I’m getting ready to move from a 3-bedroom townhouse with a full basement and attic to a 1-bedroom apartment! In addition to all the things I’ve collected, I have most of my parent’s possessions and many that came from my grandmother. I have a lot of decisions to make!
Many of the organizational gurus suggest:
- Work on one room at a time
- Divide belongings into keep, divest, and maybe.
- Designate bins and/or table tops for each category.
- Be ruthless.
- If you haven’t used it in a year – divest yourself of the item
- Sentimental items should be kept only if you will use them; take a picture of the item if you want a remembrance
- Let the maybe pile sit for a day or two and then decide to keep or divest.
How to divest yourself of unwanted / unneeded items:
- Have a downsizing sale – this name is important as it alerts buyers that there are likely to be more quality items than one would find at a typical yard or garage sale.
- Advertise in classifieds or on websites like Craig’s list.
- Post on e-bay, or on etsy if the item is vintage.
- Consign – check with the consignment store for hours when they accept items and their standards. For instance, some shops accept items only on wire hangers.
- Contact auctioneers
- Contact buyers. There is an e-bay store, they handle e-bay ales for a fee, near me that buys out estates and the like.
