De-cluttering is never easy, especially if you have an emotional attachment to many of the items you need to move on to a new home. You have been through the process of sorting out what must go and what can stay, but the problem is that you don’t know how to go about the next stage of the process.
To help you through what can be a bit of a minefield, it is important that you take sensible steps towards getting the most out of this as possible – and hopefully add a few dollars to your bank balance while clearing some space in your home.
#1 Find out if you are sitting on any hidden treasures
The first thing to do is see if anything from your ‘go’ pile is worth selling rather than donating it or throwing it away. You can do this easily by using marketplace sites like eBay and checking out the prices for similar items on there.
It is important though that you don’t fall into the trap of seeing what price things are up for and thinking yours is worth the same, as these aren’t the amounts things have sold for. Instead, go into advanced search and select the ‘sold items’ tag – this will give you a more realistic idea of the value.
#2 List your items on the right platform
eBay isn’t the only site around, although it is a great starting point. Depending on your clutter, there are typically specialist sites where you can get a little more from people who know exactly what they are looking at.
Either way, you need to describe what you are selling in as much detail as possible, making the most of the best points and not forgetting any imperfections and problems. Plenty of photos can take a lot of the ambiguity out of the situation, and remember to leave yourself time to answer any questions, especially if what you have is quite expensive or bulky.
#3 Think about how it gets to its new owner
In cases where it is expensive or bulky, you might have concerns about putting it through the local postal service, and the thought of looking for a specialist shipper might put you off altogether.
However, by looking at sites where you can post shipping work for shipping companies to bid on, you can find the right people for the job. Knowing that box is tacked means you don’t have to just sell locally, and you have peace of mind that it will get to the other end in one piece.
A few final thoughts
De-cluttering and parting with items that have been part of your life for a while can be trying – but this can be tempered in part by finding out that some of the goods have more than just sentimental value.
You can find this out by researching what you have at hand and then make the most of it by listing it with plenty of photos and having a specialist shipper on hand to take it to the new owner.
