Hey guys! Welcome to my list of everything I’ve sold since starting our Challenge Everything mission last year :) Which is all about cutting your recurring expenses so you don’t need as much to live on later. (And doing so in a way that doesn’t alter your lifestyle much!)
This mission also got us to start challenging our “stuff” too! So to up the ante and start *earning money* at the same time as cutting back, we launched the Craigslist Rule to amplify our savings even more. Which goes as following:
Every week I must list one new item for sale on Craigslist.
This does two things: earns us cash, and declutters our house. And it’s completely changed my mindset from “I’d never give that away – it’s too awesome!” to “I’d much rather have the cash and freedom of space, please.” I highly recommend it for anyone else who loves cash and less things around the house :) I literally walk around it every week looking for the next item to sell – hah.
Here’s everything we’ve offloaded since…
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| TOTAL: | $1,127.67 |
| Hurley Backpack | $12.00 |
| Antique Indian knife | $20.00 |
| Replica Civil War sword | $25.00 |
| Vintage Victorian tables (x2) | $28.00 |
| Vintage decanters (x4) | $25.00 |
| Set of Shakespeare books (x10) | $22.00 |
| 52″ Projection TV | $80.00 |
| Painted kitchen table | $38.00 |
| Used dart board | $5.00 |
| Guitar + Amp + Accessories | $225.00 |
| Vintage looking gold mirror/frame | $20.00 |
| Vintage Boombox | $50.00 |
| Chinese dragon! | $40.00 |
| Old surround sound speakers | $90.00 |
| Vintage decanter | $14.00 |
| Vintage lantern | $20.00 |
| High end pink leather gloves | $40.00 |
| Vintage razors (x4) | $25.00 |
| Air Jordans | $50.00 |
| Redskins jersey | $15.00 |
| Speaker stands | $20.00 |
| Old grill & accessories | $25.00 |
| Art supplies | $10.00 |
| Old paper shredder | $7.00 |
| Vintage lantern | $10.00 |
| Digital Frame | $10.00 |
| Antique lion pourer | $10.00 |
| Dart set | $25.00 |
| Handful of clothes | $26.67 |
| Set of ornate crosses | $20.00 |
| Cadillac emblems | $20.00 |
| Northface jacket | $50.00 |
| Old surfboard! | $50.00 |
PS: For the things that don’t sell – which is probably 50% of everything I list – I add them to a “donation box” and when they’re full drop them off at either Goodwill or The Salvation Army. That way I still accomplish 1/2 of the mission which is getting rid of my stuff! And, actually, you do get a tax write off too which does save you more money in the end as well :) So always ask for a receipt!
What a great idea. I’m glad to see you are keeping yourself motivated. I started using OfferUp to sell stuff but nobody is buying. Maybe it’s time to go back to craigslist.
Yeah man, a LOT more motivating when you see it all added up like this :)
I’ve been trying out OfferUp as well (I love the idea! and SO EASY to do since it’s all on the phone!) but sadly I’ve had no luck either…. I think they need a lot more people on it still, at least in the area I live. Not gonna give up though – it would be awesome to have another CL like site to hawk stuff on!
Hey.. Just a little comment.. Its true OfferUp its a little slow but i had gladly sold 2 items there.. love the blog by the way ..
Hey, thx! Since posting that comment I’ve sold two things myself now – it’s getting better! :)
What a great way to stay motivated! I’ve been posting on CL recently to de-clutter and it’s been “slim-pickings”. I don’t know if it’s a result of the economy improving OR getting worse. Not a lot of activity and when you get a “nibble” it’s some crazy offer. Recently put a storm door on CL for $35 and received a response…”$20?”…My reply…”if it was on fire”….
Hah! Yeah, some items are just much harder to offload than others I find. I don’t think it’s an economy type thing. Though the seasons do play a roll too and some stuff is more wanted than others.
Now I just keep “renewing” all the items that sit there until I can’t renew anymore and they’re expiring. After lowering the price here and there until I hit the lowest I’m willing to take. If it’s still a no go by the end of it, it’ll go straight into the donation box along with a few others that have sadly made it there… But at least they all leave my house at the end!
Hey J$ I was just curious, do you only sell items you already own or do you buy items at garage sales/thrift stores/flea markets to resell?
PS Thanx for all the PF tips. I took you up on your suggestion about the $$ jar. We played the lotto every week for years, no luck. This week we finally quit. Putting the $6 weekly we used to spend into the jar.
There you go! A *guaranteed* win right there :)
Right now I mostly sell stuff I already own from my house since I haven’t been out yard saling or thrifting for a while (having babies curbs that! :)), but I do pick stuff up every now and then and try to flip for a good profit. That’s a really fun game to play and I don’t have a problem at all trying to work it like that so long as I’m not acquiring stuff that I can’t offload! The old me would have just kept it all for myself, but now I get the pleasure of both sides – owning it for a little bit and then making $$$ off it soon after. Win-win!
When you drop your items off at the Goodwill do they fill out the receipt for you or just sign it and hand it to you? They do the latter to me and I never know what to put down for the value of the items I donated. If they do the same for you how do you determine the value?
I always have to fill out the receipt myself which is already signed at the bottom. I typically just guestimate the values and keep it on the lower side, but if you want to make sure you’re doing things right check out this valuation guide by Goodwill:
http://www.goodwill.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Donation_Valuation_Guide.pdf
Salvation Army has one too:
http://satruck.org/donation-value-guide
I then staple a separate sheet of everything I donated to it which I do before I throw it all into a garbage bag or box to donate. It takes an extra minute or two to do it, but BOY does it save you time later and make it easier on yourself. Once you know what you’ve donated you can easily then add ‘er on up and you’re done :)
Selling items on FB resale pages is far better than Craigslist as far as being harassed by scammers (I have been more than once). I’m sure if you are not hooked up yet that there are at least a few FB resale pages covering your area. if not – create one.
Great tip! I’m actually no longer on Facebook anymore (i never leave that place happier than when I got there?) but I’m gonna forward this to my wife who loves that site :) Not a bad idea to list anything that doesn’t sell off CL there too.