Donating Clothes & Toys After Christmas

You house just became a crazy place again didn’t it?  Now you have all these NEW things to find places for!  I will be many of you still have new clothes sitting in boxes full of tissue paper, still not put away. The drawers are full, closet is full… where will they go?

Toys sitting on the floor because the toy box or shelf is already over flowing with toys. Right?

Now.. I want you to be totally honest with yourself here.  I want you to go look at that closet, those drawers, those toys.  How many of those things have been sitting there, untouched for months? Maybe even years.  We all do it. We hold onto things.  That dress that looked so awesome, 50 pounds ago; that baby toy that we got and loved for your son that is now 10 years old. You know what I mean. It’s difficult to give things up.

Now, I want you to think about that family that has a father who lost his job, or that single mom who is working two jobs to help feed her three kids, that family that had a fire (probably in the news in the last week huh?) and lost everything.

                                                             (picture from google picasa)

Look again at your closet…. think about those who can really use those things…. look at those toys…. think about those kids who got absolutely nothing for Christmas.  Can’t you make some room in your house?

Selling Them?

I know of many people and hear many people who plan to sell everything.  I understand that, I get it – but… how long has that plan been in place? Have you ever executed it? Have you gotten that ebay store going like you keep saying you will?  When can you have the garage sale? In the summer… 6 months away?

Garage Sales - I have had garage sales in the past, I think they can be great. I can always use the money too. If the time of year is right, you have the motivation and time to do it… great – great… get ‘er done! If you can’t have one for months, then forget it.

I say – donate it and take the tax write off.  Help others and clear your house NOW!

Where do you donate?

Good Will
Local Shelters
Check with your Church or a local church
Check with your local Food Pantry
Check online for many resources

This is a food pantry that isn’t far from me.  I had a friend who used to work here. Most donate their time.  They had food that they gave out to those in need.

They also have a clothing thrift shop.  As I remember anyone could come in and purchase the donated clothing & toys at very low cost and for families in need, things were free.

Here was the pile of clothing and items that people had donated that the staff had yet to go through for the day.  You can’t see, but that pile was up to about my waist. Awesome!

When Donating 

Please don’t give them broken toys or toys missing pieces
No torn or damaged clothing (if you can’t wear it because of damage, others can’t either)

Donate and feel good, knowing you have just helped yourself and your family (by creating needed space, teaching valuable lessons to your children, helping with taxes, doing the right thing) and also knowing you are helping those in need.

Craigslist or eBay? Which should I use?

We have wanted to get an eBay account going for some time.  I am doing some more decluttering and have some great items to get rid of. Imagine that? My hubby has some antiques at his farm that he is going through and he wants to sell those.

Craigslist

I’m hearing some really negative talk about Craigslist lately.  I just read a story about a woman getting robbed at gunpoint at her own home.  She was the seller and this guy came to look at some jewelry she has for sale. I know those situations happen anywhere..with anything. More than likely crimes aren’t any worse than they ever were, they are just getting some media attention.

I’m hearing about job scams on Craigslist. There was even a notice on Craigslist warning of them.

On the other hand, I have several people telling on Facebook that Craigslist is a great way to go.  I don’t have to worry about shipping things, so that is one headache averted. But I won’t be reaching the audience that I would if I were on eBay.

eBay

Dave and I have wanted to start an eBay store for awhile.  What seems to always stop us is – how to begin.  I have read a few different things in the last year or so.

There are different opinions about which is the best day to start your bidding and ending your bidding? Who is right? Which is better?

People say the fees are too high. I got onto one of their communication boards the other day to look for some information on how to begin. I read a thread from sellers that weren’t selling anything and they wondered what was up. One person had over 1,000 items in their store and in the last five days had not sold a thing. He said that has never happened to him. They were all saying how terrible their sales had been. So then I think… should I even start one? Someone who doesn’t even really know the ropes? What chance do I have?

Does anyone know of any other ways to sell items that are popular, but don’t cost a huge monthly fee?

Has anyone done a look into just listing items to sell yourself on your blog? Anyone have any luck with that or have you ever seen it?  What would you think of that if you saw items like that in my store or mentioned occasionally  on my blog or sidebar? I wouldn’t be able to do bidding….  good or bad?

Thoughts?

Do what do you think? Do I have pass down ability here? (and I am short 2 kids in this pic) LOL

I love getting a call from a dear friend of mine saying, “Sandy – I have gone through the kids things and I have 2 big bags of clothes for your triplets!” It’s like Christmas time going through the bags to see what will fit and what we can use.

Not everything fits or will work, and if we can’t use it I pass it on. I have a couple girls that I work with that have children who I pass the triplets clothes and toys down to. If it isn’t something they can use, I take it to the Goodwill store that is in my town.

My older boys clothes go into a bin that are labeled and I save those for the triplets. (at least the boys)

Personally, I do not keep most of it for garage sales. I do not want to store things through the year waiting for a garage sale to make .25 off a shirt. I would rather give it to someone that I know who can really use it for free, or second best give it to Goodwill. I know someone has to buy it from there, but it is out of my house and I have my space back. Garage sales aren’t bad, if you have the space to store the things until you have it.

I have no problem looking at garage sales for clothes to fit the kids. I am not too proud to use hand me downs or buy clothing at a garage sale. These kids grow fast and aren’t in them more than a season. I wish I could afford to always buy them new, but I am practical and even if I could afford to buy them the best of clothing….it makes sense to reuse things. Recycle…be green with clothes too.