The $500 Decluttering Challenge
I can’t stand clutter. Guests would describe my home as neat and clean, but I can walk into any room in my house and find things that need to be reorganized, cleaned, or disposed of. I’m always in a state of believing that I have too many material possessions. If I can’t remember the last time I used something, then I’m ready to throw it out.
The clutter in my home has really been poking at me lately, specifically the number of computers that we have. I have a desktop in my home office area, and our laptop resides in our kitchen that my wife typically uses. When my son recently upgraded his computer, I bought his old parts and assembled another desktop.
Our family of three has four computers.
That realization was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I need to go through my home and get rid of things I don’t need, don’t want, or don’t use. My wife didn’t share my vision, questioning just how much stuff I could find that I could sell or even just throw away. I took her disbelief as an opportunity to challenge myself.
I challenged myself to sell $500 worth of items from our home on Craigslist.
The extra computer will take a nice slice off that $500, but I’m going to have to dig deep if I’m going to find enough things to sell enough things to meet my goal. The expectation is that the items will be sold at garage sale prices, so I’ll be scouring closets, storage rooms and even the attic looking for things to put up for sale. Computers, tools, toys and clothes are all on the table as eligible victims of my decluttering effort.
If I can even come close to pulling this off, not only will my home be a little less cluttered but I’ll have a little extra cash in my pocket. Oh, and let’s not forget bragging rights with my wife. I’d better not brag too much, though, or I’ll have to spend my pocket money on something nice for her. Maybe that’s not a bad idea anyway.
Do you hate clutter as much as I do? Could you find $500 worth of stuff in your home to sell? Want to join me this decluttering challenge? Stay tuned for updates on how I’m doing!
Brought to you courtesy of Brock
Brock is a software engineer by day and personal finance blogger at night. He is a fitness junkie and enjoys grilling and smoking meat. Married with two children, Brock strives to improve his skills as a husband and father, and is always on the lookout to stretch his family’s budget as far as he can.
I have just started with getting rid of my stuff and I have also realized we have more than enough tech and some of it can go. I’ve sold a Macbook for 300 so far and lots more to go…
Good luck! I’m in the middle of a multi-month project to completely de-clutter our basement. This means that I’ll essentially touch everything down there to make sure that it’s needed and that it’s in the right spot. So far I’ve gotten rid of a LOT!
Great timing on this article for me! I am moving across the country at the end of the month and from the suburbs to the city. So I am going to try to cut my belongings by half before I move. I am not sure if I will make $500 but I will definitely sell several items.
I was just looking around my home the other day and saw a number of things that I no longer need or use. I plan to have a fall declutter spree in the next few weeks.
@Jim – Nice work! Stop back and let us know what else you’ve sold!
@MoneyBeagle – I remember reading a recent post of yours about your basement project….it feels great to clean out the house – good luck on your project as well!
@Charlotte – Hey, find your own goal, and go for it. Stop back and let us all know how you did!
@GenerationsThriftStore – Awesome! Hope your project is successful – stop back and let us know how it went!
We recently cleaned out the garage. Most of our stuff was pretty old and probably wouldn’t have sold well, so we just gave it all away. Our garage seems 10 times bigger now.
Shoot. I saw the heading in my email and thought I could win $500 by (finally) getting my attic clean. Since quitting my job last year, the attic has been my biggest goal, and the one I’ve avoided the most. I make a lot of excuses, like having to keep the rest of the house clean, etc. But I have started, and I have made some money. My best estimate so far is probably around $225. Now that I’ve read this post, I’m going to start anew. Maybe I’ll even take an embarrassing picture. And I’m going to keep track of what I’ve earned going forward. There are 3 computers up there, but those will probably be scrapped.
Gotta go organize!
@Tony – Well, at least you got rid of the clutter, there’s value in just that!
@Cathie – LOL, that would be a GREAT giveaway, wouldn’t it? Hope you successfully tackle that attic…..get it done!