I have a part-time job selling furniture and quite often I encounter people who are wanting to buy chairs to go with an old table that great aunt so and so left to them. They are looking for chairs because even though the table is going strong the chairs that go with it are no longer safe to sit on.
Now more often than not these people admit that this is a beautiful well crafted piece of furniture that should be appreciated for what it is but the fact of the matter is that they would prefer that is was being appreciated by someone else. They have kept it purely because it is a heirloom and has been passed down through the family for years and cousin so and so would be appalled if you were to get rid of it.
There in itself lies the solution to this problem, offer it to cousin so and so for them to love and cherish and pass on to the next appreciative relative. If there is no-one else in the family who wants it I believe that leaves you free to sell it to the highest bidder. Sometimes these things can fetch quite a pretty price and sometimes that is the only thing we like about them. Why not cash in now.
The old tools that are today’s item are one of those things that were kept by my husband for years for just the reason mentioned in today’s blog. I hope they have gone to someone who has an appreciation for this kind of thing and be much enjoyed by their new owner rather than stuffed in a cupboard in the garage.
Dear Colleen, I’m on a roll reading thru your posts from the beginning as well as decluttering my home. A few random items have been photographed and put away for disposal and some for giving away. Thank you for the inspiration! 🙂
Have been wondering though how we ‘declutterers’ like to pride ourselves on what we’re doing and how our stuff is hopefully finding use in someone else’s home etc. In a way, are we not contributing and adding and possibly increasing someone’s clutter in their own home?? Turning them or aiding them into becoming hoarders, the very thing we are trying to undo for ourselves?
Hi Sue that is a very good question to ask and it was certainly crossed my mind. The thing is living in a more minimalist environment is not the ideal for everyone and we can only do so much to encourage that change. Preaching to the willing-to-be-converted is a good place to start and hopefully each one of us will impress someone else who hadn’t realised the advantages to living with less and add another to our ranks. In the meantime I like to think that much of what I sell or give away will be more useful for those seeking them out. This won’t always be the case but at least if this person is satisfying there desire for stuff without buying new then that is at lease a benefit to the environment.
I believe this way: I don’t need it/want it, so I want it out of my house. If it ends up in someone else’s house, that’s okay with me. There are times (especially if you’re selling an item) that the buyer has been looking for said item. I think that it’s better getting/buying second hand (recycling) then it is to buy original and let the older items rot somewhere…especially if there’s still “life” in them. 🙂
Hi Gen and welcome to 365 Less Things. I agree selling on secondhand items is better than just sending them off to landfill which is what some lazy uncaring people do just because it is easy for them. Trash is trash and that needs to go in the bin but anything still usable should be either sold on by its owner, freecycled, shared with friends or family, or donated to a charity that will sell it on. There is always someone out there who will want it. Buying secondhand where possible is a great option for the sake of the environment. Even if a person doesn’t believe in global warming there is still the possibility that resources are not infinite and that wasting them willy nilly, like mankind is doing at present, will be a real problem in the future.