Another Person’s Junk Can Be Your Treasures

I know that by now, everyone is beginning to do that spring cleaning project. This is the time of year where you are going to see tons of garage sales (I don't mean the selling of actual garages). It is amazing what you can find when you are cleaning. In some cases, I have heard that people have found old 8 Track Tapes, and the vintage player in their garage, and surprisingly it still works! Now in most people's minds, they are thinking "What in the world am I going to do with this?" "I can't use these now; I have all these songs downloaded from the internet." Well let me just say this, there are people out there that will actually love to get their hands on something like that. Just like if you had some other things that you are not using anymore, there are plenty of collectors out there that are looking for a treasure like that.

I am going to share a couple of websites with you, which you may or may not have heard of, where you can sell and advertise your items that you are no longer wanting to hold on to.

1. www.freecycle.com: This site is my number 1 favorite. I actually got a HP Digital Camera from this website a couple of years ago, and let me tell you, it was the best investment I had ever made. I got this camera for......Drum Roll please......FREE. That's right everyone. I got this pretty little camera for absolutely $0.00. All that I had to do was arrange with the owner to go and pick it up.

Freecycle.com is a website where people are getting rid of things that they don't want anymore.  Items posted on this website are things that people are giving away for free. So if you have items that you would like to get rid of, then this would be my number one spot to advertise your items and allow those who may want that old lamp shade a chance to get their hands on it.

2. www.craigslist.org: While this site actually has a free section as well, you can also sell those unwanted items. You will have to create a profile in order to list your items (This is also true of Freecycle). You have probably heard all about the scams on this website, and I have to say that it is not 100% true, but there are some scammers out there that will take advantage of you. I am speaking from experience that I have never been scammed by anyone on this particular site. You just need to be careful and find out more about the item before actually committing to purchasing it or getting it for free. Yes, beggars can be choosey when it comes to something that they want. People want to make sure that they are getting a good deal on something that will last them a while. So when you are looking at the item and want to know more, please do email or call the contact person. If they really want to get rid of the item, they will be more than happy to give you the information you need. 

Enough about buying from Craigslist, but yes this is another good site to go to, to sell your items.

3. www.ebay.com: While this site has been very popular in the past, I have learned that it has not been very popular. Now while I have not had any complaints about Ebay, seeing that I have bought several items, the only thing that I have worried about and stress others to worry about is after you pay for the item, if it is going to be shipped. I have heard horror stories that people have paid for an item and they have not received it. Yes, you can send them a comment that the entire Ebay world can see, but that is one of the main things that you have to worry about. I have not experienced this myself, but I have other friends that have ordered off of Ebay and it has not been positive remarks. Ebay to me is a site where collectors come to find those rare items, but then there are also people out there that are just trying to get rid of their things. I am very internet weary at times because you do have to set up a Paypal account, and I don't know about you, but I really don't like giving my banking information out over the internet.

Now if you are looking to do a charitable donation I have listed a few websites that will accept donations.

1. www.salvationarmy.com
2. www.goodwill.org
3 www.georgiaredcross.org

You may want to also check out consignment stores. Some store will actually take donations of clothing that will be sold at a discounted rate. Nine times out of 10 you will be able to get a tax break on these items that you donate.

Hopefully this has given you some insight to what you can do with these old items that you are no longer wanted to hold on to. One last thing that you can do is to check with your neighbors and see if they have a need for any items that you are getting rid of.