Spring is the best time to make your life clearer, no matter if we’re talking about emotions or your old stuff that you no longer use. If you want to prevent your home from cluttering, help other people by giving them what they need and make some money at the same time, check out our guide to getting rid of old things in a way that can benefit everyone. Trust us, you’ll love it!
Choose as you go
You can have two different strategies for clearing out the house: you can either do it all in one day by checking every room, closet and storage space for useless stuff, or you can put items you no longer need into a special box. As soon as that box becomes full, take it as a sign that it’s time to decide what to do with all that stuff. It’s also recommended to create a list of things you put into boxes or use little labels for each individual item – that way you’ll easily find the necessary item, for example, the one you’ve decided to keep instead of selling, even if it’s buried underneath dozens of other things.
Avoid sentimentality
When you go over your old stuff, it can be very easy to fall into a rabbit hole of memories and think that some things are more valuable than they really are. It can be your old wedding dress, your baby’s first blanket, or a TV that you bought years ago and that is no longer working but you still believe you can repair it eventually. All this stuff takes a lot of space in your room and isn’t useful in any way, so instead of piling up the things, think about getting rid of them and leave only the most valuable, preferably small items.
Put the stuff in groups
Even when you’re getting rid of useless items, it’s important to remain organized. This includes putting items into individual boxes according to their categories. For example, you can have a dedicated box for women’s clothes. Electronics and home appliances will go into another box. The third box can be used for baby products your kids have grown out of. You can change the numbers and names of boxes, but the basic principle remains the same: you’ll find it much easier to deal with old stuff if it’s put into neat boxes.
Go room by room
If you decide to take the first way and check your entire house for old stuff at once, take a smart approach to the selection process. It’s important to give one room a proper check before moving on to the next room. If you start decluttering one room and then suddenly drop everything and move to the kitchen, your efforts will not bring you the results you want – plus, you’ll get so exhausted in the process that you won’t want to continue the next day.
Repurpose old things
Not every single thing that appears to be useless needs to be thrown out or sold – you can put a lot of things to good use if you know how to do it. There are lots of ways to recycle everything, from old plastic bottles to bedsheets and shirts you no longer use. If you find a couple of thing that can be repurposed, but you don’t know how to make it real, try looking for DIY tutorials on YouTube or Google, and you’ll likely find some good ones.
How to sell your things online
Selling old stuff online is the best way to get rid of things you no longer need: not only does it clear up the space, but it also gives you an opportunity to make some money. Of course, you can always have a yard sale and invite your neighbours, but if you choose to do it online, you will have more chances to make a successful sale. We recommend posting ads on Jiji – this huge Nigerian marketplace is a perfect place for sellers and buyers to meet.
Creating a successful ad is easier than you think. First you’ll need to take some good photos of your goods – they don’t need to be taken with a professional camera, but they need to be detailed and lit enough for potential buyers to see the items in full. Next write a compelling description – don’t make it too long, but make sure to include some important details, like production year, condition, and your requirements for meetings. When everything is ready, post your ad to Jiji. If you want to attract even more buyers, post a link to your ad to your social media profiles like Facebook and Twitter – that way you’ll make your ad visible to more potential customers, plus your friends can also like your items and you’ll make a successful sale to the people you already know.
