Marie Kondo- tidying & Donating

[twk001]

All- it has been quite some time since I’ve posted. I have had a very busy life in the past few years. I’ve changed jobs, went back to grad school & graduated, went back for post graduate work, we added another family member, we lost my Dad, etc etc.

As I near the end of my post-graduate studies in about 8 weeks, I’m hoping to spend the summer purging our home. We are in serious need of emptying out, cleaning, purging, donating etc.

I read Marie Kondo’s book and love concepts of tidying that she uses. My biggest obstacle right now is WHAT TO DO with all the stuff? Obviously a lot of it can be donated to our local Salvation Army store or to the St. Vincent de Paul shop. However, with some debt to still pay off and much of our stuff being literally brand new-tags still attached- what should I do with the better stuff? Our locale isn’t garage sale-friendly. I looked online at sites like ThredUp but they take fairly high end stuff and my style is MUCH more conservative than those brands. I thought of maybe our local crisis shelter???

Any ideas or suggestions? I just want to know that this new stuff will be put to good use and NOT picked up by someone in a thrift store then sold online by them for profit…

 

[Horton]

In my area there are Facebook classified ads type groups. Check to se if something like that exists. There are other sales apps, I’m not sure of their names.

Donation is always an easy way to get rid of stuff. Shelters are great places to give directly. Not sure if you are male or female, but domestic violence shelters always need clothing and basic female stuff for women leaving violent situations.

 

[TheLittleLady]

When you donate, let it go. It if means someone buys then resells for profit, that is up to them.

If you want to make money, sell your things. Local consignment shops, on Facebook sale sites, to friends, etc.

 

[F_Marturana]

I read recently that donation centers are currently overwhelmed with donations from Marie Kondo fans.

When we sold my moms house, it really amazed me how much stuff accumulated after 20 years or so. My sister and I both kept some things, but we donated most.

We were glad to be able to donate directly to a family in need. And I know the bedroom set went to another person in need. But after we gave the things away it was out of our control.

 

[TheLittleLady]

domestic violence shelters always need clothing and basic female stuff for women leaving violent situations.

To clarify, they need good clothing.

People often donate things that are not fit to be used as cleaning rags, old used underwear, half full bottles of questionable cosmetics. It can really get gross sorting through donated items, often these shelters throw away garbage bags full of stuff because it is too nasty to sort through them.

Once we were collecting things to take to a mission in Haiti. We had asked for OTC medicine and first aid supplies. We received half full prescriptions, one pair of used dentures, opened oozing tubes of unidentifiable salves, OTC meds that expired years ago, bags and bags of worn out stained clothes.

Donate something you would give to your sister or that you would be happy to receive yourself.

 

[F_Marturana]

That’s a very good point.

A few years ago a parishioner lost their home to a fire. First many people attempted to donate physical things like toys for the children, extra clothes. The family was quickly overwhelmed, they actually wanted gift cards so they could shop for things they needed.

 

[Hoosier-Daddy]

I find no joy in these threads…

 

[oldgraymare2]

When you donate, let it go. It if means someone buys then resells for profit, that is up to them.

If you want to make money, sell your things. Local consignment shops, on Facebook sale sites, to friends, etc.

I had the same thought as I was reading through the comments, that maybe the OP could sell her items through consignment/re-sale of her own items by herself.

Plato’s Closet and Poshmark came to mind as some places that might be worth checking out.

 

[Xantippe]

Depending on where you live, you can just put a notice on the free section on Craigslist, put the stuff on the curb at the beginning of the day (ideally on a Saturday), and it will disappear.

This won’t work everywhere, but we live in a medium-sized city, and it works here.

 

[Xantippe]

I just want to know that this new stuff will be put to good use and NOT picked up by someone in a thrift store then sold online by them for profit…

If somebody buys it for money, it is probably being put to get use.

All of the decluttering experts I’ve ever read say to try not to think like that. If you think about finding a good home for every item, it will really slow down your decluttering process. The important thing is to free up your home and make it more livable for your family.

 

[twk001]

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful replies. While I’m still coming to terms with the sheer VOLUME of stuff that we have, in the end we will donate most of it. Ski jackets that were worn twice, shoes that were never worn, lots and lots of things that would be considered new. But i’m mostly ok with that. Our local women’s shelter doesn’t want any clothes- surprisingly! I suspect that many other women around town have been on the same mission this year. There are a few others that I’ll reach out to. Our nearby Plato’s closet and Career Encore aren’t taking much of anything right now, they’re busting at the seams too. Golly, I think that my locale are tidying and donating experts right now!