Got Clutter? A Guest Post From Author Leah Ingram

Leah Ingram's latest book, Keep Toss Sell!

I hate clutter. I’m constantly weeding through boxes and bins of toys (not that we have many) and throwing out broken parts, mismatched bits, and goodie-bag swag. I keep our crap to a minimum (and I’m grateful that I have family, on both sides, who don’t overwhelm my boys with gifts).

Usually when I have major purges of stuff, it’s in response to a call from a charity, and I can always muster a clutch of giant garden-waste bags filled with clothes, household goods, shoes and toys. I’ve yet to think about other options, like selling some of our stuff for a sweet little sum. My friend and writer colleague Leah Ingram, however, has. As well she should: the writer of the blog Suddenly Frugal, Leah’s now written two books on money-saving. This guest post is derived from her newest book, Toss, Keep, Sell! The Suddenly Frugal Guide to Cleaning Out the Clutter and Cashing In (Adams Media, 2010). Read this, then march into your playrooms and bedrooms armed with (like me) bags and (like Leah) a calculator:

If you’ve got kids, then you’ve probably got toys. And games. And books. Chances are your kids’ playroom or bedrooms are cluttered with things they have grown out of. Well, guess what? Instead of collecting dust, you could be collecting some cold, hard cash for them.

Recently, I did a TV segment to help one mom declutter her playroom, and guess what? In just a few minutes of time, she found a big box worth of stuff that she could sell to bring in extra cash and clear out the clutter. For example, she told me how she kept stepping over a camouflaged-clad helicopter and tank that her son, now 11, hadn’t played with since he was 8. Why was she keeping that stuff around? You can bet that those were two items that made it into her “to sell” box.

Not sure how to begin tackling the clutter? Well, in my new book Toss, Keep, Sell! The Suddenly Frugal Guide to Cleaning Out the Clutter and Cashing In, each chapter has something called a Quick Clutter Challenge. It’s when I have readers set their timer for a predetermined amount of time, and then focus on cleaning up a specific kind of clutter. With kids, we’re going to focus on their toys.

If your kids are anything like mine, they probably have way more toys than they can ever play with. Or, they’ve grown out of a whole bunch of those toys, but you don’t have the heart to get rid of them, just in case they want to play with them again, for old time’s sake. (I think that’s what this mom, who kept those Army toys around, was thinking.)

Really, what are the chances of them wanting to take a trip down memory lane like that?

So as part of my guest post today, here’s a Quick Clutter Challenge for you. I want you to set your timer for 15 minutes and head into the playroom or your kids’ bedrooms. Find things that you know they’re just too old for, are still in good condition, and don’t hold any sentimental value (you can designate one box for keeping what you consider a keepsake, but limit it to one box only).

Once the timer goes off, you should consider bringing these toys to a local consignment shop so you can make extra cash. Not aware of any local places to go? I would recommend using the website of NARTS, the Association of Resale Professionals as a resource. On the site’s Shopping Guide page, you can search by state, zip code, or merchandise category for nearby resale stores.

In addition to locally owned stores, there are also national events and store chains that work on a consignment basis to help you make money from your castoffs. Here are three worth investigating.

* Children’s Orchard You can find store locations in 24 states.

* Just Between Friends (JBF) The JBF twice-a-year shopping event offers people like us the chance to set up our own consignment shop “booth” to sell children’s clothing, maternity wear, and other kid-oriented products in an established space. As of this writing, there are JBF consignment sales occurring in 22 states, from Arizona to Wisconsin.

* Once Upon a Child Once Upon a Child currently has locations in 40 states and three Canadian provinces.

Copyright 2011 Leah Ingram, Reprinted with permission from Toss, Keep, Sell! The Suddenly Frugal Guide to Cleaning Out the Clutter and Cashing In (Adams Media, 2010)

Author, clutter-buster and frugal mom Leah Ingram