Every week I dedicate some time on Monday to Minimizing.
I don’t want to be decluttering forever and I’m pleased with how much less ‘stuff’ comes into the house now! But for now, even in our Tiny House, there is still a need to intentionally sort through our things and really consider what deserves its place in our home. I find it helpful to focus on what to keep rather than finding things to cull.
If you are at the start of your Tiny House journey this may be a huge task for you right now! I remember very vividly the HOURS that went into sorting through everything we owned and downsizing into our Tiny.
As you go through and sort things you may be left trying to work out what to do with everything!
First up I recommend sorting things into Piles
- Recycle
- Bin
- Giveaway
- Sell
- Keep
You will likely also need a ‘Maybe’ pile as it can be overwhelming know exactly what should stay and go the first time around. Once you have sorted all your piles deal with the recycling and the bin piles straight away. Check if your local second hand stores are taking donations before you take it around – if they aren’t taking donations try a local women’s shelter, church or list for free on Facebook or Gumtree. The reality is sometimes that our stuff only has value to us and its possible no one will want it. Try as much as possible to seek out willing recipients where possible.
Selling your extra stuff can be a really good way to make some extra money and there are a ton of options to do so. Garage sale, Car Boot sale, FB Marketplace, Buy/Swap/Sell groups, Gumtree, eBay and many more!
If find garage sales probably give you one of the lowest prices for each item on average (everyone wants a bargain!) but it can be a really fast and effective way to move a lot of stuff at once rather than listing them individually (or as groups) online. If you don’t have enough for a garage sale you could look at a car boot sale or team up with others in your local area to have a big group garage sale!
My tips!
Sell big things locally on Marketplace or Gumtree. I’ve found these tend to be the places that bulky things go fastest! We once listed a fireplace on Gumtree and in under an hour I had 13 people asking to collect it! I was really surprised as its one of the most expensive second hand items that I had sold second hand. But watching the patterns that emerged I found local listings to be the fastest and most effective way to sell big ticket items.
Pick the little/post-able things to list on Ebay. If you want to spend the time doing lots of listings Ebay can even be a great place to move $2 items. But I think its helpful to look at what your time is worth too and if you really want to take the time to do that.
Make sure everything is as clean as you can possibly get it. I promise a clean item will sell better than if it is dirty!
Set up somewhere with nice lighting and take all your photos at once. Have a plain background like a blank wall, or clean dining table, or even lay things on a white sheet. Make sure the shot is uncluttered. Mess is distracting and will make your item look dirty and this will devalue your item.
Try to take nice pictures even if you are just using your phone.
This video has a couple simple tips on phone photography
Its helpful to do a Facebook search for any groups specific to that brand (eg Bonds baby clothes, Montessori toys, Planner BST etc). Generally, I find things go fastest when advertised to a highly interested audience. The extra few minutes to find the right group can make a big difference in the sales!
And my final tip is to have a rule about how may times you are going to list something. I list things up to 3 times. If they don’t sell its time to give it away and move on!
Hope this helps!
Sarah
