It’s a brand new year with hopes of grand junkin’ adventures ahead! As all my vintage loving friends would say, “In with the old, out with the new!” So why is this post titled “In With The New Out With The Old? Vintage junkaholics will most often choose vintage items over new any day, but sometimes we just need to clear the clutter! The new year is a great time to give our homes a good deep cleaning, reorganization, and restyling, which may even mean adding some new decor or accessories to freshen things up. A lot of times people ask me how my home is so organized when it is obvious I am a huge collector and vintage hoarder of junk. The answer lies in purging through donating and selling online in my Esty shop on a regular basis. Of course there are other selling sites which I will discuss below. *This post contains affiliate links and/or sponsored content.
In With the New Out With The Old
A brand new year can often bring about a feeling of wanting to create a brand new you, and while this has many facets, one area that is easy to create instant change in is your home environment. Now that the festive holiday season has passed, this is the perfect time to think about restyling a room, which means you may also have to clear the clutter and purge some junk. Yes, even we vintage junkaholics must purge from time to time! One thing to consider of course is getting some new furniture, in which case, you will need to decide what to do with your old furniture in order to make space for the new. Even a piece of vintage furniture can be “new to you,” so always be sure to check local consignment shops. Sometimes you can find an amazing deal on nearly new or like new furniture.
If you’re not willing to repurpose or upcycle your old furniture, there are several ways to get rid of furniture that can offer a bit of extra cash to pay for your new items, or at the very least, will offer a free way to dispose of unwanted furniture without any additional cost or hassle. Here are the two primary options:
Donate
Donating pieces of old furniture allows you to get rid of even large items such as couches, chairs, and desks without having to pay for them to be removed, while at the same time, they help other people in need of furniture for their home.
You could consider donating to a local shelter, furniture bank, or the Salvation Army. The majority of charities have facilities to collect items at zero cost and welcome donations, however, they can be a little backlogged in terms of their availability to pick up the item.
Sell Online
There are a number of places you can sell your furniture online. Listings websites such as Craigslist offer a classified ad format where you can include a description of the item along with enticing photographs – indeed, it’s often photographs that sell the item and ads without photos are often passed by.
The two main considerations people will have when using Craigslist is proximity and deliverability; first, they will want to make sure that you are local to them – so make sure you advertise in the right section of the website.
Secondly, the number one concern people using these websites express is how to get the item from the seller – particularly if it’s a large item of furniture.
This is where services like Shiply come in, where companies compete in a bidding format to move your heavy or bulky items… by pointing potential buyers to these resource takes away their concern about having to move the item themselves.
EBAY
The alternative to classified ads are online auctions such as eBay. There are more specialist auction sites around, but as eBay has the most prolific user base it is recommended to list the item on this site as it is likely to get the most attention. Importantly, you’ll want to set a reserve price, which is the minimum price you’ll allow the item to be sold for – if not, you could end up selling the item for just a few dollars, even if it’s worth several hundred. Again, photos are the best form of advertisement as most users won’t read through lengthy paragraphs of text describing the item, and as the popular saying goes, “a picture paints a thousand words.”
One of my main goals for 2018 is to become even more organized and to get rid of things I am no longer using. Tomorrow I have plans to start cleaning out the basement and to sort items into boxes labeled “donate,” “sell,” and “upcycle.” I have also started looking for ways to incorporate some “new” vintage style decor to keep everything looking fresh and up to date, while still retaining my signature vintage style I love so dearly.
I recently shared a post of one of my favorite online shops, Bits Of Vintage. Once you take a look, you might be changing your decor slogan to “In With The New, Out With The Old!” Right now I am holding off on buying anything else until I have reached my goals of organizing that basement! After all, I have big junkin’ adventure planned with my mom for spring at Vintage Market Days, and I have to make some room for all the “new” treasures I am sure to find!
Wish me luck! Happy cleaning, organizing, donating, selling…and junkin’!
Amber
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