Costco Connection - February 2011

Free your home from the clutter trap

Van Gorder of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance ( www.bbb.org/us/char ity) suggests asking whether the organization has requirements on the condition of the items it accepts and can provide a tax receipt. he cautions anyone donating a vehicle to sign over the title to the charity accepting the gift. ContInuED FRoM pAgE 43

Hanging on

If you cannot let go of an item for fear it will skyrocket in value, antiques and collectibles expert harry rinker offers sobering news about the depressed state of the market.

“There’s always been change in the antiques and collectibles field, but never a change like we’ve gone through in the last 10 years,” says rinker, who believes there no longer are blue-chip antiques and collectibles that always will go up in value.

rinker also sees no upside financially in giving shelf space to fad collectibles such as Coca-Cola polar bears, Wade cottages, 9/11 memorabilia or Princess Di souvenirs.

rinker, whose book Sell, Keep, or Toss?

(house of Collectibles, 2007) outlines strategies for downsizing, recommends hiring an appraiser to do a walk-through appraisal before you decide what to do with a houseful of stuff. For $25 to $150 per hour, an appraiser can value household goods and collectibles and provide a sales plan with options ranging from yard sales

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER and Costco member Peter Walsh says it is possible to free your home from the clutter trap.

“It’s important on a regular basis to
walk through your home and make some
hard choices to ensure the stuff you own fits
reasonably in the space you have,” Walsh
states. “It’s never about the space you have.
It’s about the volume of stuff you have.”
Walsh, whose series Enough Already!
with Peter Walsh will air in January on the
Oprah Winfrey Network, offers a three-step
process for keeping clutter in check:

• Complete the cycle. If you use it, put

and Craigslist.org to specialty auctions.

Costco member Aaron LaPedis, whose book The Garage Sale Millionaire shares his collecting expertise, has a more optimistic view. he argues that coin collections, for example, “are never clutter” since they are worth face value at a minimum. he also puts a premium on rare comic books and baseball cards.

his number-one tip is “don’t throw away anything unless you are 100 percent sure you know the value.” If an item currently is valued at half its historic highs, he advises waiting another year before selling. eBay is a good bellwether of current and past values, he adds.

“If it has true value, this is the toughest

it away. If you dirty it, wash it, etc. When a family thinks this way, there no longer is a trail of clutter left throughout the house.

• Do the “trash bag tango.” Have family members spend 10 minutes a day wandering room to room with two trash bags—one for garbage and one for items no longer used that will be donated or sold.

• Stop bringing anything new into your house—no new clothes, toys or yard sale bargains—until you create within your home the mood and atmosphere you want.

“Small steps consistently applied will yield huge results,” Walsh says.—ADP

time,” LaPedis notes. “you aren’t going to make as much money selling it now as in the future. The economy is getting better, and that will help the collectibles market get better too.” Finally, Payden offers her own pearl of wisdom.

“Don’t be offended when your valuable is not somebody else’s valuable,” she says. “There are some things that shouldn’t be recycled or donated. some things just need to leave your house.” C