Enough is enough - the great declutter

missyg_3

Thanks Angela for such a wonderful detailed response! I might ask for a breadmaker for my birthday Keeping it MSE I'll have a look at the relevant thread and get some recommendations!

Keep us posted about your house!

angelavdavis

Hi all,

I have been clearing out the office desk this morning. I had hastily shoved everything in the drawers last week, with a plan to clear it out.

So, I have managed to shred two bags of paper which are going into the recycling, at the same time I have also been ripping CDs onto iTunes so we can pack these away ready for the move.

I have also filed my paperwork away, but didn't find my Tesco clubcard that I thought might have been in there.

However, in the process of clearing out the desk, I found:

• a £10 Pizza Hut voucher from Pigsback,
• £29.50 worth of Clubcard vouchers (which I have swapped for £100 vouchers for Cafe Rouge that I will hopefully use for my MBA award meal with the family),
• £75 Morgan Stanley cashback cheque,
• A BBC Homes Magazine subscription voucher to swap for a year's subscription from Tesco Deals,
• My new Bank cash card and Pin no
• My Barclaycard pin no (its a stooze card)
• My Virgin pin no (also a stooze card)
• £32.07 cheque for recycling my mobile

Not bad for an hour worth of effort!

pigpen

I have 16 things now selling on ebay.. £33 for far and another 2 days to run so it's doing ok. I have a bunch of bras to lost now.. to fund my new ones!

I decided the sofa is going.. but I need to find it first!!

Casperthefriendlyghost

Hi everyone

Have been following this thread with great interest for some time. Finally decided to post. Have been trying really hard to clear my clutter, it's a painfully slow process, books to read, dvds to watch, paperwork to sort, & many other things incl 100s of recipe books to go through and recipes to try, it'll take for ever! anyway managed to sell most of my dvds on amazon, now only have 1 left, which I will NEVER part with Torchwood Season 1 lol. (See avatar lol) Am going to see him live at London Hammersmith Apollo Sunday - sorry, slightly off topic lol.

Anyway, am also selling cds on Amazon & ebay, have managed to sell a fair amount, but it seems painfully slow at the moment. 1 watcher on 1 cd, only post 5 at a time, can't keep track of more than that at a time in one place. Another 8 on amazon, managed to sell 1 in the last week, anyway no rush, as long as they go. The ebay ones I only sell there as they don't sell them on amazon, so no choice about that, don't really like ebay but WTH, it's my last attempt before I give them to charity.

Just don't know how bidding works. If someone bids for your stuff, how do you know how much they will pay if there is no reserve just a starting price? Does it run for the full 10 days and then you have to accept the final bid? Don't really know, so have put things on as buy now. Sorry to be picking your brains, this is turning into an essay!

Thanx so much
Cheers
Casper
x x x

missyg_3

Hi guys, I now have £41 in current bids. I'm hoping to make it £64 by the end so that my total for the month will be £200

Hi Casper and welcome! You won't know the maximum the bidder is prepared to pay and yes if you selected auction-only without a buy it now option, it will run the full number of days you've selected, so you'll only find out the final price at the end! Hope that helps - and you're welcome to pick our brains (also you might get a wider range of responses on the ebay forum if you have general questions?)

Casperthefriendlyghost

missyg wrote: »

Hi guys, I now have £41 in current bids. I'm hoping to make it £64 by the end so that my total for the month will be £200

Hi Casper and welcome! You won't know the maximum the bidder is prepared to pay and yes if you selected auction-only without a buy it now option, it will run the full number of days you've selected, so you'll only find out the final price at the end! Hope that helps - and you're welcome to pick our brains (also you might get a wider range of responses on the ebay forum if you have general questions?)

Hi missyg

Thanx so much for your response, it's really set my mind at ease, because I assumed that's how it works, but was scared incase I mess it up lol. I'm so jealous of all you guys making so much money on ebay, but will be patient thanx. Good luck with your efforts and so well done to all of you. I will get there I know, just need some patience, lol. That's not easy, but hey it's not a race as my friend keeps telling me lol (maybe not for her - she's not as competative as me lol)

Cheers
Casper
x x x

zebedy

Hi,

I have helped my mum declutter (as I love decluttering) and have got rid of her junk by ebaying, selling books on Green Metropolis, and freecycling to try and keep from throwing things away. She is really pleased to have more space and i made her a couple of hundred pounds (setting up ebay seller account and paypal etc would be beyond her).

Her neighbour (and family friend) has now asked if i can help her too. I'd be really happy to and would do the physical decluttering for free but as the selling on ebay and being in for freecycle pick-ups etc takes a bit of time. I am tempted to ask for 10% of the money she makes (ie. money gained, take off ebay fees, p&p etc and the remainder is her profit but i would get 10% of that profit).

Do you think it is cheeky to ask for this - I'd really like your thoughts. If I do and she is happy I can ask Mum and her to recommend me to other friends and make a bit of money on the side doing something i enjoy.

It would have to be firends and friends of friends really as there is an element of trust involved. I will be taking their junk away and they will trust me that I am getting the best amount i reasonably can for it and being honest in telling them "this is how much you've made..., so my cut is...."

Mum said i was good at helping her to part with some things but understanding enough to let her keep others for sentimental value etc. So not as brutal as those TV programmes but still freeing up lots of space.

All thoughts welcome

charlies_mum

HI

I think you are entitled to ask for some payment, but personally I don't think 10% is enough. I know you don't want to sound greedy, but if you don't list the things then your Mum's friend won't make anything.

I constantly get asked to list things for other people, but refuse as I run my Ebay as a business and don't want to pay tax on their sales.

You might find your idea will take off, so set your charges at a reasonable level now

missyg_3

Another thing to remember with ebay is a lot of people wait until the last minute or even last seconds to bid, it can be fun if you get a couple of people in a bidding war over your item

I'd definitely recommend that people new to ebay start off slowly with just a few items so you're already doing the right thing while you get used to it. Good luck

Angela what a result! Please tell me those cheques are still in date to pay in?!

pigpen

Zebedy.. of course you are within your rights to ask for some contribution.. I have listed stuff for other people and said 20%.. most cash converter type places charge way more than that!!

The sofa from the other day is being unearthed this afternoon and freecycled.. incentive to sort through this back room.. I am determined to have no furniture left!!! lol I will watch ebay for a local to pick up dining table and chairs to replace it.. I am demanding floor space!