This shelf is where quality junk goes to die. Or, less dramatically, to collect dust. Many of those boxes are from past producers, and contain the best or most interesting things from those places. To the left is an over-encumbered Tupperware shelving unit that is filled with largely the same stuff, topped with things that are already listed on eBay.
Organization is clearly not my strong suit.
Originally my plan was to tackle some of the boxes first. But then I saw the books again. They were always there, but at some point, after something sits somewhere for a while, you forget it’s there and it becomes almost like wallpaper.
Nearly one whole level of this unit was taken up by books. And that’s not including some books that were on a smaller shelving unit to the right of this picture. So I decided that the best bang for my buck (de-cluttering wise) would be to just sit down and focus on the books.
So over the past few days, I spent about ten hours researching these books. I knew that most probably weren’t worth all that much, so my main goal was to identify the ones that were worth the effort of listing on eBay or elsewhere. So I was looking at comparable prices, but also trying to gauge supply and demand. If I list something for 30$ and it sells in a few months, that might be worth it. If it sits around for years, then it’s probably not.
In the end, I cleared out about 3/4, if not more of the books – somewhere around 235 in total. Nine big boxes and 5 medium ones. The books you see below didn’t make the cut. There are some good titles in there, but also a lot of incomplete sets, or books whose covers are falling off, etc. The plan is to sell the whole lot in bulk. I didn’t have much trouble finding a buyer for the last (even bigger) book cull last year, so hopefully the same is true this time around. My asking price on Facebook is 300$, although I think the odds are good that I’ll end up taking a best offer.
I’ll let you know how it goes! The buildup of junk at my storages is starting to drive me a little batty, and I’m really hoping to unload a lot of stuff at yard sales these next few weeks. The university kids are back in town, and they need stuff (and often have $$ to spend).
Speaking of which, I plan on doing two sales this weekend, weather permitting. On Saturday, I’ll be at the 4096 Coloniale spot from roughly 12-6. On Sunday, I’ll likely do the same thing. If not, I’ll edit this post by tomorrow evening to reflect the new plans. Hope to see you there!
Links
1. My eBay listings. Sign up for eBay (Canada, US). Search for something you want / research something you have (Canada, US). — These are Ebay Partner Network links. If you create an account or buy something after getting to eBay from here, I get a small cut of the profit! —
2. “Things I find in the garbage” on Facebook
3. Follow @garbagefinds and @garbagefindssells. Note that someone else runs the latter.
4. Email: thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com. Note that I really suck at keeping up with my email.
5. Help support the blog, or just buy me a coffee! PayPal link below.
You gotta have a plan! Thanks for the interesting description of the book wallpaper … and your plan to rid yourself of it. 🙂
Congratulations on all you accomplished regarding your significant cache of books! Your photos of the boxes full of books become a work of art when laid out on a grid like that. Well done!
Organization is a mighty beast for me as well. I wish it were as fun as dumpster diving….
Amazing photos, thanks for sharing! Hope you have good luck at the sale today – the weather is perfect!
Nice to hear from you again; it’s been a while. Wow, I thought I was swimming in books! Guess not! Hope your yard sale relieves you of a ton of books and whatever else you put on it. I have a hard time organizing my ‘stuff’, too. I am trying to purge my belongings so my daughters don’t have to do so much of it after I die! I have come to believe that I am a little ADHD as it’s hard to keep a focus on what I should do with what! Anyway, good luck with the clearing out.