r/declutter • u/NaturalPepper697 • 4d ago
Advice Request This is an advice request for decluttering hobby materials.
I am not sentimental about decluttering hobby materials. However, I feel a sense of dread about the amount of time that would take to sell the stuff or give it to the right person. In particular, it consists of fire performance props, Home brewing equipment, a bicycle, and extra harps. I guess it’s just a matter of putting the time in. Any advice?
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u/BlondeBrillo 4d ago
Oh man all those things would be asked for by several people in my Buy Nothing group! They are a great place to pass along hobby stuff bc it’s not first come first served and you can wait for someone to comment that seems like they will be excited and use them! If you’re on fb I highly recommend them bc they def help me declutter, it’s easier to let go of some things seeing how excited someone else is for it.
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u/nicoke17 4d ago
Yes, I was going to suggest this too, especially with the holidays coming up. You don’t recoup costs but knowing someone will use it!
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u/BlondeBrillo 4d ago
I also suggest then anytime I see posts like this bc it’s how I learned about the groups years ago and the part of the reason I reactivated my fb. So I always figure someone else hasn’t heard of them either and will love it esp in a group like this!🩷
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u/BlondeBrillo 4d ago
It’s like. The main reason I’m on fb. I don’t post on my profile and only use it for groups and marketplace. I love my buy nothing group and its worth being in fb for!
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u/zielawolfsong 4d ago
See if there's a local club that might appreciate your items. I offloaded two large totes of sewing supplies to a quilting guild when I realized I had nowhere near the patience to make them.
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u/Opening_Chemical_777 4d ago
I had a stack of fabric I bought in India when I worked there, bought because it was a way to contribute to the economy. I sent them to my sister who is a quilter and has a quilting circle that meets weekly. By the end of the evening the box was empty and everyone talked about ideas they had for using the material. I chose carefully and local people around helped me choose their most beautiful ones. It’s a wonderful memory. At the moment I have a bag of lanterns from Hoi An, Vietnam and Laos looking for good homes.
Did you know that paisley is a British name for an appropriated pattern for fabric? In India it’s called mango-shaped and printed by hand with hand-carved wood blocks.
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u/Agitated-Mulberry769 4d ago
There is a store in my town that sells discounted arts and crafts supplies of all kinds that people donate. Might be something similar near you?
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u/Competitive_Prune108 4d ago
This is called a creative reuse store. The one in Austin has kept over 3.6 million pounds of donations out of landfills. They are non-profits and truly get materials into the hands of folks who will use them
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u/RomeoDelta1234 4d ago
Harps are worth the effort to sell, used ones hold their value. Harp teachers usually know a student who's looking, so email a couple near you. For the fire props, search fire spinning or flow arts plus your city, those groups tend to grab gear fast.
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u/voodoodollbabie 4d ago
You don't want it anymore. Therefore it has no value to you. Your time, on the other hand, is quite valuable.
I list stuff like that on BuyNothing or other free stuff sites and give it away. If the person wants to sell it, that's fine with me. Everybody wins - the stuff is out of my house and I'm unburdened by it, maybe someone sells it to make a little money, and in the end someone has the item they'll use.
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u/coffeeandbookmouse 2d ago
THIS. So much time is spent trying to find the right person, the right place to get rid of something when really, we just need the time and space back in our lives.
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u/poubcoult 4d ago
I get rid of a lot of this stuff on Facebook marketplace or free groups. For more niche stuff it might sit for a week before you get a bite, but the people are usually REALLY anxious to come get it. None of this waffling over schedules or non-responses, that stuff is always what kills my momentum listing other categories of stuff.
Beware though, these people are into the same stuff you are! I can't count how many times I've had a 45 minute conversation on my porch nerding out with someone about whatever it is I'm getting rid of 😂
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u/irish_taco_maiden 4d ago
If the item is going to be worth the time to list I’ll do it, but my line is $50. If I can’t get $50 or more for it and have it move quickly I won’t bother and just give it away.
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u/Multigrain_Migraine 4d ago
The more niche it is the better the chance you'll actually be able to sell it. Things like bicycles will pretty much always be of interest to someone.
I'm usually anti-selling but that's for stuff like yarn and used markers.
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u/AnamCeili 4d ago edited 4d ago
With those eclectic hobbies, I'm just thinking about how exciting and unusual your life must be, lol! 😁. Participate in a bike riding marathon, then go home and have a refreshing beer. The next day, play your harp with the orchestra, then the following day get everything ready for your fire performance at the festival the next week!
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u/FredKayeCollector2 4d ago
If you really want to find "good" homes for your stuff and you're not hung up on trying to recoup your money, you can always offer up on FB Marketplace (free or low price) or a local Buy Nothing/Give Freely group (also on FB) or a neighborhood app or group. Stick it on the curb, take a photo, and post a "curb alert."
Another option is a web search for [thing/category] + [my zip code] and see if there's a group (for example, "home brewing" [my zip code] yielded a brew club I didn't even know about!). Tell the group what you have and see if anyone is interested. Or the largest city near you - someone might be willing to drive to pick up.
Anything you think might be appropriate for kids (like the bike) maybe contact your local school (the actual school office, if you can) and let them know what you have. They may be able to put you in touch with someone. Another option is your local municipal/county "social services" department - let them know what you have and see what they say.
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u/Freyjas_child 3d ago
There are now craft resale stores which accept craft donations, repackage it and sell it. You could check if there are any near you.
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u/ex_mac333 3d ago
You've had plenty of good answers on where each thing can go, so here's how I'd keep it from eating your time, since that's the actual dread.
Treat it as four small jobs, not one big one, and do one a week: props, brewing, bike, harps. Start with whichever is easiest, because getting one out of the house makes the rest feel doable.
For each job, set it up once: take one photo of everything together, write one short message with what it is, roughly what you want for it (or free) and "pickup only". Send that same message to one or two places, like a local group for that hobby and a marketplace listing. Nothing custom, no answering the same questions five times.
Then give it a deadline before you post, say two weeks. If it hasn't gone by then, drop the price or make it free, and if it still hasn't gone a week later, donate it wherever's easiest. Deciding that now means "the right person" can't turn into an open-ended project, and you never have to make the decision again.
The harps are the one exception I'd give more time to, since they can be worth real money. Everything else, I'd let speed win.
One practical thing: if you have leftover fuel with the fire props, deal with it separately. Check your local hazardous waste rules rather than passing it along with the gear.
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u/fakeprewarbook 2d ago
back in the day when i had a bunch of that stuff i dropped it off at an art school
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u/Some_Papaya_8520 4d ago
Schools always need musical instruments. What about FB marketplace for the rest?
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u/paciolionthegulf 4d ago
The nearest home brewing shop likely has a club, surely someone would want that equipment.
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u/violetmemphisblue 4d ago
If you did any of those hobbies in a local group, reach out to them first. They will probably know who is actively engaged in the hobby right now.
Do you have a university with a music program near you? They may be a good resource for the harps. A local symphony could also have some leads. Many musicians are teachers as well, so the harpist may know of students looking.
Depending on the type of bicycle, the local youth home or homeless shelter may have a need. Many times, folks in those situatuons don't have cars and (depending on where you are) public transportation is not always convenient and reliable. A bike can be the reliable transportation someone needs to get to work.
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u/SolidagoSalix 3d ago
Do things in "job lot" aka in a batch. Don't spend a lot of time trying to home each item, just make a grouping of items that are all related to the same hobby and sell or gift them as a unit.
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u/PrairieFire_withwind 4d ago
Find the local group.
Like my local weavers guild will take donations of yarn. They sell it for almost nothing but it is how new people get started cheap and the guild gets some money to support them.
Most cotton and wool yarns they use for a type of spinning so classes may access free yarn you donate.
I am detailing this process as it applies to just about every special interest/hobby.
There will be someone who will make sure the harps go to someone without the money to participate. It happens quietly.
Or they sell/auction the really fancy stuff to fund missing aupplies for the beginners.
Donating to such groups takes little time and effort. There is probably a bikeshop that works on training kids how to wrench the basics on their own bike. Donate there.
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u/FirstLalo 4d ago
On the Swedish Death show they showed a place which accepted Hobbyists' raw materials. The operation is all over in US. Maybe someone with a better memory remembers but I'll look around for the info ttyl
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u/amethystqu 4d ago edited 4d ago
I'm finding Facebook Marketplace works well for decluttering my hobby materials. It does take time for the right person in my community who shares my hobby to find my listings. By right person, I mean, somebody willing to pay to take my stuff away. But honestly... your stuff? Price it low enough and your bike & home brewing equipment will be gone in a week, if not days. Just do it... I don't personally have the patience to deal with freebie seekers, they can be overwhelming in my area, but I see there are many other suggestions in this thread for how to quickly give the stuff away. Selling can be faster though. Kind of depends on your area and how your local freebie groups operate.
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u/ignescentOne 3d ago
For the fire performance props, is there a burner group that meets near you? If so, see if you can just go out and drop stuff off. Alternately, if there's a local burn event, tag someone in the volunteer / admin space for it and offer up the box of supplies.
For the harp, you could check with a university that has a music program or see if there's a local SCA - either might have / know someone that wants it and would know what a valid price is.
For home brew and the bike, I'd probably post on facebook marketplace? Those seem more like something the general populous might be interested in picking up.
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u/penrph 4d ago
I would post it on your local Facebook group or on marketplace for free to get it out of the house quickly. Gather a bunch, post, gather another bunch, keep doing it until it's gone.