Selling things can be fun and rewarding. It gives me a sense of accomplishment to know that my discarded items will bring someone else joy – and if not, I profited from getting rid of them.
Selling can also be a pain.
It can be much, much easier to give things away, and just as rewarding – if not more so!
- Make sure the person or organization wants your leftovers.
If they don’t, someone else will, so look around. I say this because I’ve given things to people who were uninterested in a donation and they go to waste – this was only realized later. I now know that just because my niece (or her parents) don’t want my giant stuffed dog that I thought might be fun for her – it gets thrown away when they move and I am slightly heartbroken. It’s not that I want the dog back – I just wish someone could have gotten use out of it, or at least that I wouldn’t have found out that they didn’t.
That’s the big one.
I tend to donate:
- books to the public library. I don’t think they go on the shelves very often, but our public library has book sales to raise money for the library. The books they sell come from donators.
- clothing and housewares to a local organization, Love INC. Love INC is a Christian-based organization that provides low income families with inexpensively-priced items. They have “yard” sales where they sell items like what I donate.
- furniture to Love INC also. They can even take things from your house if you request a pick up for large items such as a bed frame.
If you want, there are always shelters and the Salvation Army; we also have a Disabled Veterans organization that I an donate to.
I might sell rather than donate if I think the item is worth a pretty good bit of money, like a toy that is also seen as a collectable. Otherwise, I do tend to donate.
Things I’ve donated/given away recently, or am going to soon:
- Children’s books (public library)
- Blank photo albums (Love INC – probably for garage sale)
- VHS tapes and VHS player (family member)
- Bed frame (Love INC)
- Clothing, shoes (Love INC)
- Toys (family members)
Everything I give away or donate is in good condition.
To stay organized, and because I don’t want to go out every time I find something I want to give away, I keep my items together, usually in a big bag or box.
If you like the joy of selling AND the joy of donation, you could always sell items and donate the cash you receive as payment! 😉
Where do you donate your used things?
For the Love of Organization 