To Feng Shui or Simplify I ask myself and my family two questions: Does it bring positive emotions and memories? Would we take it with us if we moved? The latter clears out the most stuff. If you wouldn't move it you probably don't need it now either.
The next step is what do you do with the stuff you don't want? Here are some ideas:
Sell it on Craigslist
I look at Craigslist as a garage sale without the hassle of setting it all up in your front yard. This winter I posted 12 ads on Craigslist and so far I've sold everything on 11 out of the 12. We sold everything from old printers, to bikes, to wooden hampers, etc. I find one of the keys is that you list things in multiples of $20 so you don't have to make change. Then you can use the cash for new things you do need, which we in part did, the rest we save for lessons. It's like making a trade, one thing out before something new comes in.
Amazon Trade-In
I find many people are unaware of this program Amazon has, it is not consignment sales but a program where Amazon directly buys your books and DVDs paying the shipping also. Generally you'll get garage sale prices (ie. $1-$2 per DVD) but I did get up to $12 for one DVD. The key I've learned with the program is sell it too them quick. When I've waited the price they are willing to pay has gone down or in some cases they were no longer interested in buying it at all anymore. They post the credit to your account and automatically apply it to your next purchase.
Look for Community Sales
In our area we have two big sales that I have boxed stuff aside to sell at in the coming months. The first is Hannah's Closet Sale at First Methodist Church of Winter Park(week of 2/18 this year), where I can get rid of anything "Kid". I will be mainly selling toys. We've narrowed down our toys to four main types; legos, blocks, FP Little People, games & puzzles, the rest has to go. The second type of sale for us is the used curricula sale in May and June. In your areas it may be a community garage sale or a private one of your own followed by a call to Am Vets, which brings me to the next category.
Donate or just trash
We donated an entire car load of stuff and threw away another car load of stuff that really was just trash. Some we donated to friends, some to organizations (i.e. the library or Am Vets (they'll take nearly anything). As an in-between solution, I find too if you put your trash out early the night before the "gathers" will come by and pick it up stuff before the trashmen (like rugs others won't take), which I guess is donating/recycling in a way too.
Chris was in charge of clearing the garage and attics. The rest of the house was my territory, of course we helped each other along the way.
(Pictures coming soon)
The end result of Chris' efforts to sort and organize, was an accessible garage that now doubles for a baseball practice facility. Titus is out there right now hitting the heavy bag with his bat. Great for muscle building, skill building and frustration/energy release. It will also assure that no matter what the weather this Spring, Lance and Matthew will always have baseball practice since they have their own personal batting/pitching cage. And a side benefit is an ant free garage attic, apparently they were living in some cardboard boxes.
In the house we added foam tiles (which look like wood) to the entire back room for Amber's safety and the enjoyment of everyone. The boys now wrestle and play without worry of clunking on the hard tile floor. We also bought a cute little desk for me in the lego room, finally getting my computer and printer out of the coat closet, Yay!
The hardest things left are the little things, like boxes of photographs and old keepsakes. I find those have to be done in small chunks over and over again over the years. As I get older the memories I cherish change and I find I do not need so many things to remember them by.
The house now feels much lighter, literally and emotionally. Trust me its well worth the effort.
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