Out With the Old…

Out with the old, in with the new. Each year before Christmas I take some time to clean out items and clothing we no longer use in anticipation for all the new items that will be coming in later. Early November is the perfect time for this for various reasons.

Sales. If you want to sell some items to stash away some extra Christmas money, now is the time. People are looking for gift items, specifically toys and also new winter clothes. Sell now and you will have enough time to use the money you earn to purchase your gifts. Today I sold a perfect condition toy tree house to a lady for $5. She told me that she had been looking for Christmas gifts for her one-year-old and decided to go the second-hand route. Before selling, make sure your items are in great condition or can be fixed up. If an item could use a little TLC, be honest upfront and sell as-is. Some people enjoy a project but rarely anyone likes a surprise project. Price well, as people are looking for a deal.

Christmas decorating! I always like to start my Christmas decorating with a nice clean house, this will make your decorations look the very best. It is also a good practice to take any decorations you did not put out and go ahead and get rid of them now. Do not leave them in storage boxes to deal with in January. If you pass them on in late November/early December, you will find plenty of people who could use them. Other than trees, I have not tried selling Christmas decorations before. I do not know how well they would do since they seem to always be on sale but it is certainly worth a try. If you want to donate your decorations, ask local schools and preschools if they need any for their classrooms. You can also check with social service programs that help sponsor families for Christmas to see if anyone can use the decorations. If you have children, this is a great time to get them to help sort through toys they no longer play with.

Donations! Now is the perfect time to donate your items you no longer need. In addition to dropping off items at your local thrift store, there will be organizations collecting gently used coats. Remember that some families buy all of their Christmas gifts at thrift stores so make sure that the items you donate are clean, in good condition and not missing parts. Check with stores’ policies on what they do and do not accept. This is a busy time for donations, so help the workers out by not sending them items the store cannot take.

Clean out now and you will enjoy the benefits this whole holiday season.

Susan

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