The journey to become minimalist can be hard work. It requires significant physical effort, personal reflection, and unexpected emotional obstacles.
Several times along the way, in fact, I wanted to quit. But then, inspiration would strike: a work appointment was scheduled near Goodwill, an inspiring article or blog post provided motivation, family would announce plans to visit, even the garbageman’s arrival in the morning could send me into a ten-minute decluttering spree to fill one more bag. Each, at different times, provided motivation for us to continue downsizing.
But maybe, more than any other, the most significant and recurring motivation to minimize our possessions came from the opportunity that our possessions represented.
Our excess could become a blessing to somebody else.
At first, however, this was not the case. Instead, our goal was to get as much financial return as possible from the things we were discarding. My thinking was, I paid good money to buy this stuff. I should get something in return.
I opened an account on eBay (at one point, even placing my entire junk drawer on auction—surprisingly, no bids). We scheduled a garage sale. We placed items on Craigslist. We took clothes to the consignment shop.
My wife and I began conversing and planning how we might spend the extra money we were about to receive: savings, dining, vacations, or maybe new carpet for the living room? It seemed, the possibilities were endless… until we opened the doors for our first garage sale.
On that summer Saturday morning, both our garage and driveway were filled with things we had decided to discard: old clothes, toys, dish ware, decorations, electronics, books, CDs, DVDs, just to name a few. Each with a handwritten sticker to signify the price.
We got up early and rushed through breakfast. We arranged the tables neatly. We put up balloons by the street. We played soft music—just like they do in department stores. And then we opened the doors.
Customers came. And then customers went. They’d pick up items and put them down. We chatted with each of them hoping to appear like a nice, sweet, trustworthy couple. We haggled and made deals. We marked down prices. We worked every angle to make more sales.
By the end of the day, we had earned $135… and we promptly spent half of it going out for dinner because we were both too exhausted to cook.
We were tired, frustrated, and discouraged. There are few experiences in life that make you question your taste in home furnishings more than watching some of your favorite decorations not sell despite being marked down to 25 cents.
We packed up the remaining belongings in the back of our minivan to deliver to Goodwill. But before we did, my wife made a phone call.
We had boxes of baby supplies left over from my wife’s most recent pregnancy—my youngest was two years old at the time. Kim called Care Net—a local organization in Burlington, VT that routinely supplied expectant mothers with maternity and baby wear to see if they had any need. To which they responded, “Yes, yes we do. We always have a need.”
Based on their enthusiastic response, we made another phone call. This time, we reached out to the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program which helps refugees and immigrants gain personal independence and economic self-sufficiency. They explained to us their desperate need for towels, linens, and cookware.
Our hearts were softened as we began to comprehend the number of men, women, children, and expecting mothers in our own community who could benefit from the items we had stashed in the back of our closet.
We found more joy in delivering items to those local charities than we could have ever found in money earned from selling our clutter.
This experience changed my view of minimizing and forever changed my advice to others embarking on the journey.
If you need the money, make the effort to sell your excess—especially when it comes to big, expensive items.
But if you do not need the money, just give your things away.
Reselling your clutter adds time and energy, anxiety and frustration to the minimizing journey. But giving things away, especially to local charities whose values align with yours, brings a joy and fulfillment to your soul that money can never buy. You will be reminded why you embarked on this journey in the first place.
Marian A. Cadenasso says
This is my first time commenting but I felt I had to jump in here to say that for the past year, during the pandemic, we have decluttered ruthlessly, and tried as much as possible to donate items. Unfortunately, in our area, places in need of donations can be very discriminating on items they will take, so it was no easy task to find good homes for our treasures. In the end, we often placed items out on the curb with a “free” sign and they were picked up fairly quickly. One category in particular, stuffed animals, are not taken by any organization. We placed them out front and over the course of 3 days people came along and carefully picked through and took what they wanted. I actually loved this process! At the end of 3 days there was one lone teddy bear left. I felt good that the rest all went where they were wanted.
Sabrina101 says
I am a student, but I have never sold my things, I have always donated my stuff.
There is a saying in German that says „spende, was du nicht brauchst“/ donate what you don’t need.
I feel good with that.
Tracy Burton says
Thank you. This blog resonated with me so much. Back in the 1960s, my mum taught us the joy of giving when she encouraged us to always donate a small portion of our Christmas money to charity. We were a working class family without even a car but she reminded us that there were others far worse off. Fifty years on, my partner and I were moving from the UK to Portugal and we made the decision NOT to transport our belongings. Giving everything away was so much fun – and more rewarding than we ever imagined. We gave over 20 bags of books to Healthy Planet (a free ‘library’ where people take what they want), most of our clothes and crockery went to charity shops and special items were offered to family and friends. Blankets and towels were given to an animal charity. Highlights included giving my late father’s photography equipment to a young Afghan refugee (who’d volunteered on a project I ran), giving furniture to a young disabled man setting up home for the first time (we had a wonderful letter of thanks from his mother) and handing over a very large giraffe costume to a tiny nursery teacher who planned to use it to entertain the children. No amount of money could have made us happier. In Portugal, we bought a furnished home and continue to give away what we don’t need. How much better it is to share than to count every measly penny (as some people we know continue to do, selling children’s toys, clothes, etc on Facebook for tiny amounts).
Julie says
Thank you! This is perhaps the first article to crystallise what it’d been feeling – so many minimalist bloggers talk of selling your decluttered items and not donating to charity (better avoidance of landfill). However, garage sales, Facebook market place and so on are just means of selling your items to other people just like you – people who probably don’t need more stuff! They aren’t likely to reach people who would appreciate and need your items. I always get a better feeling when donating to a charity in need, one who appreciates my donation compared to selling an item for some dollars.
Sharon says
I completely relate to this, some years ago I tried selling stuff but by the time I had rented a stall, paided petrol to get there or paided postage, it wasnt worth it.
Some years ago I started the 40 bags of clutter challenge at Lent, its progressed to 40 items and I do it at least twice a year. The emphasis is on donations rather than throwing.
I recently donated some expensive handbags to my local charity shop, the next day 2 of them was in the window, for a split second I wanted to buy them back, then I looked at them objectively and gained a sense of peace and joy xx
Michelle says
When my kids were small, we would sell toys they no longer played with and donate the money to charity. It was my way of teaching them the joy of doing good for others.
These days, I don’t bother selling anything. I give a lot of stuff away on our Buy Nothing Facebook group. I just love how excited people are when they pick something up they’ve claimed. Most other things I donate to the local Thrift Store. Anything else I recycle or, as a last resort, throw away. In almost a year of decluttering, I have only filled 2 or 3 garbage bags.
Nancy says
Veteran’s Associations such as AmVets or PurpleHeart Veterans are great places to donate. Our AmVets in the Chicago suburbs regularly picks up (small) items for free —household items, clothing. Also glad to see Habitat for Humanity Restore mentioned as they will pick up furniture donations.
Thank you for this article that I needed to read right now as I am stuck at a certain decluttering point. :)
Jeffrey Pillow says
Would echo donating as opposing to selling. When I started my unofficial minimalist journey, I remember getting a little annoyed that someone asked if they could *have* the Keurig I was getting rid of as opposed to buying it. I was like, “But I paid $XX for that.” And they said, “But you don’t want it anymore.”
Then I realized how much emotion was tied to my purchases that I no longer wanted. It just wasn’t worth it and seems silly even now, years later.
I quickly pivoted to donated to women’s shelters and survivors of domestic violence including kids, homeless shelters, and just contacting local schools asking if they had a family in need (they do… seriously consider this route even before places like Goodwill).
Best to anyone reading this on their minimalist journey.
debb brown says
I was pondering whether I should sell the box of fishing gear on Craigslist or give it away on the neighborhood marketplace site when this blog showed up on my feed. Needless to say there is one happy local angler who will hopefully reel in the big one (and have a story to match) this Fourth of July weekend. . .
mgk says
I save little things I enjoyed as a kid or sentimental things, small things that might be extra nice, photos, etc. to take to our family reunion. My grandmother started the tradition years ago. The younger generation lines up and everyone gets to pick something they want until it is gone. Fun for the kids and I feel like my stuff has a good home.