That time of the year never seems to come sooner than expected. When it comes to decluttering your home, you have to start with an idea approach on what to do with unwanted junk in your home.
Since having a garage sale is probably off the list, is there anything that might work instead? Well, this short guide might have all the answers you need to get rid of stuff you don’t need anymore.
A. Start with the selection process
Wherever your junk is taking up excess room in your home or yard, you’ll need to decide what to separate accordingly. Some items on this list will need to be thrown out immediately, but others might hold value even if you don’t think they do.
The best method is to make three boxes of declutter items that go into their own category.
1. Garbage pickup
There’s going to be some stuff you can’t imagine that it’s going to be salvageable at all. These must be items that hold no value at all or are too badly damaged to be worth anything.
Just remember that what you consider is junk is also a treasure to someone else. It doesn’t hurt to post junky items on Craigslist or Facebook to see if you get a bite. Don’t underestimate what interest you’ll get from seemingly random folks who want nearly-free garbage.
2. Collector items or resale
Some items that you don’t need anymore are actually big-ticket items on eBay and other private seller sites. That old set of Atari 2600 video games or a vintage Sony Walkman are truly sought-after big sellers in select circles.
If you can throw a bit of shine on some old item, it can turn into a decent return if you advertise it accordingly. This includes posters, old magazines, and computer media that is now outdated. Trust your gut, it could be worth it!
3. Donation pile
Old clothes or furniture is always a good bet for donation centers. Most people don’t realize these declutter items go to help others who are having a hard time. The other nice feeling is that they can go directly to people in your city or town.
Now you can also contact resale centers that are more-a-less resale boutiques. If these are clothes that are hip’ once again, you can negotiate a bulk price that could turn around a tidy profit in return.
B. To donate or not
If you have items in your garage or covered on the side of your homes like old motorcycles and old cars, you can always contact a local vehicle donation center. Now the trick to this is calling a local donation center.
Nationwide scammers like KarsforKids are a rip-off and won’t help anyone locally! If your vehicle is worth anything you can also claim a legal tax deduction for what your car or vehicle sells for at auction.
Some charities will work with you to help you get the full value of a classic car. The trick is to get it appraised by a vehicle appraiser. This is then taken to the city clerk and certified.
With that appraisal, your vehicle can be worth that or more when a local charity takes it to auction. Statewide auto collectors are willing to pay big bucks for certain antique cars. The best part is you gain a very healthy tax credit.
C. Hire a Junk Removal Service or Rent a Dumpster
Junk removal services are very specialized collection centers that do their best to recycle or repurpose old junk. They will come and pick up your junk for free, but some items you need to pay for proper disposal.
Whatever they can gain from claiming old junk is pretty ingenious, since they know what kind of value it can be turned into. Junk removal centers also help local people since they’ll take select items directly to donation centers.
Alternatively, if your more of the DIY type or if you’ll need some time to get through your decluttering tasks, consider renting a dumpster. While renting a dumpster is usually used for move-outs or property management purposes, there are many companies who will rent a 10-yard dumpster that will fit in a standard driveway.
You’ll need to figure out what is the best size for your project.
D. Be thoughtful about selecting your junk
A lot of junk that helps free up space around your home comes from your garage, attic, basement, or closets. It’s amazing how fast junk can pile up if you aren’t sorting and cutting your losses.
But no matter what kind of declutter project you’re doing, think of the best solution that can be a benefit in disguise. These days, you never know what kind of clutter can become cold hard cash. And that’s worth everything if you’re keen on cashing-in.
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