Declutter Your Home & Boost Your Bottom Line in Three Steps

Clutter can be stressful. Whether it’s piles of mail on your kitchen table or a garage full of junk you’ll never use, a messy living space makes most of us feel disorganized. And if you don’t address it early, you may reach a point where it’s hard to even know where to start.

The good news is that anyone can declutter their home and—bonus!—make a little cash on the side as a result. We broke the process down into three steps. Check it out:

Step 1: Prioritize

Are you still holding onto your kids’ toys even though they’re fully grown? Do you keep your favorite magazines from the 90s just in case you decide to revisit them some day?

The first step to decluttering your home is deciding what you need. If you use something now, definitely plan to use it in the future, or if it’s something sentimental that you truly can’t live without, keep it. Otherwise, it has to go (be ruthless!).

Step 2: Downsize

After you decide what goes, you’ll need to start the process of downsizing your home. This step is a true test of your commitment. After all, it’s one thing to say you’ll get rid of something, it’s another to actually do it!

If your load is fairly small, you may be able to handle it yourself without a problem. If you’re putting together a major haul of used items, ask a family member or friend to help box them up. Not only will this make downsizing go faster, you’ll have emotional support in case you’re parting with meaningful things from your past. You never know what kind of memories or feelings it may bring up.

Step 3: Monetize

This is the part where you get rewarded for your hard work! There’s an interested buyer for just about anything online, so take advantage of Internet resources such as Craig’s List, eBay and Facebook Marketplace.

If you’d rather try to bulk-sell as opposed to writing descriptions and photographing each and every item, have a yard sale. You’ll get rid of your junk and make a buck at the same time.

BALANCE