Over the Christmas holidays, I actually managed to secure a few minutes to sort through our basement and start organizing the masses of endless boxes and "stuff" that have formed a barrier along one side of our house. We live in a small home, so an overabundance of stuff is not really conducive to our long time goal of one day achieving some sort of order in our lives (and, yes, of course that starts in one's basement).
The Crafty Dad and I decided it was time to purge. To get down and dirty and roll up our sleeves and get rid of some of the things we no longer needed, used or wanted. So we started out with a really simple organizing system. We put everything in one pile and began sorting - one pile for things we would give away, one pile for things in good condition that we would sell, and another pile for garbage.
The good news was - we didn't have any garbage!! We had a big pile to sell and a good sized pile to give away. I sifted through the give-away pile and picked out things I wanted to give to friends and neighbours (much of it was kid stuff - clothes, snowsuits, toys, etc.) and then made another heap for Freecycle. I then took photos of all the items I wanted to sell online through Used Ottawa or Kijiji or to give away on Freecycle.
Over the course of a few days, I listed the items for which I sought new homes and began the onerous task of managing the plethora of e-mail that would be coming to me on a daily basis. I soon learned that "I'll come by to pick them up between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m." does not in any way, shape, or form equate to the supposed buyer actually showing up at that time.
This is REALLY annoying! I'm a prompt, on time person. I don't waste others' time and I would never just not show up somewhere and not call or e-mail to explain what happened. And, for the record, this never once happened with a Freecycle ad. The people showing up to pick up items I had listed on Freecycle were prompt, polite, intelligent, and thoughtful. And tremendously grateful. Several times I received thank you e-mails after the item had been collected and taken home. But a number of people I dealt with through Kijiji were just rude and . . . well, kinda selfish.
Not all of them, of course. I had a number of good encounters and some lovely and very grateful buyers. And the bottom line is that although it took a lot of grunt work, we have thoroughly purged our basement and have lots of extra space now! I guess I'd have to say that in the end it was all worth it.
And I'd probably do it again!
Kingston, the solar eclipse, a cool bathroom
5 days ago
10 comments:
i can't stand unpredictable, slothy people who "never" show when they say they will either- i mean man, at least call! :)
Megan
ps- but glad the purge went so well!!
wonderful job on the purging..I am sure that it felt great!
we have listed stuff on our local craigslist and yes waiting around on the person that said they were going to be there is a bit annoying. but glad you did make some money off the stuff you did not need anymore.
I'm going through the same type of purging exercise right now, but at a much slower pace. I'm trying to go through one item a day - during the kids nap time.
But I completely agree that someone saying they are going to stop by during a certain time and then they don't is ANNOYING. esp. if you are staying home just for said person to show up.
I didn' tknow about freecycle though, that's great and I think I will be using it!
Purging feels SO good! I just cleaned out my maternity clothes yesterday and I have the big extra space in my closet. Bye Bye!!
I'm envious of your purge! We are currently renovating our basement and all of the basement contents are now in the POD in our driveway. But we didn't have time to purge beforehand, so now it has to be done after the reno....sigh. I'm not looking forward to going through all the junk.
they were going to be there is a bit annoying. but glad you did make some money off the stuff you did not need anymore.
Work from home India
What a great feeling, eh? When we moved 2 years ago, I got rid of SO much stuff. I went through it all and thought...if I don't have anywhere to put it in the new house (I visualized) I got rid of it. I am a total packrat. If it's not broken = keep it. I should say...was. We still brought stuff to the new house that I could not get rid of. But since then we've accumulated so much "kid stuff" that the clutter was getting to me. I've since gotten rid of almost everything I don't need. I used to scrapbook but my designated corner in the basement is a pile of craft stuff...I'm working on that today hoping to be able to scrap this weekend!
Fantastic! Isn't amazing/startling how much crap we collect over the years. I think it's time I take a go at our basement! Thanks for the inspiration! :)
That is awesome. We have a ton of junk in our basement.
Hey, if you are ever getting rid of boy clothes I would be interested!
I am a purge queen! Find it therapeutic actually, much to the chagrin of my pack rat husband. Every spring I do a big purge, but I'm embarassed to say it primarily involves one big load to the nearest waste facility. This spring I'll really clean up my act & take a page from your book and try to sell/give away as much as I can. Good for you!
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