we got them or someone you love got it for you. Whatever your reason may be: if you can live without it, or if it has been stored in a closet or junk drawer, let it go. I mentioned previously on how I moved my favorite shelf across the country, only to end up giving it away after it got damaged.
Although, this was not the hardest thing for me to let go. The hardest thing was my kitchen table. This table was my first big gift from my father. He not only bought it for me, but he helped me put it together. He wasn’t around most of my life (long story) but in my later years, he is here. This little father daughter project meant a lot to me, more than the actual table did. It was a big, beautiful dark wood table that sat 6 people. I am only one person, I don’t host much for company visits let alone to dinners. So, the table went with everything else.
One important thing to remember is chances of you missing whatever you get rid of is very slim. I can hardly remember all the stuff I got rid of that I thought I wanted. My memory with my father putting the table together will always be there, but owning the physical table never crossed my mind while climbing Angels Landing or riding quads in the Oceano Dunes. Once the possession is gone, most of it will be forgotten.
Step 2: Set Goals
Everyone will have a different goal. Mine was to reduce my belongings I have to store in a storage unit while I travel and try to figure out my life. For others this goal could be to reduce clutter, move to a new home, setting a different home theme, get some extra cash, etc. You do not have to set extreme measures and sleep on your bedroom floor with no TV like I did for a month. Set a goal, do what is best for your living situation. Set a reasonable time frame to achieve your goals. Depending on how much stuff you have, this will take time.
I gave myself 6 months to get rid of everything. The most time consuming was listing the individual items and either packing/shipping them or meeting in person.
Step 3: One Room at a Time
Don’t overwhelm yourself by looking at the big picture and how the heck you are going to get rid of everything. Take it one step at a time. Go through one room very thoroughly during your spare time. Every tote, box, drawer, shelf, under bed, closet, each individual item. Determine what you want and don’t want, but don’t over think it. You can do one room a day, or one room a week. It’s surprising how much stuff you find that you forgot you even had.
Step 4: Sort Through It
Set up a space where you can place items you want to sell, donate, trash or keep. Some items such as clothing, toys and bedding are easier to donate than sell. Larger items like furniture, tools and household goods are easier to sell. Things to trash would be your favorite pair of socks with the hole worn in them and broken or worn items. Myself personally, throwing things away was hard because I just thought of all the waste in our landfills. This has taught me a lesson I will forever hold; don’t buy things you don’t NEED.
Did you know: We only wear about 20% of our clothes? Most of our closets are full of clothes we don’t like, don’t fit right, or are worn out.
Step 5: Get Rid of it
There are numerous ways to get rid of your items that you don’t trash. It’s very easy to use donation centers like Goodwill, Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity. You can also Google local donation centers and ask if they are taking anything. For the things that you don’t want to trash but cannot be donated, I will use my bed for example, you can give away. Within 25 minutes of posting my used but in good condition bed for Free on Facebook Marketplace, someone reached out to me and picked it up the next day. People love free things.
Another easy, but slightly time-consuming task is setting up a yard sale. This can be hard depending on time of year and location, but at the time I posted in Central California on a weekend that I was having a yard sale almost everything was gone within 3 hours. I pocketed $220 just by selling small items/clothes I did not want. I also advertised on Craigslist and Marketplace that I was not selling anything over $5. This attracted a HUGE crowd that came and scooped up 95% of what I had. I had one box of free stuff that a guy came and took the WHOLE BOX! He didn’t even look inside of it, just took it all. Hence the phrase “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Was a win win for both of us. Everything from shoes, pants, rugs, cups, decor, gone. Easy.
My theory was anything not worth much was easy to sell in a yard sale or give away. Anything I felt was worth more than $5, I sold on Craigslist or Marketplace. The larger dollar items were quick to sell if I listed them at competitive pricing. If you want things gone fast, you have to price accordingly. If you have time to sit and wait, sure, try to get top dollar just be very descriptive and post multiple bright and clear photos. Don’t be lazy about your listings.
Most popular places to sell used items: Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, OfferUp, Poshmark, Garage Sales and Thrift Stores.
Step 6: Keeping it Gone
Christmas, birthdays, parties, boredom shopping and all of the above. Perfect excuses to get more stuff you don’t need. I promise, once you get into the habit of not wanting so much stuff, this will be your lifestyle. One thing that helped me was telling my friends and family WHY I am getting rid of things and that I do not want physical gifts for any special occasion. It’s a waste of money for them and a waste of space for me. The most important gift someone can give me is their time, travel vouchers or beef jerky.
As far as purchases for yourself. Next time you are at the store or browsing Amazon or see an add, think to yourself:
“Do I need this?”
“What will I gain by buying this?”
“How much time did I spend working for this purchase?”
Time is money. Do you really want to spend your 2 hours of work on that new phone cover? Even though the phone cover you have works just fine, it’s just less fancy. Just remember NEED vs WANT.
Enjoy your freedom from stuff holding you back. Cheers!
