This was my last decluttering hurrah for 2021 and I was ruthless! I started this month-long challenge on a whim on Tuesday, October 19, 2021 with two goals:
1. I would find four items each day to give away or sell.
2. I would list at least three items a day on sites like Poshmark, ebay and Facebook Marketplace.
I think I mentioned earlier that this round of decluttering was a bit of a “rage purge.” Our life has been feeling really heavy and I needed a distraction that I could control. Am I the only one who does this? When life is stressful and spiraling, I become laser focused on something and this time it was my stuff. Just like I mentioned back in January with this post, it’s funny how decluttering is such an ongoing process. I feel like we haven’t brought a lot into our home this year, but there still seemed to be significant amounts of things that could go out.
So the challenge: I stayed true to my goals and found/listed things Monday to Saturday. (I took Sundays off.) I liked this thirty day window because it was intense but not too long. I can do anything for 30 days! In the end, I listed 107 items and sold 41, which comes out to about 38% on the sales to listings ratio. Not too shabby! Here’s the breakdown:
+ a pair of boy’s sandals (in late October! crazy)
+ two pairs of boy’s shoes
+ 3 shirts
+ 2 winter coats and a puffer vest
+ a pair of children’s mittens
+ a pair of P’s outgrown thermal underwear
+ 3 pairs of P’s outgrown shorts (another surprise for late October)
+ a pair of snow boots
+ a pair of shoes I never wear
+ two sweaters and a dress that are now too big for me
+ a wrap/shawl
+ a vintage brass penguin
+ 11 books
+ a pair of educational flash cards
+ some math manipulatives
+ a Thomas the Train bag/playmat
+ a door knob set (the old set from when I replaced my bedroom knobs)
+ a pillow
+ an envelope punch board
+ two Christmas-y garlands (that haven’t been taken out of the box in years)
+ a pair of Christmas-y pajama pants
+ a magazine holder
+ charcoal filters (from a compost bin we no longer own)
+ 2 vintage dresses (I had saved them for BWF back in the day and never listed them)
APPROXIMATE TOTAL AMOUNT EARNED (AFTER FEES) IN 30 DAYS: $350.58
Highly recommend going through your winter gear and Christmas decorations for anything you don’t use or need. I think with rising inflation, there is a greater need for affordable secondhand goods and you gotta love a few extra dollars in your pocket!
That is incredible to me that you were able to make so much, even with shipping…I’m guessing you just have the customer pay the shipping?
I used to list stuff on eBay, but I’ll admit that it’s something I burn out of pretty fast (maybe because I used to do it for a job). I do have a TON of stuff I could list though. You inspire me to want to just rage-list my way through it! 🙂
99% of the items I sold had the buyer pay shipping. If the items weighs just a few ounces, I’ll offer free shipping, but up the price a few dollars to compensate. Surprisingly, it works most of the time! (I think we’ve been conditioned to avoid shipping at all costs!)
I go through fits and spurts with ebay, so completely understand the burnout. I was surprised to see that consistent listing (even if it’s one or two things a day) really must have helped the algorithm in some way because I was making very regular sales compared to a month ago. I can definitely see myself repeating this month-long challenge again sometime next spring.
Congratulations! You achieved a less cluttered home, some extra money and less waste all in one month 🙂
Yes, thank you! I’m thinking I need to do this type of challenge more often!