Earn Additional Income from Decluttering

I visited my friend last week to search for an old book. I had visited several bookstores in search of the same book but none had it. On getting to her apartment, she took me to her storeroom to search for the book. After minutes of endless searching, I stood up and looked straight into my friend’s eye and said to her, "Biola! How long do you want to keep all these items here? I mean, items that are? ten to fifteen years old. Have you thought of selling them or giving them to those who need them?" She replied, "I can’t give people what I have already worn or wedding presents given to me." I then told her that her old, non-trending wears could be someone else's best.

I know some of you are just like my friend, Biola. Some items have moved with you from one apartment to the other and you keep saying they will be useful one day, still they haven't. I will share with you the importance of decluttering and how you can make money from it.

What is decluttering?

Decluttering is the process of removing items you do not need from a place, in order to make it more pleasant and useful.

Benefits of decluttering

1. It refines your style?

A wardrobe full of everything you’ve ever bought is not a great way to define your style.The same goes for your interior style. It’s easy to think that you need to buy more things to create a beautiful room. But sometimes it takes getting rid of stuff and decluttering in order to create a beautiful space.

2. It? helps you feel less overwhelmed

Living with clutter can be really stressful. Waking up to a home full of clutter and getting home from work to meet the same clutter is enough to make your brain feel completely overwhelmed while processing the mess around your home.

3. It helps you to sleep better

If you live in a cluttered home and the clutter is causing you stress, you won’t have a restful night’s sleep.

How to declutter and make money

1. Determine why you want to declutter

Whether it’s because you want to relocate to another country, get out of a particular living arrangement, free up space or make money, ensure you tie this decision to a goal. What do you intend to achieve by decluttering that will make you happy?

2. Label the items you would like to get rid of

Here are some of the things you can get rid of in your house.

Kitchen items: Go through your store and check if you have items you have not used in a long while or that are serving the same purpose. For instance, if you could have up to four kettles, you can sell two and retain two.

Items from your wardrobe: Set aside some days or a weekend to clean out and declutter your house. Identify items to throw away, donate or sell. Go through your wardrobe and separate clothes that are now too tight for you, those you consider old or those with bad zip and button, and separate them from your clothes. Gather the good ones, launder them, take them to your tailor for adjustment if necessary, and keep them in a sac for decluttering. You can also declutter those old wigs, shoes and bags.

Toys and other baby items: If you are done giving birth, you may likely not need that basket of toys, baby bathe, baby gear, etc. When you look around your house, you will always know and identify items that should be discarded. And when you do, put them together in a big container or box and get them ready for declutter.?

For your living room: Before you buy the new TV, have you thought of selling the old one? How about the flower vase that seems old or the extra cabinet taking up space? Again, take a careful look at your sitting room, identify the items that should go or stay, and gather all the items into a store or a section of your house. When you declutter, you would have more space in your home, and your home wouldn't look like a refuse dump site.?

3. Start selling:?

Decluttering is a big job. As you start to collect unused and unnecessary items, start with the more valuable items to get your momentum going. If you’re going to sell items, it’s nice to sell one quickly so you can start making money from your clutter.

Three ways you can sell your clutters?

• Go on Instagram or Facebook, search for declutter vendors and sell to them.
• Talk to your family and friends that you have some items to declutter. A clutter in your home may be someone else's need.?
• Search on Google for sites where you can sell clutters in Nigeria.

When you have been able to gather the money from decluttering, ensure you save or invest it, rather than spend it.

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We often get questions regarding how to plan your finances to align with your relocation plans, especially for students seeking to further their studies. As always, we have heard you, and we have put together an e-book to help you navigate this. Simply follow this link, to get your FREE copy of the e-book:?The Japa Encyclopedia.

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