What to Do After You Finish De-cluttering Your Home

You’ve finally finished separating your stuff into items that you’ve decided to keep, and ones that you’re ready to part with. But what are you going to do with all the items you’ve decided to get rid of? Here are a few tips on how to follow through with the de-cluttering process.

Donate

Sometimes knowing your items will be appreciated by someone else makes it a little easier to part with them. Depending on where you donate your items, you may be able to get a tax deduction in addition to giving towards a good cause.

Thrift stores are a great option for old clothes; your local church, hospital or nursing home will likely be able to put old magazines or books to good use; and animal shelters often have a need for towels, blankets and sheets. Many charitable organizations like the Salvation Army, Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity probably have drop boxes around your area, or you may even be able to arrange a pick-up from your home.

You can also list your items on a group like Freecycle or on the Free section of Craigslist, and donate them to anyone in your area that could use them. In most cases, the person will drop by your house to pick the items up, or you can arrange to meet them somewhere. If you live in a busy area, you could also leave items out the curb, labelled with a “free” sign.

Sell

Ebay is a good option for high-value items, or you can sell used books on Amazon.  If you don’t want to worry about shipping, you can sell locally using Craigslist, Kijiji, or Facebook buy/sell groups. Again, this way, the buyer can drop by your house to pick-up the items, which can be especially handy for getting rid of larger pieces like furniture.

If you have a lot of stuff to get rid of, it may be worth organizing a garage sale, rather than trying to sell each item individually online. Talk with some of your neighbours and see if they’d be interested in holding a neighbour ood sale. A neighbourhood sale is likely to attract more interested buyers, plus you’ll be able to share the responsibly of advertising and setting up the sale.

Trash/Recycle

You’re almost certainly going to have a few items that aren’t in good enough condition to be donated or sold. Separate paper, cans, glass, and other items that can be recycled, and find out how to properly dispose of toxic items like batteries and prescription medications.

Many pharmacies and hospitals will dispose of old medications for you, but, of course, you should call ahead to find out. Your local city government and trash collector are good resources for figuring out how to dispose of certain items.

Act Now

Some people get slowed down at this point in the de-cluttering process as they figure out exactly what to do with each item. If you’re planning to donate your items, call a local charity today; if you’ve decided to host a garage sale, talk to your neighbours now; if you’re going to sell an item on Facebook, start taking photos to post online. If you don’t take the next step to actually get the de-cluttered items out of your house, you may start second-guessing your decision to get rid of them at all.

Change Your Habits

Whether you de-cluttered your house for a simple spring cleaning, or because you’re selling your home, use this opportunity to start fresh. Think about ways you can keep your home more clutter-free over the long-term.

Before you buy something new in the future, consider where you’ll put it in your home, if you can get rid of something else to make room for it, and if it’s something that is really going to add value to your life. De-cluttering is only a temporary solution unless you change the habits that caused your home to become cluttered in the first place.

Take action

The longer you wait to decide what to do with all this stuff, the more likely it’ll once again clutter up your home.  Have a plan before you start your next de-cluttering project and know where you intent to unload all of your stuff.  If you have questions about de-cluttering your home, you can contact me here.