The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

{saving our pennies} Five Easy Ways to Make Money While Decluttering

After thinking about contentment for an entire week now, I believe that part of the process is enjoying the things you already have.  Not just accepting that you don’t have the latest cell phone or the kitchen you’ve pinned on Pinterest, but actually really enjoying the items you have acquired.  

 Mark and I have spent the last ten years accumulating things that make up our home.  Like most people, it’s a healthy mix of heirloom quality furniture and cheap-o Ikea, well thought through purchases and quite a few impulse buys too.  In short, we have enough.  Probably too much.

 So now as we enter our second decade of marriage (next month!), I’m looking at our things in a new light: if the items in our home cause me stress or overwhelm, it’s time to let them go.  Since we’re also working on our student loan debt, I’m killing two birds with one stone by selling what we don’t need.  Here are five easy ways I’m making money while decluttering the house:

 Linking up with Jenna today!

 1. Ebay  //  Ebay was my first experience with online selling and my first love.  (I wrote my best tips and tricks for purchasing in this post!)  I use ebay to sell easy to ship items that have a pretty good profit margin: shoes I never wear, homeschool curriculum, etc.  

 2. Kidizen  //  Kidizen is my latest find and I love it.  It’s a phone app that works much like ebay, but only sells kids clothing, shoes, and accessories: perfect one-stop shopping for moms!  I just started selling items in our shop (find me at Big White Farmhouse!) but so far, it’s been an easy experience.      

 3. Facebook Yard Sale Groups  //  One quick search on Facebook and I’m sure you’ll find a yard sale group near you.  I actually find this way the most aggravating (we’ve been dealing with people who don’t show up or neglect to tell you they pass on an item, grr), but this is the way to go when you have big items that are too difficult to ship.  Right now, we’re trying to sell a lawn mower and a headboard.    

 4. Amazon Used Books  //  Selling your old books through Amazon is really easy.  I have sold a lot of our old college textbooks and even books that I’ve read and ended up not enjoying.    

 5. Thredup  //  I can only personally speak to ThredUp from a buyer’s perspective, but I’m seriously considering requesting a bag to sell some of my unneeded clothing!  Seems easy enough: fill the bag, put in your mailbox and you’re done.  

What easy ways do you use to make a little extra money?  Tell me all your secrets!


**a few of the above links are affiliate – thanks for supporting the Big White Farmhouse!**


{contentment} Step Two: Save Money

If you were to peek at our budget, I’m sure it’s similar to most one-income families.  We can pay our bills and have plenty of food in the fridge, but there’s not a lot of “extra” cash just floating around.  We still have student loans (uhh, the bane of my existence) and are working hard to be debt-free, Dave Ramsey style.  

At first glance, I don’t feel like money (or the lack thereof) plays a role in my contentment.  I am a chronic underbuyer and I very rarely covet the latest and greatest.  I’ll window shop all day long, but actually pulling out the debit card?  I’ve abandoned many an online cart.  


Looking at the bigger picture though, I can see how our debt is causing a subconscious unhappiness.  An underlying feeling of discontent, a weight that feels heavy and overwhelming.  


So how do I find contentment, right here as we continue to pay our monthly bill to SallieMae?  I don’t think this means that I should necessarily be happy to be in debt, but maybe there’s a balance?  Maybe I can find peace and motivation in the process, hoping for the future but not stressing or constantly thinking about that “one day”.  Debt-free AND feeling more content?  Sounds like a pretty great combination to me.


Just like with Step One, here’s my pep talk to myself for Step Two:


You are not a failure for having debt, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change things for the better.  
Work hard to get rid of the student loans, but don’t let the process consume you.
Determine and take the first steps needed to live below our means.  
Save more than you spend!  We don’t need to keep up with the Joneses.


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{contentment} Step Two: Save Money

If you were to peek at our budget, I’m sure it’s similar to most one-income families.  We can pay our bills and have plenty of food in the fridge, but there’s not a lot of “extra” cash just floating around.  We still have student loans (uhh, the bane of my existence) and are working hard to be debt-free, Dave Ramsey style.  

At first glance, I don’t feel like money (or the lack thereof) plays a role in my contentment.  I am a chronic underbuyer and I very rarely covet the latest and greatest.  I’ll window shop all day long, but actually pulling out the debit card?  I’ve abandoned many an online cart.  


Looking at the bigger picture though, I can see how our debt is causing a subconscious unhappiness.  An underlying feeling of discontent, a weight that feels heavy and overwhelming.  


So how do I find contentment, right here as we continue to pay our monthly bill to SallieMae?  I don’t think this means that I should necessarily be happy to be in debt, but maybe there’s a balance?  Maybe I can find peace and motivation in the process, hoping for the future but not stressing or constantly thinking about that “one day”.  Debt-free AND feeling more content?  Sounds like a pretty great combination to me.


Just like with Step One, here’s my pep talk to myself for Step Two:


You are not a failure for having debt, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change things for the better.  
Work hard to get rid of the student loans, but don’t let the process consume you.
Determine and take the first steps needed to live below our means.  
Save more than you spend!  We don’t need to keep up with the Joneses.


You may also like:

{link list} Best of the Web Vol.04

It always seem that when I wrestle with something, God provides just what I need at every turn.  These are just a few of the articles I’ve come across the past few days.

To Be Rich in Holiness // “Sometimes, I think I confuse God with a financial planner, a realtor, and a college professor. I fall into the pattern of praying that is common in the land of plenty, fervently begging for the wrong things and overlooking the things that really matter to our Lord.”


Is It Out of Style to be Happy? // “As far as what should come next,  I’m pretty sure it’s either writing a design book or coming up with a product line. I’m hearing capitalize, capitalize, capitalize. But, my heart is screaming is contentment, contentment, contentment–which doesn’t seem to be a very popular buzzword these days. I’m willing to bet that whether you write a blog, teach kids, run an office, or manage a household, that doing more is a message that you’re hearing, too. It’s the underlying theme in just about everything we read, hear and see.  But, what if you’re happy doing what you’re already doing? What if the desire to do more, to go on to the next big thing, just isn’t there? The world tells us that it’s just not enough. I’ve been having a hard time seeing it for what it is. While I’ve been thinking it’s a lack of motivation, I think it might actually be called happiness.”


18 Things That Are Hard to Explain to Third-World Friends // “Seeing your life and culture through the eyes of someone else is eye opening.  It’s wild how it changes the way you see your life and gives you a completely new perspective.  It’s the kind of perspective that makes you pause and really take a look at what you need and what you want and what you have and the difference between all three.  It’s the kind of perspective that reminds you to compare your life to those with less instead of those with more.”


Educator, longtime Wheaton resident raised 8 children // “A devout Catholic, Maurer was a big believer in charity and humility, her son said.  ‘She embraced her responsibility to live her life in fidelity with what the God she loved asked her to do, which was to be humble and to be charitable,’ Karl Maurer said.

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