Decluttering – A great idea, but do you need help?

Read Amber-Leigh Woolf’s interesting article in Stuff about the $1200 value and approximately 15 items per person we hoard as unused goods, and how reselling and donating is diverting these items away from going straight to the landfills.  Donating unwanted goods is a great way to give back help your community and the charitable organisations providing valuable services to people who need them.  Have a look in your garage or spare room –  do you have ‘excess possessions’?  Do you need or want to get rid of some of these unused or seldom used items? Then the next step is sorting through these possessions to determine what you want to do: sell, donate, gift, recycle or bin them.  It’s a basic approach, but so many people tell me “its hard to start”, “daunting”, “I don’t have time or energy”, and lately “I don’t have anyone to help me”.  Well this is exactly where I come in as professional organiser.  I can help you get that job started/completed, with items sorted out and off to their new homes, so that you can reclaim the space they once occupied and feel really good about their departure. You may even find a few lost treasures or earn some fun money along the way.  Give me a call if you want to get going on your project.

The are many categories to sort your clutter into.

Article reposted from Stuff 22 October 2019: Author Amber-Leigh Woolf – reposted here for your convenience – click on the link below to read on th Stuff website.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/116741577/every-new-zealander-has-about-1200-worth-of-unused-stuff-trade-me-estimate

Every New Zealander has about $1200 worth of unused stuff, Trade Me estimates

Every New Zealander is hoarding about $1200 worth of unused stuff, according to a Trade Me survey.
Trade Me surveyed over 4000 and found everyone had about 15 used and unwanted things, and it says the country’s “secondhand economy” is growing.
It estimates there are approximately 73 million secondhand items left in people’s garages, spare rooms and cupboards around the country that are no longer used, but are still usable.
Zero Waste Network spokesman Marty Hoffart said donating old stuff to charity stores created local jobs and stopped valuable items going straight to the landfill. It was a welcome step upwards from the days when everything was sent straight to the landfill, Hoffart said. Donating unwanted things was also a boost for local communities. “If people are donating that stuff to a secondhand shop, the money doesn’t go to an international corporation, it goes to the local community and it does really good things.”
Hoffart said selling things on Trade Me for a profit was good, but donating them was even better.
The survey found 51 per cent sold the last item they offloaded, 42 per cent gave it away or donated it to charity. People also appeared to be buying more items secondhand than before, with 76 per cent having bought a used item in the last six months.
The primary reason was to save money at 62 per cent, Stewart said.
“For some it’s more about finding something unique and different [20 per cent].”
Almost 4300 New Zealanders took part in the survey, which was externally recruited to avoid potential Trade Me membership bias.