Working with Ebay was actually far easier than I had imagined it would be. Everything is very clear and easy about what steps you need to take, they even have the option to print out your shipping label on your computer so you dont have to go to the post office and wait in line forever. Only problem is since Im a new seller on Ebay they are holding the funds for up to 21 days on Paypal before releasing it to me. I suppose it's as a precaution, to make sure the buyer gets the items they bought and whatnot.
A good friend of mine suggested I catalogue all the items I take to Goodwill and use it as a tax write off at the end of the year. I thought it would be kind of a hassle to do so, but since I was getting rid of so much stuff I decided to go ahead and do it. I found on AmazingGoodwill an awesome "Donation Receipt Builder", so instead of having to guess what each item is worth I just type it in and it gives the average price for each and then makes your list for you that you can print out later for your records. And you can change the amount its worth if you think it is more or less valuable. My first trip to Goodwill was worth $650 as a tax write off! Say what?! And thats just the first load, I will definitely be going back several more times this year before I move in October/November back to Indy.
I also took a load of nicer clothes to Plato's Closet to try and sell for immediate cash back. They ended up taking only a pair of tore up jean shorts and a wallet for a whopping 3.75! That was so not worth my time. I feel like I can actually get some money back from the items they didnt take, so I dont want to just take them to Goodwill. Maybe Ill sell them on Ebay too? Just haven't decided yet.
Suddenly everything I see in my room (where all my belongings are) is constantly being weighed in my mind, "Will I really use this in the next year? When was the last time I used this? Why am I still holding on to this?". It feels good. I have an ever growing pile of things for sale in my room - its always amusing to me that when we clean/organize/purge our belongings we always have to make an even bigger mess before it actually gets to our goal.
As Colin Wright says in his book How To Travel Full Time (a book I highly highly recommend for anyone who wants to travel, absolutely chock-full of resources), "It's cliche at this point to say clearing out the clutter in your home clears out the clutter in your mind, but it's repeated so frequently for a reason. When you don't have so much stuff, you have less to protect and worry over. You also have fewer options, so it takes less time to decide what to cook or what to wear in the morning."
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