I did something monumental earlier this week. So if you know me, you know I have been trying to do a big organization and cleaning effort. A paring down, really. I like to refer to it as the "Swedish Death Cleanse" (look it up... it's NOT morbid), but not everyone gets that.
Anyway, I have no problem getting rid of things I don't really need or use... to a point. And that point has always been financial (I know, you probably thought I was going to say "sentimental"... I dunno... we'll think about that one later). Okay, so here's an example: I've got something I don't want or need, but it's "too good" to put in the trash or donate piles. Maybe it's something *I* paid a lot of money for, or maybe it's something that now just happens to be worth a lot of money. So my inner me says, "That one goes in the 'need to sell' pile".
I have a LOT of things in the NEED TO SELL pile. And that's even after paring it down to "the only things I can consider listing are things that would bring me more than $25 dollars each because otherwise it's not worth my time/effort to photograph, list, deal with the transaction, and ship".
But I recently had a moment... a moment where I said to myself, "Do you ENJOY listing and selling these items and have the time to do it?" The answer was "obviously not since I never get around to it as the years pass by. Which basically means I've got things taking up precious real estate in my life year after year... in boxes... doing nothing but causing me anxiety (for having stuff that's cluttering up my space) and feelings of guilt (for not being able to find the time to deal with them).
The conclusion I came to was that my peace of mind out-weighed whatever financial gain I'd get from selling the items. And so in a bold move, I took 7 large boxes of highly collectable, specialized items to a specialized donation center. My only stipulation about getting rid of things for free was that I do my best to get the right things into the right hands... like craft items to a center that teaches crafts to children, etc.
Seven boxes is only a start, but it was a good start. It was the mental "first step" that I needed to take. I look forward to ridding myself of more things. Trust me, there's still a HUGE part of me that feels I'm being wasteful. I recall how much I spent on "that stuff" and I feel I should recoup. But all I need to do ask myself: Does the opportunity for a little extra money outweigh the joy of having less clutter, less "to do" tasks, and less guilt?
