Hoarding - Items accumulated - need advise from those with experience please:)

[stonevintage]

Worked all spring/summer and got rid of half of the items accumulated over the 10 years I sold here. Items were donated - a win, win and it felt good.

However, I retained some items, acquired some commercial storage shelving (cheap from a closeout thrift store) and now instead of everything crammed into the large totes... they're out and catagorized where I can see them.

Problem.... now that I've decluttered and can see what I have I want to do more. I want to get rid of more.    But something is holding me up.  I felt conflicted about all the stuff I donated about 2 months after that was done.  The items retained.... I'm getting mentally blocked.  

I've been watching hoarder shows on youtube all morning and don't think I'm a bonafide hoarder as my reasons for keeping most of the stuff are money driven. I haven't purchased any new (to me) items since the big clean out.   I keep thinking that I'll find some way to liquidate the balance but my options now are to sell most items for a dollar each to a reseller.  The resellers here are overwhelmed with stock - so many collectible/vintage resellers leaving the business.  

Don't really need suggestions to sell elsewhere online or have a yard sale etc. I would love to hear from fellow sellers that overcame their personal reluctance and found a way to shut down the "my precious" or "will have resale value some day" gremlins from holding them hostage.  It's so harsh when we do things we can see are logically stupid but can't overcome the negative thoughts.

Thanks:)

[ersatz_sobriquet]

You could take a small box everyday over to the donation center......

Look. You have to either-- sell each item, throw each item out, or donate them, or give them away. There simply are no other options. You can't hire carrier pigeons to take the stuff away, and you can't expect these items to grow feet and wander off on their own. 

As someone with an absolutely massive out of control hoard of inventory, I get it. I also get that none of this stuff walks off on its own.....it's all still here the next morning when I wake up. 

I have to take the stand that moving the item out of my possession is a positive thing, and keeping it in my possession is a negative thing. 

Go for the positive. 

[thenobletuckylife]

Morning Vintage,

Long time no see.

Ah common you are a hoarder...just not in the later stages.

You can't pass up a GOOD deal.

I went with my friend to visit his Mom down in Florida back in 2002.  He never clued me in until it was too late. She was a full fledged hoarder.

Within minutes of arriving we were just standing there...no where to sit...crumbs on the table.

She passed him a tin of cookies...he declined...then she passed it to me. I was gracious and took one and bit into it.

It was rancid. I had all I could do to not spit it out. Later that night when she offered to make supper he suggested we eat out. He and I went out to my car to reposition some of the lugage so she could come with us.

He then turned to me and said...don't eat here...most of her food is outdated by years...she gets them from yard sales and thrift stores.

Thanks Dude!

You know what...she is a honey and everyone loves her...still no room at her place to sit down.

Mr C

[escuintla]

What happens is that usually you hoard things because when you think you are going to post them.....another better item comes your way that can give you more $ and you just put those "worthless" items aside.  It is about "priorities", to decide if it's worth it to keep them taking space in your home, garage or storage.

It happened to me, I used to buy DVDs to sell in a bundle, and when I was ready, another item deserving my attention because the $ to make was better got on my way. Now, after so many years I got tons of DVDs there, waiting for me to list them.  But, then, this lot of CDs and cassettes came along and distracted me from doing it because there's going to be lots of $ to be made and perhaps it will pay for that trip I have been postponing for 27 years to go back to my country of origin so I can hug mom and pop and my 2 surviving sisters and the nephews and cousing and nieces, friends, etc.

So, my advice: don't get greedy, let them go at a cost of a penny here and there in profit. You are better with $1  in your hand than 1,000 flying. Or should I say wasting space somewhere?

[nawlinsron2]

You said it yourself..."will have resale value some day".

You have to DEFINE someday...in your case the sooner the better.
Put your stuff in lots with a sell by date...pretend each is a gallon of milk.
If the lot is still there on the expiration date...toss it.
The calendar made the decision, not you. Ergo, no guilt.

[stonevintage]

I have the means to get the stuff out of there.  It's the letting go I'm having the problem with.  One store owner has been waiting for months for me to have him over so he can go thru and select what he wants.  He's the guy that's still buying but will only pay a buck or two for any item regardless of value.

The other, the thrift that I donated most of my stuff to got approval to deliver their large gaylord crates... one at a time - picking each one up as I fill them.  So that part's ready to go.  Snow will start flying in about 3 days so I am pressed for time.  Either get my head right and get it done now or hold on to it until next spring.

Just sitting here playing with my mental blocks and getting nothing done.

[papermoneyforme]

Pretend you are moving.

When I moved, I took 2 truck and trailer loads to the aution, 2 to the scrap yard, and 3 to the dump.

I still ended up moving 2 - 5 ton truck loads, but it made me feel a whole lot better.

I have not bought anything to resell in over 5 years and have no regrets.

I still buy for my hobby and am also disposing of some of my other collections. It gives me something to do.

[penguins_dont_fly]

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stonevintage 

Don't really need suggestions to sell elsewhere online or have a yard sale etc. I would love to hear from fellow sellers that overcame their personal reluctance and found a way to shut down the "my precious" or "will have resale value some day" gremlins from holding them hostage.  It's so harsh when we do things we can see are logically stupid but can't overcome the negative thoughts.

Thanks:)

Stone, first ... good on you for getting rid of the first half 🙂

Now ... how to depersonalize the rest is going to take some hard looking at what your needs are. You have to take the want and the maybe and the someday out of the equation.

Idaho winter is coming on fast ... what do you need to do to be ready and get through? How much money is that going to take?

The stuff on the shelves represents, at least, the heating bill .... unlisted it is worth nothing.

Take one piece at a time and LIST IT. Don't take the time to pick and choose or reminisce about what "your precious" means to you ... think about the future.

Enlist someone to do the picking for you, if necessary. Let them choose one or two somethings off the shelf for you to list ... And just DO IT.

You've gotten this far ... now onto the rest .... 

If you want to give yourself an "out" ...allow yourself to keep 1 of every 20 things...And when that cull is done (with 19 of the 20 listed, not back on the shelf), bring it to 1 in 10 and then 1 in 5 ...

Anything that you don't have room for in the house is extraneous. If you really and truly felt that you needed to keep this item, it should be in a place of prominence, not in the shed .... think about that 🙂

Good Luck

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[18704d]

" One store owner has been waiting for months for me to have him over so he can go thru and select what he wants.  He's the guy that's still buying but will only pay a buck or two for any item regardless of value."

-------------

He only wants to cherry pick the most expensive items.

(ones that you should be listing on eBay, yourself)

I thought you wanted to get rid of major piles of stuff, so

Put a pile together of items, some which he would want

Tell him the price is how-many dollars, but he has to take it all.

then stick to your guns,

Lynn

[bubbleman2010]

I always look at the brightside of hoarding could be a crackhead or a drunk,but I just prefer being junk drunk instead........

[swenson8781]

I'm sorry you are stuck in this, sometimes it's hard to clear the mind so we can move forward/grow.  

As for the stuff you donated, you have to logically let it go.  You have no way to get it back, so you need to move on from that.  I'm assuming you sell another another ID, how many items do you already have listed?  Do you want to continue to grow your store/selling or shrink it down?  You cannot easily decide how to proceed forward, until you get clear on what you want to do overall.  Once you decide what your end goal is (more selling or stop/less selling), focus on that, and your mind will become more clear about the path you need to take to get where you want to be.

I've been at that spot before, and once I decided what I wanted to do, it made it sooooo much easier to find the 'way' to do it.  If you want to shrink your selling, envision your space with less items, donate the items that are unlikely to sell for a certain $$ amount (maybe anthing under $10-$15 at least), and work hard on listing the ones you still have.  Don't go shopping at all, don't allow yourself to buy more.  It took me close to a year to rid myself of tons of inventory, now I stay on top of it.  Not a quick process, but effective, slow & steady wins the race!

If you want to build your selling/store, I'd follow the same thing as above, until you have it more under control.  You have to work hard to focus on getting out of the mindset 'everything has a value', that was very true early on, but not so much nowadays.  It's okay to be more selective, and it's okay to rid yourself of items that once had value, but probably don't any longer.

I just completely re-did my inventory system.  I had everything in bins, simply based on gender (sell clothing), so to find something to ship I had to sort through every bin.  Took me 10+ hrs, for 3 solid days, to organize and revise every single listing.  But I had a mental block, and hated listing new items, to simply add to the chaos.  Now, MUCH more room, zero chaos, can find things in 30 seconds! Well worth it.  But before I started, I had to create a vision of WHAT I wanted.  That was the hardest part.

Those are my thoughts/experiences! I do pray/hope you find your way, like I said, take some time to clear your mind, and THINK about what you want/don't want for your living space & selling.  It will really help you to move forward!

[siayan]

I would suggest looking at the items and try to determine a realistic value. Then think about the time and effort to get rid of it. I would assume the remainder is probably not a lot of money. Why keep that space plugged up when you can use it for useful purposes? It actually is costing money to keep it.

With that sage advice I have to say I am always in the same boat. Usually I call the auctioneer and have an auction. I have had 5 over the years. The problem is you won't find an auctioneer to do a auction unless it brings in a least 10k. There is usually a junk auctioneer who will do junk consignment but you usually get junk prices.

It always felt better when I was rid of everything.

[stonevintage]

Wow:) thank you all for the suggestions.  You get it.  I don't need to sort thru any more stuff though. Got that done this summer.   I've already seperated out the relatively few items that are smalls (so postage isn't a deal killer) for online sales.  It will only take me about 2 hours to get the personal items I want to keep off the display shelves and into the totes so they don't get picked thru.  The stuff that's left are items that I've already listed and were non sellers or researched and the value won't justify the shipping fee.

I convinced myself the last couple of years the mantra "everything sells eventually" mentioned here is true but am not buying into that anymore.  I need it gone.  Getting to the age, preparing for the future, minimizing - see signs everywhere that people are not collecting dust collectors like they used to.  Values keep falling, at least on the stuff I have out there. 

I'll go out today and and group a few boxed lots together and work some numbers. 18704d - Great idea to limit this buyer to bidding on boxed lots.. all or nothing to keep him from cherry picking.

I've got some friends that would be happy to help but they know nothing about values.  My other friends that would help are all pickers and resellers and they are in the same boat as me - inventory heavy and no sales.  Shipping is the killer for us all on all but smalls.  But everything is sorted, clean and ready to go. 

[ersatz_sobriquet]

If you empty the storage building, then what will it be used for? 

Are you planning on moving? 

The reason I suggested you take a small box over to the donation center each day or week, is that it doesn't FEEL like it hurts so much as a large donation would. 

Having the guy over to buy boxed lots--ok, but, if there's something in there worth picking, why don't you "pick it" yourself and go list it? 

What is the ultimate goal, and why? 

[stonevintage]

swenson - thank you.   I have not sold for the last 7 months.  I too found frustration with the bin system.  But it was time anyway... tried a store for a year and ended that. My goal is to stick with physically small items in the future.   Literally, if it can't safely ship in a flat rate padded I won't list it.  My goal - to net between 100-200 per month selling online.  I think that's attainable if I shop smarter once I get this straightened out and just "keep it simple".

My goal is 2 fold.  I can store smalls in the house as long as I liquidate unsold stock in a more timely manner and also, I can get 200 per month renting out my pole building for boat or car storage instead of having it simply house my junk. 🙂