My husband and I have been married for six years. During that time, we have managed to finish school, buy a house and grow our small family. In our years of domestic life, there was a subtle, yet silent monster growing in our basement, the monster of extra clutter.
Our home quickly transformed into a time capsule of junk. On the outside, our house looked like the home of a cute young family. On the inside, our basement overflowed with report cards from elementary school and vestiges of my husband’s bachelor days such as car parts, an old chair, and a collection of hot wheels. Needless to say, our cats loved the growing jungle gym of chair limbs to crawl and perch atop.
I like to think of our extra clutter as an onion. Over the years, the pile of randomness grew, unbeknownst to my husband and me, creating new layers of extra clutter. The further in life we progressed, the larger the onion grew. New phrases brought new clutter, with a new layer for marriage, graduation, and kids.
How would we manage the extra clutter?
For those of you like us, who over the years seem to accumulate extra clutter layer on layer, what can you do? There are four options.
- Have a yard sale
- Sell it online
- Give it away
- Put it in storage.
#1 Yard Sale
If I didn’t want my clutter, maybe someone else would. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure, right? Well, sometimes. This route has proven to be a dead end. Turns out, most of our clutter is junk for a reason. Things go out of style, wear out, or simply aren’t useful anymore. A yard sale is a great way to get rid of the items you know are still valuable. On the other hand, don’t expect old clothes, weathered books, or tired furniture to always sell. Check out our how to host a yard sale guide with pricing.
#2 Sell it Online
Like a yard sale, selling items online is a fickle battle. First, you need to create an account, list the item you wish to sell, provide pictures, haggle, etc. I personally didn’t have enough time for this. However, some people find a lot of success on Craigslist, online classifieds, eBay, or new apps like OfferUp. If you don’t mind the prep work and playing the long game, selling your things online can be successful.
#3 Give it away
If you know you’ll never use an item again, and it’s still in decent condition, consider giving it away or donating it to a thrift store. Many families rely on clothing, furniture, and books they find second hand. It can be a great way to support others in your community.
However, knowing what to give away is a tricky option. Some items, such as maternity clothes or other baby related things, you may need again in the future. They don’t come cheap and are nice to hold on to. Still, clearing up space in your home, basement or garage is refreshing.
#4 Put it in Storage
Another option for decluttering the layers of accumulated stuff in your basement is to put some in storage. If the item is worth hanging onto, but you still value your space, a storage unit may provide the extra space you’re looking for. However, when we looked for storage, the prices seemed just a little too high, and we felt unsure about the industrial location. That’s where Neighbor comes in.
Neighbor helps you organize your family home
Neighbor is a great resource because it provides my family with the additional space we need but at a price and location, we felt comfortable with. Both on their app and their website, Neighbor helps you connect with people in your community who have extra space. Instead of taking our stuff to a storage facility, we kept it around the corner with a Neighbor, and for about 50% the price of a storage unit.
Once we started using Neighbor, my parents took interest as well. Turns out they had a lot of heirlooms and their children’s stuff cluttering the house. They were able to clear up space without totally ridding themselves of their memorable items.
Neighbor helps you through every phase of life
No matter if you’re a student figuring out your housing plans, a young family needing extra storage for baby gear, or grandparents trying to get rid of their kids’ extra clutter, Neighbor is here to help. We all want an organized home, and what better way to achieve this goal than by storing our precious keepsakes in someone else’s house? Talk about a win-win situation all around.
