May 10, 2013

The best way to get rid of old stuff or stuff you don't need

The end-product
Last week Saturday, I did some de-cluttering (my major targets were my bookcases) and I discovered a lot of old stuff I no longer needed that just occupied my space (typical definition of matter...they had weight too!). Some of the items discovered were photocopies of university course materials, a JAMB brochure, really old textbooks and notebooks, my old modems, even hairpieces. As I packed them into a big sac for disposal, a better idea struck me. Yard sales!!! Yea, I watch a lot of movies, don't blame me. However the stuff I could sell were not many, so a yard sale wasn't the greatest of ideas. Instead, I brought together all the old stuff I could sell and decided to reach out to friends in my neighborhood that could be interested in buying. Out of all my clutter, I had a wig, a weave-on, and five novels for resale; not enough for a yard sale

The hairpieces from my clutter consisted of extensions I had used and planned to re-use and some were pieces left from previous ones I had used. I was to fix my hair that day and wanted to buy a new weave-on; but looking at the hairpieces in front of me, I decided to use out of them to make my hair. I had no idea of what hair style I wanted to do. I just packed all the hairpieces into my bag, together with the hairpiece and the wig I wanted to sell and ran off to the salon. When I got there and my coiffeuse asked me what style I wanted to fix, I just smiled and emptied my bag on her shelf. She looked at me in amazement and with a sweet smile on her face and joined me as I separated the hair pieces putting similar ones together. I took photos of them.
 








I told her I wasn't planning on buying any weave-on and at that spot, I decided on something short due to the hot weather. After much deliberation, we chose this one!
I used this one
As she weaved my hair, I told her about the wig and hairpiece I wanted to sell. She first of all said she didn't have money but I told her they were at giveaway prices. My mum gave me the wig but I hated it on me. I had had it for over 3years so it was more of rubbish to me. I sold it for N500 and the hair piece for N300. I bought the hair piece when I used to buy hairpieces in bulk. I had used the same type before but it just wasn't right. It was too light; any little breeze sent it flying all over my head and strands just kept falling out.
The wig and the weave-on I sold to my hairdresser
After she agreed to buy them, I read Glamour magazine plus dozed off as she made my hair and in the end, I got a simple nice short hair as shown in the pix above captioned the end-product. N1500 was her fixing fee so I paid N700.

When I got home I rang one of my neighbors and asked her if she was interested in buying my old novels. Good for me, she was. I took the novels to her house and showed them to her. She took two-Inca Gold and Hawk's Pledges. I sold them for N50 each and gave the N100 to my sister because she owned one of the novels I sold. Actually she was about to throw it away as trash.
The novels for sale
I made N900 from stuff I did not value and need. Some would go like pscheew N900 but  depending on what you got, it could be more. Plus it is fun too, exercising your marketing skills! Do you have stuff that you rarely use just taking up space in your apartment-closet, wardrobe, cupboard, etc? Do you have old reusable stuff you do not need? Check around your house, your bedroom, the living room, your kitchen, you will definitely find something! De-clutter your space! Separate the trash from the potential cash! Dispose the trash, and resell the reusable! Why not give them at a price and get something from them? You could do a yard sales like it is done in some countries or you could just reach out to those who would need them just like I did. Whichever method you choose, you have nothing to lose, something to gain.
The final trash-I got me some more space
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12 comments:

  1. Very funny insightful. One needs to be doing dat once in a while to get more space. One can give them to d needy too.

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    1. De-cluttering is very crucial! The useful space you will recover...wordless! Giving to the needy is part of it and very important too. Thanks for that!

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  2. Awesome Idea ... A better one, give it out to charity if you know it's still usable. Cheers Freddie!

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    1. I was thinking just books-my major clutter so charity didn't come to mind. If they were clothes, I would definitely give to charity like I always do. Thanks anyway.

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  3. Funny post.But quite insightful though.However,i don't support the idea of selling books though,they're priceless and i'd rather keep them for my children to meet.

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    1. When I first read your comment, I was like ahn ahn! Children! But on second thought, I understand you. It actually depends on the type of book. Imagine keeping Ugo C. Ugo or Ababio for your children...many newer and better editions would have been published. Although, there are some that might be worth it. I still have some very good books in my bookcase that I no longer read but I know they are too priceless to be given away just like that. Thanks anyway for the comment, I truly appreciate it.

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  4. My first time here, I love your blog! You are very thoughtful and creative! On this post, I agree with you. I have some stuff to give away (at a price). I have thought of the yard sale thing a lot of times but end up wondering how I would go about it. I think reaching out to those who need them would work for me. Thanks for the tip!

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    1. You are welcome Rita, so happy I could be of help to you. I hope you make as much as you want to from your sales. *winks* Thanks for the compliments.

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  5. Oh niceee. I did this for clothes a while back & I know I should do it for some books but I love me my books. I have a lot of stuff to give-away/sell. I really should try

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    1. Yeah, you should! Did you do it for clothes in Nigeria? Most Nigerians preach charity when it comes to clothes. Not like it's wrong but some clothes cannot just be given away just like that...I'm sure you get my point.

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  6. Hmmm! Wisdom in action. Now I'm thinking I could become an overnight millionaire if I decide to de-clutter my space. I've got so much junk to last several lifetimes - books, magazines, research papers, CDs, DVDs, Game pads, Albums, Clothes, Shoes, Stockings, wristwatches, ear studs . . . etc. You just name it! I'm even too scared to try to sort them out. The very thought scares me. Just too many. I once considered stacking them all up in one huge pile and burning them up. But really, reading your post has opened my eyes a great deal. All these stuff that are 'useless' to me now could still be useful to some. I could do charity and maybe like you, sell some at giveaway prices (like I ever will. Lol). I hope I get to actually follow your footsteps sometime soon! Awesome read! I loved this!

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    1. Geebee you are rich o! only you "books, magazines, research papers, CDs, DVDs, Game pads, Albums, Clothes, Shoes, Stockings, wristwatches, ear studs . . ." Well, you could sell the reusable ones, maybe give some to charity and discard the junk. Don't burn o! We don't need more CO2 in the atmosphere.

      http://www.frediliadtruthuncensored.com/2011/12/save-earth.html

      Thanks for the comment anyway, my dedicated reader...

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