Have you ever stopped to look around your home and really pay attention to every item you own?

After moving for the third time in two years, I really came to appreciate everything we owned (mostly because my back hurt from lifting it all).  I started to pay attention to every piece of furniture, clothing, dish, and keepsake that we packed, unpacked and moved again and again.

As a newlywed couple, we had struggled to even have furniture, dishes, silverware, etc.  Somehow in the first few years of marriage via shopping at auctions and receiving hand-me-downs from relatives, we collected massive amounts of stuff.  I didn’t even realize it was happening at the time.  We were just thankful for the dishes, couch, dresser, etc. as we were building our new life together.

With every move we made, I really felt like we went through everything and got rid of TONS of stuff.  It seemed no matter how many times I did this, we still had an abundance of “things.”

After our second move, I made a decision to decrease our possessions by 25% – 50% over the course of a year.  I didn’t want to be overly extreme, but I knew we needed to unload some of our “stuff.”  I did the same thing after our third move, and what I found out along the way surprised me.

So, What Happens Once you Sell Your Stuff?

The amount of time spent cleaning your home will be significantly less.

There is something about a clean house that creates a sense of calm and peace, like what you would experience watching a sunrise with a cup of coffee.  Everything in its place, organized, clutter-free and it smells fresh.  BUT, to have this clutter-free, clean space, it has to be cleaned first!  If you dread cleaning your house, it’s very likely it gets put on the back burner for as long as possible.

Eventually, the laundry has piled up, dishes have piled up, dust is accumulating daily on your furniture, you don’t even want to know what is under the toilet seat and at that point, it’s just too overwhelming to even think about tackling it.  Now, imagine decreasing the amount of “stuff” in your home by 25% – 50%.  What would that look like?

With fewer pieces of furniture to take care of, fewer knick-knacks to dust and fewer things cluttering up your home, your cleaning time will be reduced by 25% – 50%.  Imagine that!  50% less time spent on cleaning!!  What could you do with that extra time?  I know!  NOT. CLEAN.  Hallelujah!

Start looking at your home today.  I am betting you can find 5-10 things in the first 10 minutes you could easily live without.  Are you tired of dusting that bookshelf that holds books you NEVER read?  Sell it!  Sell the books!  Don’t worry about dusting it ever again.  Did you stub your toe on toys left out in the living room again?  Sell them!  Decrease the clutter so you don’t have to pick them up anymore.

Take back your time so you can spend it doing the things you WANT to do.

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The obvious thing that happens when you sell your stuff: You Make Money!

Thanks to the internet, there are so many avenues to selling your stuff.  You can sell stuff on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, your local area Facebook group, Craigslist, or you can have a good ol’ fashioned garage sale.  With all of these forums to sell on, you don’t have to worry about people not wanting your stuff.  If you are trying to sell something, there will be a buyer somewhere who wants it.  You will be shocked at what people will pay for.

If you are trying to pay off debt, build up an emergency fund fast or saving for a vacation, this is a fabulous way to do so.  We have easily made ~$3,000 over the past two years by selling our unwanted/unused stuff.  Depending on where you are selling things, there will be the very minimal effort required to make a decent amount of cash.

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You may be thinking, okay, I get it, sell my stuff.  But what if I have nothing to sell?

If you think you have nothing to sell, you either haven’t looked hard enough or you don’t want to make money badly enough.  To fully open your mind to sell your stuff, you have to be motivated by something.  I was motivated by cash because we were throwing it at our debt.  Also, you don’t know what people may want until you try to sell it.  Some of my fastest sales have been the silliest items (an old broken lamp, a Coca-Cola wooden crate, an old wooden ladder, a picture we had made into a canvas, a broken rocking chair, a rusted coffee cart, an almost rusted out little Weber charcoal grill, a cracked pedestal sink, a cheap coffee table I got second-hand in college).  Don’t count anything out until you have tried.  You may be surprised by what people are looking for.

Pro Tip:  We are now in the age of DIY and “Fixer Upper” style.  If you have any pieces of furniture (dresser, chair, desk, coffee table, end table, mirror) you think are ugly or you aren’t currently using, SELL THEM!  It seems everyone is looking for a piece of furniture at a fair cost they can “flip” or re-do.  Those things are always the best sellers.

A new perspective on material things will be formed.

As you are looking around your home, think about where all of your stuff came from.  Are all of your “things” purchases you have personally made?  Gifts from friends or loved ones?  Hand-me-downs from relatives?  More than likely, you will find you have a combination of all those sources.  If you are worried about hurting someone’s feelings by selling something that was given to you, don’t be.  This is your life and your home.  You get to decide if it is a good fit for both.  If it isn’t, you can sell it and not feel bad about it.  No friend or family member would want you to be stressed out keeping something you don’t want.

In the process of selling your stuff, you will probably go through all of your furniture, knick-knacks, decorative items and clothing.  Another area you may venture into is the stuff you have been saving/storing.  This can be a difficult area to approach because it is stuff we place a much higher value on.

Do you have boxes and boxes of “memories” from your childhood stored in your attic or basement?  This is completely normal if you do (I did too!).  By nature, we cling to good things, and childhood memories are filled with joy and reminders of a simpler time.  This may be an off-limits zone for you initially, but eventually, you might approach this area as a resource to look for things to sell.

If you venture into these memories and keepsakes, only sell things you are truly comfortable selling.  It took me years to touch my keepsakes, but I ended up doing it because I was so motivated to pay off debt.  I had a large amount of American Girl Dolls and accessories from my childhood (the original stuff from when the company first started – major collector’s items).  I decided we needed the money more than I needed the dolls, and once we were out of debt, I could buy all the dolls I wanted for my daughter.  This is a sacrifice I made, and it was really hard.  However, my complete Led Zeppelin LP collection (in perfect condition) – still majorly off-limits.

This will be a challenge, but once you start selling your stuff, your perspective on material things will shift.  You will see the simplicity and peace of having less “stuff.”  Everything has a dollar value.  Once you see the actual value of the stuff you have, you will start thinking twice about what you are spending your hard-earned money on.  When you have put in the effort to clear your home of unnecessary items and made money from them, you won’t want to go back.

If you can start to let go of the “stuff” in your home that’s bogging you down, you will find extra time available since you won’t be cleaning as much (YES!!), your future shopping experiences will be changed for the better and you will make extra money along the way!

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You want to start today??

How to Start Selling Your Stuff

Walk around your home with pen and paper and catalog everything you want to sell.  Think about if you could get by without the item, if you would miss it, if you would regret selling it, etc.  Once you have your list, double check it with your spouse.  If they need help getting on board, have them read this post!

Once you have your list, think about the best forum to sell your stuff.  Examples:  large appliances or pieces of furniture (Craigslist may have a higher need for those things), smaller furniture and knick-knacks (local Facebook Marketplace in your area likely has an audience for these types of things), collectibles (eBay – just make sure you look into rules for selling, shipping, etc.).  Then start selling and reap the benefits!

Pro Tip:  If you are selling your stuff to make cash for debt payoff you should go through your home and ask yourself two questions to know if you should sell something.

1.  Are you currently using the item?  
2. Do you plan to use the item in the next 12 months?

If you answered no to both questions, get rid of it!  No regrets!  Pay off that debt!!

Start today, take a walk around your home and think about what you could sell that would allow you to clean less, make money and you wouldn’t miss it.  I bet you have more of these items than you realize!