Sorting through your stuff . . . what do you do with it all?

Happy Friday! This is the time of year when lots of us are cleaning out our garages, attics, and basements. After all, it's not too hot and it's not too cold. But the question always arises -- what do I do with all this stuff? Here are your options:

• Garage/yard sale -- Selling the stuff you no longer need or want is a great way to earn some money to pay for something you do need or want. It's also a nice way to save up for a vacation. My husband and I have a jar where we put the money for things we sell on . . .
• Craigslist -- I love selling my stuff on Craigslist. You just have to be smart about it in order to stay safe. Click here for suggestions on how to protect yourself.
• eBay -- There's a slight learning curve, but eBay is one of the most popular ways to unload your stuff for a buck (or more). I personally hate getting packages ready to be mailed, so I avoid selling to someone who lives too far away to pick up the item.
• Consign -- Items in good condition or clothing not older than a couple of years can bring in some nice change, too.
• Donate -- Sometimes the very thing you no longer like is something someone else will absolutely love. Why hold on to it when you know it just might bless another's life or be the perfect accent in their home? If you do long forms for your taxes, don't forget to list everything you donate and then use a program like It's Deductible to get the fair market value of every donation. It can add up to a considerable tax deduction!
• Reuse -- Maybe that workshop table in the garage has outlived its usefulness there, but would be a great addition to your craft room. Rethink, reuse, and repurpose whenever possible. We're redoing our bathroom and I've been going from room to room trying to figure out if any of our furniture could be repurposed as a sink/vanity.
• Recycle -- My husband is huge into recycling. He's been doing it since long before I met him. He absolutely hates throwing things away. But if you're like me, sometimes you struggle to find the right places to recycle your items. Well, I have good news -- there's an app for that! And it's received some great reviews! "Even when you think you're eco-savvy, sometimes you still find yourself asking, 'Can I recycle this? If so . . . who takes it?' Kinda cool your phone can now answer that for you." ~ Treehugger.com. And here's what Mother Nature News had to say, "Earth911 makes their fabulous recycling search feature into an iPhone app with some convenient features."  But it's not just for the iPhone. There's an app for Android users, too. Click here for iPhone and here for Android.
• Store it -- If you absolutely cannot part with something right now or if you think your kids might need/want it for their first apartment someday, pack it up and store it out of view so you don't have to make a decision about it each and every year when you start your spring cleaning.
• Toss it -- NOTE: This is a LAST resort! In most cases, you don't have to contribute to the growing landfill problem. But sometimes, it's just necessary. Like in the case where we had a perfectly good upholstered chair out in our kids' playhouse (It's a large structure with a loft and everything -- they used to sleep out there a lot when they were children). Apparently, the mice thought it was comfy, too, and made several nests in it throughout the years. As much as we don't want to throw it out, we have no choice. I mean, seriously . . . ewww.

That's my advice for today. I hope you found it helpful. Happy sorting!