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Updated: January 2024
With the new year in full swing, a lot of us are decluttering our homes. Joe and I just did the ultimate purge. I did a lot of research in advance to figure out where to donate what, what to sell and what to trash. Fortunately I only needed to do it once and now I can refer to it every time I clear out my home. I hope these decluttering tips help you with a fresh start this year!
DONATE
- Goodwill: Goodwill accepts clothes, shoes, hats, gloves, scarves, mittens, books, DVDs, games, glassware, kitchen tools, linens and blankets. Basically they take most of the items around your home. You can always double check their website for the most up-to-date list. Also, make sure to confirm that the location near you has a donation center (and check their hours). Some locations are just stores so make sure you check before you go. Also, make sure to grab your donation form for your tax write off.
- Savers: Savers accepts accessories, clothes, shoes, electrical appliances, exercise and outdoor tools, kids toys and games, kitchen goods, knick-knacks, media and small furniture. As per my suggestion with Goodwill, you can always double check acceptable items on their website.
- Animal Shelters: Animal shelters can always use your old blankets and towels. Also, you can donate pet food and toys. Check your city for local animal shelters. I live close to the Humane Society 🙂
- Food Banks: Clear out your pantry and pull out any canned goods, unopened boxes, spices and condiments. Donate to your local food bank! For San Jose locals, check out Lighthouse Food Rescue and Distribution. They accept new, unopened food. They set everything out for patrons, almost like a grocery store.
- Women's Shelters: Declutter your beauty products (makeup, skincare, hair products and tools). Donate any unopened products and tools to your local women's shelter.
SELL (CLOTHES)
- Clothes, Shoes & Jewelry: ThredUp is a great resource for selling clothing. They are an online secondhand store. You can order a "clean out kit". Sadly there are more fees attached to this process than there previously were. You'll have a $14.99 fee deducted from your earnings. You'll also need to pay $2.99, if you want them to mail you a bag. There's an additional $8, if you want rush processing (2 weeks). Fill it up (30 pounds max & no more than 60") and drop it off at your local USPS. I actually just learned that you can schedule USPS pick ups! Once ThredUp goes through your bag, they will price items they think they can sell. They will list those items and you will get a portion of each sale. Any unaccepted items can be donated or returned to you (for a fee).
- Social Marketplaces: Honestly, I wasn't sure what to call this category. Social marketplace was what came up on Google so let's go with that. These are apps where you can sell new and secondhand items. You do get to set your own price and the app usually covers shipping but they take a portion of your sale. Check out Poshmark, Depop, or Mercari to sell your unwanted items.
- Consignment Stores: Crossroads, Plato's Closet, and Buffalo Exchange are the three stores I'm familiar with. I used to sell clothes at Buffalo Exchange when I lived in New York. I discussed it more in this post.
SELL (LUXURY GOODS, BOOKS & FURNITURE)
- Luxury Goods: There are a couple secondhand luxury consignment stores I love: TheRealReal and Fashionphile. I've consigned with TheRealReal and had a great experience. I haven't consigned with Fashionphile but I am a customer and have no complaints.
- Books: Look for a local used bookstore to sell your books. You likely won't make a ton off of them but it's a great way to get them out of your home. It's nice to know someone else will enjoy them! For San Jose locals, I recommend Recycle Bookstore. I've consigned books at both their San Jose and Campbell locations; San Jose is easier for parking. Double check their buy back hours before going - they are different than their regular store hours. Can't sell everything? Drop those books off at Goodwill or a Little Free Library.
- Furniture: I sold a fair amount of furniture when we moved from the East Coast to West Coast. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to sell our furniture. We had the most success with Facebook Marketplace. Craigslist was ok - we got a lot of hits but barely anyone actually followed through. Also, my company has internal local groups for selling goods. I didn't have the best luck because we were living in Jersey City and my office was in New York City. I think if I'd been closer or lived where more people drive, it would have worked out better. More recently, I was able to sell some large furniture on Facebook Marketplace in San Jose. I actually sold our previous couch within a few hours!
TOSS
- Broken Electronics: Search "ewaste recycling near me" to find local recycling centers. Make sure to check acceptable items before you go! We just dropped off our ancient DVD player (10+ years old!) and a broken Nutribullet. It's great to have these unusable items out of our home.
- Unusable Items: I doubt this needs to be said but any items that are completely unusable need to be trashed. I'm talking about ripped, stained, or damaged clothing and shoes. Of course, also get rid of items that wouldn't be hygienic to donate, like underwear.
I know this is long so thank you for sticking with me! I hope you got some good decluttering tips from this post.
