<p>You are all going to laugh, given the other thread...But my boyfriend and I are planning to move in together. And we have lots of stuff. Too much stuff.</p>
<p>So, any suggestions for what to do with extra dishes, household items, small tables etc?</p>
<p>Some my daughter can take if we can get it 400 miles to her. But what about the rest? Is GoodWill still our best option?</p>
<p>craigslist, goodwill...</p>
<p>In my area, I know of people who work with recent immigrants who have.... NOTHING. And are so grateful for any household items. It's a little more direct than goodwill. And they will usually move heaven and earth to come and get your items.</p>
<p>We have a friend who gave away a bunk bed and the young man who took it came back and hugged her the next day. It was the first time he had slept on an actual bed in his life.</p>
<p>There's a website called freecycle. You subscribe/post by area. After someone contacts you saying they want it you tell them how to get it (meet somewhere or leave out on porch (most often done)).</p>
<p>There are charities in your area who want the stuff.</p>
<p>About 10 years ago, I donated a few boxes of old clothing and books to one of them. Since then, I have received at least five calls a month asking me if I have any old stuff to donate -- one call from that charity and four from other charities who now have my name on their lists.</p>
<p>So if you do find a charity to donate the things too, try to give them a phone number that you plan to get rid of when you combine households.</p>
<p>Speaking from experience :)--if his stuff is of the usual male bachelor variety, get rid of it/move it on while he is willing!! H was 35 when we married. His decor consisted of an Ohio license plate on the wall, a clock, and a sheet thrown over the patio door curtain rod. Ummm, let's just say the decor was better than the furniture....it was all many shades of brown, too.</p>
<p>Before you think I'm too smug, all the Nixon Time and Newsweek magazines are still in the attic, along with his college typewriter, textbooks and other important "stuff".</p>
<p>I happily give things to Goodwill. I do really like jmmom's idea of helping recent immigrants too.</p>
<p>He actually has pretty good taste, but not too much stuff. He got rid of lots of it during when he moved out of the country, and then again when he moved back.</p>
<p>I, on the other hand, have not moved in 16 years. And for some reason I have 5 full sets of dishes. So alone I have too much stuff.</p>
<p>There are three ways of approaching this.</p>
<ol>
<li>Garage sale. A hassle, but you'd get some money out of it.</li>
<li>Goodwill, ARC, etc. Now more than ever, those in need rely on these stores for their basic stuff. </li>
<li>Give it away - list on a 'Free" thread on Craigslist or just simply put out on a curb, if that's allowed in your neighborhood. Where I live, people put out stuff on the back alleys, and it disappears within HOURS. </li>
</ol>
<p>I'm kind of jealous. I'd love to do a good purging of stuff.</p>
<p>There are some local programs in our area that help women and children get set up in apartments after leaving an unsafe situation. They are often looking for dishes, kitchen gear and furniture to help these families make a new start.</p>
<p>BTW, congrats! I wish the two of you much happiness.</p>
<p>Thank you! I'll start looking into the local women's shelters. That would be a good place for all the dishes and kitchen stuff. After he moves in we have a year to then go through my stuff. We would like to move to a smaller house, as this one is too big, and has to much history for me. But there are still cupboards I don't even want to open...</p>
<p>When my son moved out of his house after college, we didn't have time to donate and moving out day was on a Sunday. We put most of the decent stuff at the curb including dishes, lamps, bedding, furniture, books, etc.,etc, and etc. Almost all of it was gone by the time we pulled away - it was truly amazing!</p>
<p>Any old blankets, towels, linens can be given to animal shelters. They are always in need of them. </p>
<p>Moving in together is a good excuse to get rid of all this kind of stuff and start fresh with linens and such that <em>nobody else</em> has used.</p>
<p>I am going through this right now, only both households are my own! We are going to sell our big suburban house and move to our beach house. We bought all new stuff for the beach house four years ago when we bought the house, so everything is already over there: dishes, glasses, pots and pans, and furniture that all goes together. We moved some furniture from this house over there, but many of our antiques don't fit there. </p>
<p>My H has has two garage sales so far, but not that successful. Our church is having a garage sale in June and whatever I have left is going over there. I would just give the stuff away if you can. We gave away a couch, leather sectional and a piano to my H's employees.</p>
<p>If you want to move to a smaller place in a year, and you've been in your house for 16 years, start purging now! I sure wish I had started sooner. We have been in this house for 20 years (4,000 sq. ft. plus detached 2 car garage). This house was full, and talk about cupboards you don't want to look in! I have a basement storage room that was just full of stuff. That's where everyone stashed everything they didn't know what to do with! I should have started purging years ago. It is really hard to get rid of so much, at least for me. (Maybe if I had my boyfriend moving in, that would be an incentive!)</p>