The best way to get rid of all the clutter you don’t need

I’ve accumulated a astonishing magnitude of worldly successful nan 3 years I’ve been successful my apartment. A batch of it will beryllium coming pinch maine to my adjacent spot — my furniture frame, desk, couch, immoderate creation that intends a batch to maine — but not everything will fresh into nan caller space.

I’m taking this move arsenic an opportunity to declutter, partially because I’ll person a spot little closet abstraction going guardant and partially because I don’t really need nan quiet MacBook Air boxes aliases nan twelve various cables I’ve been hanging onto for years “just successful case.” But there’s besides a batch of bully value worldly I nary longer person a usage for aliases that I ne'er utilized astatine all: a camera I bought connected a reporting travel and ne'er touched again; some curtains that didn’t look bully successful my room; much books than you tin imagine; apparel I nary longer wear. This is, successful different words, worldly I don’t request but would consciousness bad throwing away.

So what to do pinch it?

Getting free of large stuff

If you want to recoup immoderate money for your move — fixed really costly nan full ordeal is — and you’re getting free of furniture, past trading it online is your champion bet. Some platforms, for illustration Kaiyo, Chairish, and AptDeco, grip nan process for you successful speech for a trim of nan sale.

Chairish is champion for designer furnishings — deliberation Herman Miller chairs — and antiques. Kaiyo is bully for brand-name pieces from brands for illustration West Elm aliases CB2, and if they judge your items, they’ll grip shipping and photography. AptDeco requires you to do a spot much work, but they’ll judge a broader scope of items. Each level will return a percent of your sale.

If you’d alternatively grip income yourself, you could spell nan Craigslist route, but I’ve had much occurrence connected Facebook Marketplace.

There are immoderate downsides, though. If you’re for illustration me, this whitethorn mean getting backmost connected Facebook for nan first clip successful years and being confronted by nan truth that each nan group you went to precocious schoolhouse pinch are now homeowners (I, obviously, americium renting). There’s besides immoderate legwork you person to do earlier listing your items, particularly nan larger stuff. I had to excavation up nan West Elm listing for my dresser, which I bought secondhand years ago, and return measurements and photos truthful I could station it.

Once nan listing is live, you besides person to woody pinch back-and-forth from prospective buyers, mostly successful nan shape of an endless watercourse of automated “Is this available?” messages. There’s besides nan chance that nan listing will autumn done aliases that nary 1 will bargain immoderate it is you’re selling. In nan end, I decided to springiness my dresser distant to nan personification taking complete my aged lease.

Giving worldly distant is nan simplest option, particularly if you’re pressed for clip aliases are excessively engaged to grip nan logistics of listing items and coordinating pickup. Big nationalist charities, for illustration Goodwill and The Salvation Army, usually judge furniture. You could besides look up smaller organizations successful your area that judge furnishings donations.

Getting free of mini stuff

While browsing Facebook Marketplace, I noticed immoderate group effort trading small things — trinkets, decor, etc. I besides noticed that, successful astir cases, those listings enactment up overmuch longer than ones for, say, a eating table. If you want to offload your clutter quickly without throwing it away, there’s a overmuch better, faster option: Buy Nothing groups.

These groups are easy to find, but location are a fewer rules. You person to beryllium successful nan group for your circumstantial organization (which, successful ample cities for illustration New York tin get beautiful specific, neighborhood-wise). Some groups will inquire you a fewer questions earlier you tin subordinate successful bid to verify that you really unrecorded there. But erstwhile you’re in, it’s beautiful straightforward.

My original scheme was to slow declutter my flat successful nan months starring up to my move by listing things connected Buy Nothing. Instead, I started nan process little than a week earlier my movers were scheduled to prime up each my stuff, and it’s been really fast. The curtains I nary longer want were claimed successful minutes. Even a stack of aged magazines recovered a location aft being claimed by a collage artist.

As nan sanction suggests, you won’t get immoderate money for nan point you database connected Buy Nothing; everything has to beryllium exchanged for free. But it’s a bully action for nan mini things you want to get free of but would astir apt person a reliable clip selling. (The Freecycle Network is different action for giving worldly away.)

Getting free of clothes

The aforesaid process, much aliases less, applied to each nan bully apparel I owned but nary longer had room for. It’s easiest to springiness things distant aliases driblet them disconnected astatine a section thrift store, but if you want to gain immoderate costs for your move, location are plentifulness of online options for doing so. If you’re getting free of high-end aliases designer clothing, effort trading it connected The RealReal, Vestiaire Collective, aliases Grailed. Rebag is simply a level for buying and trading designer purses, though they don’t ever judge nan items group effort to sell. For mildly utilized accelerated fashion, vintage clothes, and everything successful between, Depop, ThredUp, and Poshmark are bully options.

Here, too, location are downsides: nan platforms return a trim of what you make, though nan percent depends connected wherever you’re trading it and, successful immoderate cases, really agelong it’s been listed. Your listing could beryllium dormant for weeks earlier anyone bites. The purchaser whitethorn beryllium anyplace successful nan state and you’ll person to vessel nan package, either to them aliases to nan level itself, which past handles shipping nan point to nan customer. I’m not a instrumentality of trading apparel online — nan process itself is easy enough, but I find going to nan station agency a immense hassle — truthful I conscionable took things to a section aid center. But again, trading things successful beforehand of your move is really you recoup your money.

Some last advice

If you’re going nan trading route, I’d counsel you to commencement arsenic early arsenic possible, particularly for things that you expect will beryllium harder to get free of. The flip broadside is, if you’re trading furniture, you don’t want to waste it too soon, particularly if it’s thing you’re actively using.

I ended up having to waste a bunch of my worldly after moving it to my caller flat — an inconvenient result of mediocre readying connected my end. If I had to do it again (which I really, really dream I don’t anytime soon), I’d commencement decluttering nan 2nd I cognize I’m moving. Breaking nan process up into mini discrete tasks makes it little daunting and will make your eventual move spell a batch smoother.