getting rid of stuff

[mlktwins]

So...I have read many and participated in some of the decluttering threads on here.  I am in the mood to get stuff out and am participating in an indoor group yard sale this weekend (with my old twins group).  I have tagged a lot, sold $187 worth of stuff on FB this week, and will still have stuff to go through.

 

Here is one thing that holds me up -- how to dispose of stuff.  Do you just toss the junky little trinkets your kids have collected over the years?  Old pez dispensers, little wind up toys?  What about crayola paints that were never opened (may be dry by now) and other art supplies?  I feel bad just tossing, but who wants this stuff?

 

What do you do with stained/torn clothes?  Trash?  Is there a place to recycle this for the fabric, etc? 

 

Do you have a price point where it's not worth it to you to try and sell it?  Where it just goes to the Salvation Army or something?  We have a transitional housing facility not far from me and I used to love to donate stuff there thinking the kids were often leaving their houses with nothing.  They no longer take donations :-(.

 

I'm 50 and am at the point in my life where we are going to have to deal with my dad's and my IL's houses in the next 5-10 years (if not sooner).  They are not hoarders in that their places are piled high with stuff, but they haven't gotten rid of much over the years.  I want stuff gone from my house before I have to deal with their stuff.

 

Thanks so much!
 

[Elizabeth86]

All I have to add to this is I keep a ton of trinket junk toys in a couple different bins as my kids have the BEST time when this junk comes out. I guess it depends on your kids and how old they are, but my kids get a lot of use out of this. On the bright side, if yoy want to trash it, I'm sure they'll accumulate more.

[mlktwins]

All I have to add to this is I keep a ton of trinket junk toys in a couple different bins as my kids have the BEST time when this junk comes out. I guess it depends on your kids and how old they are, but my kids get a lot of use out of this. On the bright side, if yoy want to trash it, I'm sure they'll accumulate more.

 

They are 12 -- LOL.  I'm being tough and not bringing a lot of new little junk in.  Hard when trying to fill stockings at Christmas.

 

I am keeping nicer stuff. Geotrax for example, and they start playing with those when they see the bin.  I'm just tired of little crap all in their drawers and all over the playroom floor -- LOL.

 

LEGOS have invaded my house though.  We are trying to get those organized somehow.  I am not selling their Legos.

[bibiche]

What do you do with stained/torn clothes?  Trash?  Is there a place to recycle this for the fabric, etc? 

 

Textiles can - and should - be recycled. You can look here and here for links, or contact your state department of Energy and Environmental Affairs to see if they have a textile recovery program.

 

Clothes should absolutely not just be thrown in the trash.

[umsami]

For stained/torn clothes like shirts and stuff, I do what my Mom and Grandma did and put them in the rag pile and use them for cleaning.  Saves on paper towels. 

[Elizabeth86]

They are 12 -- LOL. I'm being tough and not bringing a lot of new little junk in. Hard when trying to fill stockings at Christmas.

 

I am keeping nicer stuff. Geotrax for example, and they start playing with those when they see the bin. I'm just tired of little crap all in their drawers and all over the playroom floor -- LOL.

 

LEGOS have invaded my house though. We are trying to get those organized somehow. I am not selling their Legos.

Oh yeah, 12 gotta go :lol: Mine are 6, 4 and 2 and love junk better than any quality toy.

[Artichoke]

If the little trinkets/toys are in great shape and fun to play with, I've donated to the local school and put some in operation Christmas child boxes. Smaller stuffed animals in good shape are appreciated by our local police dept. The offices usually keep a few in their trunks for dealing with kiddos. Goodwill also likes the trinkets for their grab bags.

[barnwife]

Our local Humane Society takes clothes and towels to use as rags and comfort things for animals.

[Ausmumof3]

Ugh this is the hardest part of decluttering. So often I go to the charities and the donation bins are stuffed to overflowing. So many clothes don't make good rags.

 

So much stuff seems like it isn't trash but if no one want it it basically is.

[Ali in OR]

We have a local FB group for giving stuff away (they call it a "gift economy". That's a good place to see if your questionable stuff has any value at all. You're not allowed to sell anything--just offer stuff up and see who wants it for free. Leave it on your front porch for pickup. Kids clothes and baby stuff are very popular as are household items. People also post "in search of" if they're looking for something.

 

Books seem to have no value. I sold some at a homeschool sale in spring, a dozen more at a local used bookstore, but wanting the rest out of my house I donated 92 to the friends of the library book sale.

 

We sold a few awkward things at a garage sale this summer, but there were so few shoppers that I think it will be the last time we try that. But at least the basketball hoop, play structure, and train layout are gone. Dh sold some more valuable things on Craigslist (turntable, camera lens).

 

Clothes go to Goodwill. I heard they recycle whatever isn't in reusable condition--I hope that's true!

[TechWife]

Our Goodwill will take stained and torn clothes for recycling. They want them in a separate, marked bag. 

 

[Rosika]

 Do you just toss the junky little trinkets your kids have collected over the years?  Old pez dispensers, little wind up toys?  What about crayola paints that were never opened (may be dry by now) and other art supplies?  I feel bad just tossing, but who wants this stuff?

 

 

We participate in our neighborhood garage sale, and we help run our church's annual garage sale. 

 

These things you mention go into one or two specially marked bins. We mark them FREE / CHECK WITH A PARENT and the younger kids like to hunt for a "treasure" in the box. Sometimes it's nice for the to do that while the parent shops the sale. In the case of art supplies and craft things, some people are willing to chance dry paint or are even willing to re-hydrate it. That's the type of paint I let my really little ones use so they stayed out of the older kids "good" paints and stuff, or just to mess around with. 

 

If I didn't have an upcoming sale to do this, I'd just leave a box at the end of my drive way with a sign "FREE" - and leave it there until the next trash day. In our neighborhood, things fly this way. Or on a Freecycle/Neighborhood website. We've always found there are people who want it, but not necessarily enough to seek it out; they'll jump on an opportunity, though!

[Guest]

Personally, I do trash little trinkety things. I don’t love landfilling stuff but I also cannot deliberate over every dispenser and plastic “gold medal†from homeschool field day. If you can get on Freecycle group, sometimes geoups of otherwise trash items might be upcycled by someone, say for example, little contact lens cases or broken crayon pieces. But again, I make an effort not to get too caught up in the “perfect†manner of decluttering every single item.

 

Clothing and textiles can be reused by many companies. Most times those portable clothing drop-off containers are made into “shoddy†- a mixxed textile that can be used for stuffing or other purposes. (As an aside, I do not put my “good†give-aways in those drop-off bins for this reason. Nice clothes should be donated somewhere they can be used for clothing by needy people.)

 

I don’t have a particular dollar amount that judges whether or not it is worth selling, but I think every person will have their emotional threshold about this. So for instance, I do not want to try to sell things at yard sales. It is a lot of hassel and I have not had good success for all the effort of pricing and taking to a selling location. I am not in a neighborhood and would not get yard sale traffic otherwise.

[mlktwins]

Oh yeah, 12 gotta go :lol: Mine are 6, 4 and 2 and love junk better than any quality toy.

 

Mine did too, hence the need to now get rid of it all somehow  :rofl:

[mlktwins]

Thanks everyone!  I usually do well at this multiples group sale -- they get a lot of traffic and the twin moms get to shop tonight.  I used to do this sale every 6 months until a few years ago when it conflicted with my boys' baseball games.  I won't miss a game for a sale :-).  I'm hoping to not bring a lot of stuff home.

 

I was taking my torn and stained clothes to our local dump because I thought I had read their old clothing bin was a textile recycling place.  I wasn't so sure the last time because the bin was different.  I need to double check.  I donate gently used clothes to charity.  The stuff I am selling tonight and tomorrow are things like jeans/dress pants that were worn a couple times at Easter and Christmas.  They have grown so fast they were 2 inches too short within a few months.  They are like new.  Lots of Christmas shirts and sweaters.  Since they are coordinating, the twin mom's of boys are going to love me.

 

Maybe I will post on my local FB sales site with the trinket stuff.  I hate to just dump it, but I want it OUT of my house!

 

My DH is thrilled this stuff is leaving the house.  Thrilled!

 

 

Edited November 17, 2017 by mlktwins

[mlktwins]

Stained and torn?  I trash them.

Not sure what to do with them but won't be able to sell them (paints, crayons) I either take to church for the Sunday school or donate them.  

My doctor takes the little Happy Meal toys and washes them off and gives them to kids who have to get shots.

 

My price point for selling is $10.  Others may vary.  

 

I sympathize.  I sold my 4000sf house and my 1600sf beach house and had to give away 2 housefuls of furniture and my own house still has too much.  Too many books.  Yes, I said that on this board.  Too. many. books.  I'm selling them if I can get $10; otherwise I'm donating.  It's not worth the gas to get to Half Price Books for what I get from them.

 

So...when you donated all that stuff, did you keep track and take a deduction on your taxes?  That is another thing that slows me down (ok, usually stops me dead in the water)!  If I have to start listing everything before it goes, it just doesn't go.  The stuff just sits and stares at me...

 

One thing I don't like to keep is books -- LOL.  Yes, I said that and I'm a homeschooler. We get a lot of books from the library or used bookstore.  My boys love to read, but aren't re-readers of books (except Harry Potter so far).  I just want them gone.  Kid's artwork, etc., is killing me.  Paper everywhere!  That is next...

Edited November 17, 2017 by mlktwins

[maize]

So one thing I have done is intentionally limit the amount of kid-owned stuff in the house. I don't give birthday presents--we take the birthday child out to dinner at a restaurant of their choice instead. I give family presents at Christmas

This way when it comes time to declutter I don't have to convince kids to part with individually owned items.

 

(we don't generally get gifts from extended family so that simplifies things too).

[Baseball mom]

You can dump all the little trinkets in a box and put 25c per item. You would be surprised what people will buy.

 

Or just put it in a box labeled FREE.

 

I do this often when I have a yard sale. Anything I am planning on trashing anyway gets stuck out there for 25c or free. When sale is over it is either trashed or sent to goodwill.

 

Lately I have been taking stuff to any homeschool group event and giving it away. I keep a laundry basket in the house and add stuff as I am cleaning. Right before event I grab basket and go.

 

Anything left after event can be taken to goodwill

[Hoggirl]

OP - for clothing for tax purposes, I sort my items by type, sweater, pants, dresses, etc., into piles. Then I write each type at the top of a sheet of paper and make tally marks as I stuff bags.

[prairiewindmomma]

Our Salvation Army will pick up from your house for larger donations, and leave you with an itemized receipt.

 

I don't bother with selling stuff; my time is too valuable and the resale market leaves you with pennies on the dollar. I give away to friends what they will take, and the rest goes to charity.

 

Post-downsizing, I am really strict about what I allow into the house. We don't really buy stuff, aside from clothing, any more.

[KatieJ]

Empty nesters here and decluttering is a way of life for me. My house is full and I don’t want to leave stuff for my kids to,have to go,through.

 

I have a charity I regularly donate too. Almost once a month, on my hair cut day as they are in the same neighborhood.

I do get a tax receipt. I use a program called, Charity Deductions. It costs every year to sign up,for it, but it’s so worth it. You look up your item and choose what condition it is in and it gives you a price. You can also add a custom price for an item that you believe is more valuable than the software lists. It has saved me so much time trying to figure out what things are worth. I can print out reports for my taxes. Easy peasy.

 

Those small trinkets, oye. Grandkids love to dig thru stuff like that, but I have an organizer with bins, think IKEA but it’s not, and toys must be returned to,that area. My daughter in law is currently looking for beanie babies as her two little boys have discovered her’s and are having a ball playing with them. You never know what will excite kids.

[mlktwins]

So one thing I have done is intentionally limit the amount of kid-owned stuff in the house. I don't give birthday presents--we take the birthday child out to dinner at a restaurant of their choice instead. I give family presents at Christmas

This way when it comes time to declutter I don't have to convince kids to part with individually owned items.

 

(we don't generally get gifts from extended family so that simplifies things too).

 

I am working on this, but these are the only grandchildren on both sides and they are VERY spoiled.  My dad gives me a specific amount of cash to spend on them and gives them money for their savings.  My in-laws give them money (mostly for savings) and buy one small thing.  My sister gives me money to spend on them.  We still do Santa gifts.  DH and I are giving them new baseball bats (new requirements for spring ball) and my one son a 1st baseman's glove.  They still mostly want Legos.

[Sherry in OH]

I guess I am in the minority.  I rarely try to sell anything.  Once my children were past the baby stage, garage sales ceased to be effective.  Sorting out the stuff I didn’t want, storing it for a few months, re-washing anything that smelled stale, pricing it, sitting outside for hours, then hauling three quarters of it to Goodwill just wasn’t worth it.  Now I skip from sorting to hauling unwanted items to Goodwill.

 

For donations, I keep track of good and excellent condition items. I don’t bother for old clothing taken to Goodwill for recycling or towels donated to the Humane Society.  I figure the value to me is getting them out of the house without filling the trash bin.  If I consider a toy junk or it is missing pieces, I toss rather than donate.  (I had a passing thought at Halloween that if I had saved all those plastic rings, temporary tattoos, stickers, and the like my children bring home from events that we could have given them along with candy. But, really, I’d like for my children to not bring them home in the first place.)

 

We are putting our house on the market in December.  I am desperately trying to declutter the last few areas.  I fear a lot of it will end up in the trash.  It is stuff Goodwill won’t want and I don’t have time to seek out homes for each and every stray item.     

[itsheresomewhere]

Instead of trashing the stained and torn clothes, consider donating them to goodwill/Salvation Army. Ours takes those and sells them as rags by large bags and people/businesses buy them.

[Ananda]

I just cleaned out my attic.  We moved in 10 years ago and just left stuff in the attic to deal with later.  Later was today!!!!  

 

I don't sell anything.  I donate nicer stuff: anything in "like new" or "gently used" condition, anything that I honestly believe would be wanted or useful.  I just drop it off; I don't worry about anything tax related.

 

I recycle what I can through the regular curbside recycling. If it isn't nice and can't be recycled, then trash without guilt.

 

So clothing, anything requiring any mending, anything with a stain, anything dingy or stretched out, anything faded or pilled: all trash.  I was unaware of a recycling option for cloth before this thread, so I will have to research that.

 

For toys, I donate anything fun that is still in good condition.  I donate any gifts that we decide not to keep (still in original packaging).  Worn toy, lame toy, toy missing pieces, junky plastic trinket: all trash.  

 

I am in a season of life where I feel drowning in clutter.  I need the stuff to just get out!  

 

My problem is tiny things.  When I tidy up I put tiny things into a plastic shoe box container.  Legos, hair ties, pens, game pieces, nail clippers, math manipulates, pacifiers, money, batteries, usb cables etc. etc. etc. When the shoe box containers get full I dump them into big clear plastic drawers.  I have an embarrassing number of small things drawers.  I regularly dig through the drawers if I need something likely to be in them, but I never get around to sorting the tiny things.  Ugg.