From Clutter to Craigslist then Contentment (We Never Felt Poor)

From Clutter to Craigslist then Contentment (We Never Felt Poor)

If I tell you the amount of clutter in your house are worth some money, would that statement alone moves you to clean up? Perhaps or perhaps not but please don’t stop reading just yet. Let me share with you our beautiful past about clutter that enables us to provide more for our family.

A couple of years ago, with one amazing daughter to love, and a lot less opportunity for hubby to bring home the bacon, I was the only breadwinner.  We were living on the breadline. But the most amazing thing is we never felt poor. Everything we did back then was so much fun including finding money in extraordinary ways. I remember being pregnant and waited at Sam’s Club before they close to get free chicken. Then we had a feast over that free chicken with more love, conversation and rice. We were naive to a life of highfalutin extras but our simplicity gave us more joy and kept us living at the moment, grounded us and shaped our souls for who we really are and what we’re capable of doing.

 A bed before was such a luxury for us. And I didn't mean a-thousand-dollar bed but the one we bought from a garage sale for only 10 bucks. It was a sofa bed, stained and overused. And it was all we can afford. After inserting a bunch of flat cardboard boxes, my pregnant back felt like new again. It was a blessing to have that bed because we never forget that memory of having it every anniversary; it always reminded us how happy we were then. This was the beginning of our realization that some people’s clutter could be other’s treasure. Ours was the bed.

I have always been a neat freak and so is my husband. So when my husband was introduced to Craigslist, our obsession to clean up intensified. He was selling things like crazy that I was afraid I was next to be sold. Our house was already pristine and organized; he didn't have any avenue of profit there so he decided to try Garage Sales. There it opened plenty of possibilities to sell. It also added our awareness about the abundance of other people’s material possession that they can no longer use, so they’re selling it for way lower than the original. I understand strollers and car seats being sold. Since kids inevitably grow up, they might as well sell the kids’ stuff and make money out if it. Makes sense to me. But what confounded me is when there are plenty of surplus from a small household. A little desire here and there became an enormous waste. But I couldn't complain.  For us, those were like manna falling from heaven: sports cards, bicycles, vacuum cleaners, televisions, computer games name a few. As I recall, we were able to pocket at $500/week by selling items other people do not use.

Look in your closet, what have you not worn for months or years? Discover your basement, you might find hidden treasures of never-used toys. Rearrange your garage; you’ll be surprised that bicycle or scooter is now too small for your big boy. If you seek, you shall find. But first, if your house is a mess, I suggest cleaning up. Slowly but surely, you’ll get your goal of making money from an ordinary clutter. If you have no idea how to sell in Craigslist, stay-tuned for my next post as I talk about how to sell successfully in Craigslist…

Talk to you later and don’t ever forget, there’s always TREASURES in the MUNDANE!

Maria (Ehma) Porpio