You Cleared Out the Clutter; What Comes Next?

The great thing about decluttering is that it (hopefully) leads to a giant pile of items that will be leaving your home. The bad thing about decluttering is…that it leads to a giant pile of items that are still in your home. You can picture it; can’t you? You’ve spent the past several days or weeks going from room-to-room in your house deciding what can go and what must stay. As you choose items to get rid of, you throw them in a collective spot. You feel good about the pile forming in this spot and are happy to watch it grow with each item you add. Then, you’re done! The cabinets are clear! The closets look great! Under the beds are empty! Drawer bottoms can be seen for the first time in years! But now you have a giant pile of unwanted items lingering in the corner of your freshly decluttered home.

It’s likely the world’s weirdest collection of junk: mountainous stacks of clothes best left in the late eighties, a broken dining chair, eight old storage baskets that came with your hand-me-down credenza, enough mismatched mugs to supply a teacher’s lounge for a full year, three jumbo pool inflatables still in the box, baby clothes that were never used (because Aunt Sharon doesn’t have the best taste), an heirloom China cabinet, three flannel sheet sets of varying sizes still in the packaging, a Santa and Rudolph shower curtain, every dead iPod and cellphone you’ve ever owned, and… you get the idea. It’s a lot. And it is intimidating. But you cannot let this pile slow you down. It’s best if you deal with this pile immediately after decluttering. Here are some things to keep in mind as you work to get rid of this pile after you’ve created it:

We don’t believe a garage sale is ever worth your time or effort (read why here). But if you can’t bear to donate or simply pitch all of it, you could give an online marketplace a go. Today there are numerous specialized websites for selling unwanted items. Poshmark or private Facebook groups are the marketplaces best suited for higher-end clothing and bags. PangoBooks is a user-friendly, high-traffic application for used books. Etsy is the best spot to list aesthetic vintage finds. Stillwhite.com will help you sell your old wedding dress. Records and/or CD collections may find a new owner on Discogs. Electronics can be swapped for cash on Decluttr or through Amazon’s trade-in program. And of course, there are marketplaces such as eBay and Mercari that will allow you to list just about anything for sale. Here’s the thing: that pile? It’s going to sit there in the corner of your home a lot longer if you attempt to sell off each item one by one. Listing on these sites may produce a sale…sure! But they will come with a commission fee, the hassle of packing the item for shipment, a trip to the post office, and potentially a lengthy wait.

If you want your items gone quicker, you may be better off listing them on a local platform such as Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. These options are free-to-list and you can arrange for a local pick-up, so no hassle with shipping is required. If it’s an item someone has interest in, you may encounter a quick and easy transaction and come out with a bit of money. However, you’d likely make more per hour babysitting. You’ll have to spend time creating the listing, dealing with inquiries, organizing meet-ups (reorganizing meet-ups after no-shows), and arranging payment. In the end, donating the small stack of books to a local public school may have felt better than the eight dollars you made selling them to someone online.

Depending on your local options (and the items) consignment could be a more time-efficient way to shrink your pile. If you have larger pieces such as furniture you no longer want, selling to a local consignment shop is a good way to rid yourself of it quickly while still walking away with a little something to show. Many consignment shops for children’s equipment and clothing offer cash on the spot for items still in good shape. And you can take gently used books to resale shops such as Half Price Books for a little cash back. Be forewarned: these types of resellers will only offer you a very small fraction of the current retail value of your items. (The idea is that they’ll be selling your item for half the retail cost, thus they typically pay you out 10-25% of that number). But it’s a solid option if you’re able to unload a large quantity of items at one time without much work on your end!

Everyone wants to believe their things are nice. That someone would be thrilled to inherit them. That the kids will fight over each discarded item trying to stake their claim. And this is unfortunately not the reality. The majority of older/antique items you find while decluttering are not worth anything. Sure, we all hear the occasional human-interest piece about that old painting inherited from Grandma turning out to be worth thousands. But we hear about these instances because they are rare. If you think you could be one of the lucky ones, do a quick online search to see current value. On a website like ebay.com, you want to look at what the item has recently sold for, not what the current listers are asking. And pay attention to the number of listings! If there are currently 6-7 pages of that vintage Fisher Price Loving Family 1993 Dollhouse figure listed for $9.99? You’re better off not wasting your time.

If you have an antique item you’ve already decided to get rid of? Get rid of it! Don’t let the second thought of a potential hidden goldmine hold you back. As opposed to being sold, these older items are typically best donated. If you’re holding onto the idea that an older item may be valuable (despite the fact you’ve already decided you don’t even want it) you’ll likely never find a buyer willing to pay the value you’ve set in your head for the item.

You know what they say: one man’s clutter is….someone else’s problem now! It’s time to talk donating if you have no interest in letting the pile linger a day longer and you have no qualms about letting it go for free, or if you’ve already failed to sell it. At the end of the day, the goal is to get it out of your house, and giving items away is the most effective way to do so. You could consult a local online platform and find a “Buy Nothing” group or Freecycle network. You may even strategically list items in groups and stipulate that items must be taken together to offload more items at a time.

Or, if you’d rather give less interactively and more anonymously, there is a plethora of charities that will take your cast-offs. Of course, there are the big-name donation centers such as Goodwill, The Salvation Army, The Free Store Project, and Matthew 25 Ministries. But there are also many other specialized organizations to give unwanted items to. Electronics you no longer need can be donated to Computers with Causes or World Computer Exchange. Byebyemattress.com will take old mattresses off your hands. To make the most of your donations you could divide the pile up and give to a variety of causes. Old clothing may be most appreciated at a local women’s shelter. Schools & libraries are typically giddy over book donations. Art studios are almost always happy to take unique odds and ends off your hands to use as supplies.

If your pile is impressively large (good job!!) or includes heavier, bulkier items such as furniture, you may want to enlist the help of a junk removal service. Between 1-800-Got-Junk, College Hunks Hauling Junk, and Junk King you have several options. And, depending on the items, you may be able to schedule a free pick-up with GreenDrop, Habitat for Humanity ReStores, or Pickup Please (which works with U.S. Veterans). You’ve already done the heavy lifting around the house by decluttering, now let someone else come in and remove it from your life altogether.

Many people believe the hardest part of decluttering is deciding what to get rid of and that isn’t always true. In a world where minimalists are idealized, and millennials have no interest in inheriting their parent’s clutter (or habitual need to collect clutter of their own) the hardest part is finding a new home for everything you’re getting rid of. Our experts can not only help with the decluttering process but are also happy to come in after you’ve decluttered to help with the next steps. If you’d like to pick our brains for anything junk-removal, a local charity, or consignment related please reach out to info@sortedout.com. We’d love to help you say, “good riddance!” to that giant pile of junk currently occupying the corner of your dining room.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Tonia