Over the years Matt Baier Organizing has reached out to many resources for downsizing in Fairfield County. Whether you are downsizing or just decluttering to list your home for sale, you need options. The dumpster alone won’t cut it.

I recently did a video called “Downsizing Through The Garage.” Check it out, to see why it makes sense to start here. Starting with the garage is my top choice (for anyone with a garage.) However the choices from the menu of decluttering resources vary considerably, depending on what you have.

Here some of our favorite resources for downsizing, including some of our trusted business partners with NAPO-CT.

Discard

The easiest thing to do with excess stuff is of course to discard. It really comes down to two simple choices. Yes, you can get a dumpster, if you anticipate a lot to discard over several days or you can get a hauling service. We recommend The Junkluggers. With The Junkluggers the discards can be gone the day you generate them. You don’t need to leave a dumpster for the neighbors to see (and use). The Junkluggers come at your convenience and are one stop shop for discards and donates. Also, if you’ve got a refrigerator or treadmill you’d like to donate, save your back. These strong young men will get it. In Eastern Connecticut, there’s another great hauling business, called Just Dump It that we recommend.

Donate

As for donations, not all charitable organizations do pick ups. Our favorite (and the one that continued to do pick-ups during the pandemic) is Vietnam Veterans of America. They’ll take items that one person can carry and up to 25 of them. You may need to schedule them up to 2 weeks in advance. You can leave items out on your driveway, weather permitting, or plan to be there.

For larger items including furniture, appliances, and building material, you can contact Habitat For Humanity. Their timing is similar.

BTW if you have a lot of excess towels and linens and you’re a pet lover, you can drop them at animal shelters like PAWS.

 

Sell

Of course you will have some items of value that you’d like to get some money for. One thing I don’t recommend is a tag sale, especially if you are in a hurry. It’s a LOT of work, a lot of time and can be a lot of stress for not much gain.

If you have just a few items to sell, I have done very well with Craigslist, but these days I am hearing a lot of success stories with Facebook Marketplace. In either case you may deal with the seller’s headaches. These include scheduling for pick-ups, buyers not showing up, etc. but may also be very worthwhile.

Wondering if eBay makes sense? The beauty of eBay is that you can expand your marketplace by opening it up to a worldwide market. This makes sense particularly if you have desirable collectibles or designer goods. This is a tough business to run, but those who survive know what they are doing. They know how to best showcase your products in the most rewarding market. My friend Lisa of LBB Global Consignment and Sales is one such master.

Got a lot of designer clothes and accessories you’d like to sell? Try The Real Real. In Fairfield and Westchester County my contact is Erin Marie Wallace.

Have a LOT of stuff to sell? Have furniture and decorative items both antique or contemporary items in demand? Then a traditional auction house might be the way to go. Our go-to choice is Greenwich-Auction.

Another favorite is Doyle Auctioneers and Appraisers.  Both Doyle and Greenwich Auction also do estate sales and online auctions.

Speaking of online auctions and estate sales, online estate sales are a growing phenomenon. You may have heard of the company Max Sold out of Canada. The beauty of Max Sold is that they sell everything, right down to the household cleaners.

The way they do it is by sending in people to photograph and catalog everything. They catalog by single items or by lots. These items and lots end up in an online auction and bidders bid over a two week period. Then they show up once in a 2-3 hour window and managers coordinate the pick-up. The buyers then take their purchases away. They never have to enter your home, as in a traditional Estate Sale. This same service is offered in Fairfield county by The Clearing House. Their only requirement with The Clearing House is having a $3,000 value to sell.

Shred

One item you can’t sell is paper, but it needs to go. You probably don’t want to pay to move a dozen boxes of paper. So perhaps the time has come to shred.

You  can have them taken away immediately and get a certificate of destruction from Shredstation Express. Need to see it shredded on-site? We recommend neighbors On-Site shredding out of Stamford. You may not think of these as resources for downsizing, bu they are.

So hopefully this will give you a better idea about your resources for downsizing. Remember, when selling, you may not get what you think things are worth. (You will never get what you paid for them.) However you can still be ahead of the game. This can happen if

you can at least get a buyer to pay for the labor and transport.  Then the item is gone and you can move on.

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