Decluttering: Trash, sell or donate?

 Hello all,

I've been making some sales here or there on stuff I am decluttering. I have some good sales days and other days I have bad sales day. I am going to cover the dilemma of when to donate vs when to sell, and what counts as trash. Trash is the easiest category because it's straight forward as to what is considered trash!

Trash is stuff that doesn't serve a purpose. Not all of it is regular garbage though. There are opportunities to recycle as well. What is considered trash or recycle may depend on the area you are in, but it is old receipts, food waste, the packaging food comes in, broken items that cannot be fixed. Things that are not good enough condition to donate to a thrift store, although some thrift stores can send their not in good condition textiles overseas for new uses, such as insulation. The caveat is that there are so many textiles going overseas, it sometimes ends up in a landfill anyway. Damaged footwear, broken lunch containers, etc. 

Donation can be up to you what you donate. I would say things in good condition, usually clothing, or books that are not as sellable online or even at a market. I am trying to sell first so I can make a few bucks here or there, but some things don't do well on the secondary market. For example, no one wants to buy the energy Pokémon cards or the lands Magic The Gathering cards even for 25 cents a card (and 25 cents a card is my base price for most trading cards I have unless I have something really special i.e. full art Pokémon cards, but I don't really have a lot of those and I'm not selling the ones I have). So these will get donated to a thrift store. Sometimes I have a clothing item I know someone might love who is plus size at a thrift store, but is not the condition I'd want for the used selling spaces. It gets donated too. I don't donate a lot of clothing, just sometimes dresses when they get faded.

What is it that you sell? I am not an expert on this because I never know what will sell well on the secondary market, but if you have comic books, graphic novels, collectibles, (especially ones worth money), sometimes super popular fiction novels, barely used bath and body works, mint condition makeup. Even jewelry does well sometimes. People love this stuff. I found that sometimes having a dollar action figure bin does well too. You'd be surprised what people want. You need to price accordingly. Facebook Marketplace I find is best for things of value. At the flea market, people often haggle so if you do bring valuable things, be prepared for your lowest offer that you will accept.

As long as it is in good condition, consider making a few dollars off it. Then someone else can use it! In all cases of if it is in good condition, do not trash it! I see minimalists on YouTube consider trashing things that are perfectly fine and from an environmental standpoint, this is not good! Even giving stuff in good condition to your loved ones if they say yes is good instead of contributing to landfills!

curlyalicia