How Do I Sell All My Stuff?

I’ve read a lot of blog posts, articles, listened to podcast episodes, watched YouTube videos where people say they get rid of everything they owned before they left to travel long term. It makes sense to not have a lot of “things” back at home if you no longer know where home is or if you’ll return. And it’s nice to have a little chunk of cash to start out with when traveling from the items you sell. But how the heck does one sell everything? Logistically?

Take Stock

For me, it starts with an honest assessment of my belongings. First, do I have anything anyone else will want? Are things in good condition, and is there a market for them? I have tons of books and DVDs, but if everyone reads e-books and streams movies these days, will anyone want to buy the physical versions? I have a lot of clothes, but more because I keep everything than because I’m a fashion guru with the most stylish outfits. And I have old electronics, but with newer models, why would someone want a five year old Amazon Fire?

Sell, Donate, Give Away, or Trash?

Next is deciding what is worth trying to sell, what to donate, what to give away and what to just trash. The pack rat in me finds it hard to throw things away. And generally that seems like it should be a last resort, and mainly reserved for clothing with holes, or pens that no longer work. So initially, I’m choosing between selling and donating. Like I said, it would be nice to have a small chunk of cash when I leave from things I’ve sold. But that creates more challenges.

Where do I Sell My Stuff?

Facebook Marketplace? eBay? Amazon Marketplace? Craigslist? Poshmark? OfferUp? I have in the past used all of these platforms for selling things. But they all require listing each item separately, and when selling everything, that’s an overwhelming task!

A garage sale would be the most efficient, but I live in a high-rise building with a secure entrance. And in COVID times I also don’t want a lot of strangers in my apartment. So I’ve been wrestling with this question for about a year.

Where to Start

I read Marie Kondo’s book, and watched her Netflix show, and it inspired me to make a start on decluttering. Since I’ve been pretty isolated for almost two years due to COVID, and I’ve been working from home, I decided to start by clearing out my closet. I didn’t commit to doing my whole home, but I committed to one category: clothing. There were a lot of clothes in there I had no need for, and I thought that if I ever did need dress or professional clothes again I would probably want to buy new things after so long stuck at home.

As instructed, I took every item of clothing in my apartment to put it on my bed. Since I only have a one bedroom and I knew this would take more than one day, I opened up my sleeper sofa and used that bed for the clothing.

Of course, this left me with no place to sit in my living room, so that was motivation to get through the process.

Decluttering My Closet

It took me a solid week. If you have not read Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, she tells you to hold each item, and see if it sparks joy. Anything that doesn’t spark joy gets discarded. Anything that does spark joy goes back in the closet. I’ll save you the suspense…not much of my clothing sparks joy. In me or anyone else. Especially after a year living in pajamas and sweatpants. After the week, my closet was definitely a lot less cluttered.

I kept maybe a fifth of my clothing. Now, a year later, I couldn’t tell you what I got rid of and I certainly don’t miss any of it. Once I had decided what to keep, I had a pile of stuff to get rid of. The question then was: trash, donate, or sell?

Disposing of the Discards

I threw away two trash bags of clothes that were worn out, damaged, etc. Then I donated six more bags of clothes that were well-used.

I kept items that had never been worn, were brand name, or that I thought there might be a market to sell. I had some good luck listing some of those items on eBay and Poshmark right after the decluttering. But listing each item, one by one, is exhausting and boring, and I quickly lost interest. I still have a lot of those items in a closet waiting to be listed online to be sold.

Round 2

Now that I’m leaving to travel, I have to get rid of even more clothes that I won’t be taking abroad with me. All of the professional clothes I kept at the end of last year thinking my office might end our mandatory telework this year– I don’t need any of those going forward. I plan to travel with only carry-on luggage so I won’t be taking a lot. So in addition to the clothes that have been sitting in a closet for a year waiting to be posted for sale online, I have to dispose of my professional wardrobe and other items I won’t be taking abroad with me.

Door Number 4…the Giveaway

A couple weeks ago, my brother’s girlfriend posted online that her office would end telework and be in person at the beginning of next year. She needed to buy new professional clothes. We’re the same size, so I told her I could bring some things to Thanksgiving dinner and she could take what she liked. I brought a large suitcase filled with mostly professional clothes, but also some other items I had yet to list for sale. She took almost all of it home, including the suitcase. Which is great and means less for me to decide how to get rid of.

Same Question: Sell, Donate, Give Away, or Trash?

So now I’m back where I started, albeit with a lot fewer items of clothing. The question is whether trying to sell the remaining clothes is worth the time it’ll take to do so. If I’m only going to get $5 for a shirt, minus seller fees, is it worth it? Or should I just donate the item or give it away? (If it’s something I’ve been wearing around the house for the last two years, it’s probably getting trashed).

Starting with clothing has demonstrated that I need to balance my time with the expected sales price. While it would be nice to have a little extra cash as I start out this nomadic journey, selling shirts for $5 isn’t going to move the needle much. And I have too much to do before I go to spend all my time listing items for sale online. I’ve learned I am willing to just take the loss by donating, giving away, or throwing things out. The idea of trying to sell everything is overwhelming. So after a year of fretting about the clothes, I’ll take that lesson into the rest of my downsizing.

I’ll do another post about selling non-clothes, but if you are interested in buying my stuff, check out my listings here on the Facebook Marketplace.