Living With Excess- Start Your Spring Cleaning Now!

 A friend once sent me to The Story of Stuff website and it changed my thinking forever. As I look around I realize we have so much! Even someone like me (who is not a buyer, saver or a collector) has so much excess stuff. What to do as we spring clean this month? Here are my thoughts...

• My personal favorite is selling items on Craig's List. It's free. You post and sell on your own terms and it is done. I've found it to be hassle free and VERY economical when you consider all the fees and restrictions against sellers on eBay. *You can also offer free items on Craig's List!

• Freecycle is another option if you want to organize an online donation.

• Take the maternity wear and kids clothes, books, decor, DVDs, bikes, strollers and overall gear to The Second Child on Armitage in Lincoln Park and make $$ on your forgotten items. Our family has been doing this for years and it works! The beautiful thing about consignment is that we always have a credit when we need to buy something new. It's like not spending $$, but getting what you need.  

• You can drop off items at organizations like the Brown Elephant, White Elephant or Salvation Army. There is even a drop off box for the Salvation Army at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Lincoln Park.  

I would be lying if I said I went through all of my closets and drawers each season to reduce our excess. In fact, it is much more than that (I am a born organizer!) and still I find I keep things way too long. In the end I have learned that if I am not using it, someone else could.

Whenever I get that craving to buy the latest trendy thing in a magazine I have to ask myself why I want it. Do I think it will make everything in my life different in some way? (Like one tablecloth has that power! ;) Do I think that I need to keep up with the Joneses when we all know that is a futile, shallow and never ending attempt. In our family we try to scrutinize everything we buy and see whether what comes in has purpose, function and longevity. If it doesn't meet that criteria, it doesn't make the cut. It doesn't come in and then in the end, it doesn't have to come out.

-Eco Chic

Comments

[EcoLabel Fundraising]

Love the "Story of Stuff" site. Haven't seen that before. Tweeted it...good info. Thx.

[Tara]

Very useful tips and a great reminder to get around to my spring cleaning -- just the motivation I needed! Thanks for the nudge.

[@frugalforlife]

The stuff I have goes out my door in this order:
1. Sell
2. Give away to someone who needs it
3. Donate
4. Trash it

[Diane Kidman]

Great article! I dump stuff all the time - former packrat, now I love to get rid of things. Goodwill gets absolutely boxes of stuff from us every year, and our tax deductions really help out!!!