Tip Tuesday – Let it Go

I was bracing for a Frozen February, but we just had a record-breaking warm day in Northern Virginia! Nonetheless, I believe the phrase “LET IT GO!” rings true this month.
By “let it go” I mean: don’t spend a lot of time and effort trying to sell something with little monetary value. Accept that money spent is money gone. Consider the cost of YOUR time when trying to sell items you don’t want. Having a yard sale, cleaning items to consign, taking photos, and posting them online, packing things up to mail off…these are all time-consuming tasks that may not be worth the few bucks you’ll make.

Once you decide to GIVE things away rather than sell them, don’t overthink those donations! Give yourself permission to just have Green Drop pick up what they can. I understand that it would be IDEAL to take unwanted books to the library, used linens to the animal shelter, and unexpired toiletries to homeless shelters, BUT if your goal is to get it out of the house, then just “LET IT GO!” I see far too many piles of well-intentioned “ideal donations” cluttering up people’s homes, often YEARS after they intended to get rid of those things, but they hadn’t seen the donation through to completion.

So once you have decided to let it go, don’t think too much about selling, and don’t be a perfectionist when donating. I suggest, with the help of resources like Green Drop, you boldly let your things go out into the world. Trust that they will find their way to the right person, place, or organization!