Throw a “come and get it” party! Offloading for charity

De-cluttering party for charityHow do you make disposing of your treasures easy and fun, while also benefiting  a favorite charity?

When I was preparing to downsize to a smaller home, I sold what I could on Craigslist, but still had way too much stuff that I didn’t want to take with me. I also did not want the distressing hassle of doing a yard sale — been there and done that! Pricing every little item, haggling with strangers, hearing their snarky remarks about my dear possessions — no thanks! Nor did I want to haul it all off to Goodwill.

The stuff had to go: was there a better way?

YES! I decided to throw a “name-your-price” downsizing party. I invited friends via email and Facebook, and suggested they invite their friends as well. I also requested they bring food or drink to share as well, since I had packed my kitchenware.

My cleverest idea was to let everyone know that half of the proceeds from the moving sale would go to a local educational foundation we all believed in, “I Have a Dream”. Guests were asked to donate into a basket what they thought was a reasonable price for their take-home treasures.

On several tables I arranged all the stuff I wanted to free myself from, and set up another table for food and drink (wine always helps boost sales!).

Everyone had a great time, especially me. My treasures ended up in friendly homes, and because a good cause was involved my guests probably paid twice as much as they otherwise would have.  “I Have a Dream” got $220, I got $220, and my tables were cleared.

A win-win-win.

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