Here’s Why and How to Part with Stuff that Creates Clutter
Updated: Mar. 20, 2019
It’s lurking in your basement, your garage, and in the furthest recesses of your closet. If you’re not careful, it can take over your home. It’s your old stuff, and here’s why it’s time to say goodbye, and how to part with your stuff.
How to part with stuff: Gadgets
You Haven’t Taken It Out (Or Even Looked at It) in Over a Year
Sometimes our grand plans to become expert bakers or master weekend carpenters just don’t pan out. Has your breadmaker not seen the light of day since 2010? Is that dremel tool just collecting dust? Be honest: Have you forgotten what a dremel tool is? But how to part with stuff that’s in perfect condition? Time to donate those unused gadgets or sell online to make some extra cash!
How to part with stuff: Clothes
It Doesn’t Fit Anymore
Or maybe it never did. We’ve all made impulse purchases and suffered from subsequent buyer’s remorse. Are those patterned palazzo pants still hanging at the back of your closet? Sure, they might come back in style one day – but even if they do, your kids probably aren’t going to want your old ones. How to part with stuff you spent good money on? It’s hard but you can donate to a local charity or see if there are buyers online who have a similar fashion sense to recoup your investment.
How to part with stuff: Sporting goods
You Quit Ski Jumping, Whitewater Rafting, or Rollerblading Over a Decade Ago
If Tai Chi, long hikes, and weekend laps in the pool are more your speed these days, consider letting go of the old sporting goods stuff you don’t use anymore and giving them a second life with a new owner.
Donating your stuff: Toys
Your Kids Have Outgrown It
Whether it’s children’s books, toys, soccer cleats, or the ukulele they swore they’d play forever, if your kids have moved on, move that stuff out of your house (and make room for their next hobby). Donating all that stuff will make you both feel good and make more room to play.
Reasons to donate stuff: Furniture
You Don’t Have Room for It
Just downsized? You’ll need a way how to part with all your stuff fast. All that furniture from your old house isn’t going to fit into your new condo. Make space for your favourite chairs, tables, and ottomans and donate the rest of that old stuff to a charity or halfway house that could benefit from it.
Parting with your stuff: Fads & Trends
It’s Gone Out of Style…
… in your eyes, anyway. But just because you’re pretty sure you’ll never don those moonboots again doesn’t mean someone else won’t treasure them, or at least incorporate them into their next Halloween costume. When you find ways to give up your clutter, you’ll feel lighter.
Clearing out your clutter: Media
You’ve Read It, Watched it, or Listened to It
Sure it’s nice to have a copy of our favourite movie or book on hand but do you really need to hang on to that paperback you bought at the airport? Donate it and let that book become somebody else’s summer beach reading. It’s time to let go of the small stuff that’s making a big mess in your home.
Donating your stuff: Eco-friendly
Donating Is Great for the Environment
Your don’t know what to do with that old stuff cluttering up your home and garden, and it will do a lot more good in a second hand store than it will in a landfill. Think of it as recycling for your sweaters, tea cups, and old picture frames.
Reasons to donate stuff: Lending a hand
Other People Could Really Use Your Old Stuff
Young families, students, people new to Canada – that’s who shops at second-hand stores. Your used items are sold at a low cost so that people who may not be able to afford these items new still get to enjoy quality clothing or a comfortable couch. That’s why you should donate your stuff to a thrift store, church or charity.
Donating your old stuff: Fundraising
By Donating Your Old Stuff, You’re Giving Back in More Ways Than One
Your donations to second hand stores like Value Village do double-good-deed-duty! That’s because when your stuff sells, the proceeds go to help fund local community programs. Over the past decade, Value Village has given over $1.5 billion to nonprofit organizations that work to make your neighbourhood a better place to be. Pretty cool, right?
