We keep a box or two in the garage year round - as we shuffle through our stuff looking for something, and we come across something that we no longer need, want, desire...etc, we place that item in that box.
Then, once a year, we hold a joint garage sale with our next door neighbors. And the prep work for the garage sale isn't bad at all, since we worked all year on putting aside the stuff that we are planning on getting rid of. On top of that box, a day or two prior to our big sale, we go through our closets and drawers and pull out clothes we haven't worn in over a year. Then I go through my DVD and CD collection. Then all my electronic stuff. And I make a sweep of my garage as well.
We typically gross over $500.00 a year on our garage sales. Five hundred bucks from stuff that was just taking up space and not being used.
Monza_dh: given your original post, you can start your garage sale box with the following:
- one of the coffee makers
- all but one of the blenders/mixers
- two of the clock radios
- two of the three TV's
- one of the digital cameras
- some of your power tools
- and I'm sure that you can find a lot of other stuff lying around that you don't use or you don't need.
There's at least $100 to $150 of stuff there. And CASH is a great incentive to simplify, don't ya think???
Side note: my 'garage sale box' already has the following items in it:
- my old Sharp DVD/5.1 home theature system
- my old SLR camera
- my 'used twice' Thule system including 'Spock's casket'
- my collection of comic books
- some of my old duplicate tools
- a closet full of old (too small) clothes
- pictures, wall hangings, old home decor stuff
In the springtime, do a garage sale. Have your wife and kids plan it out too - if you make it adventurous for them, I am sure they will get excited about it and participate.
Or, you can also put your higher ticket items up on ebay or craigslist. Remember - one person's junk is another's gold...
For me, the $500.00 a year is nice, but what I appreicate more about it than anything is the fact that I am able to get rid of stuff that we've accumilated over the years. Life is more simple with less clutter...
Oh, and whatever you do with the $$, DON'T get more clutter!!!
-Z-man.