lol. Mantra: we can’t control other’s behavior, only our own.
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Today was truck a week. A local charity came and filled their truck to capacity with basically all my furniture (2 bedrooms, living room, family room, and dining room). They said that the stuff would help 4 different families. I feel so good about this. Now, my final pre-move junk collection will be very small.
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That’s SO wonderful - on both ends!
Unfortunately I have a list of furniture that I need to get rid of in the next three weeks. I will either list some of it or take some photos and see if a local consignment shop will take it OR give away. We actually have given away a lot already but this furniture is more worthy of getting a little cash if possible.
I’m really nervous about getting rid of our piano. We have put it up for free on two different occasions. Where do unwanted pianos go to die? Seriously, what do I do with this thing if no one wants it?! I’ve even thought about offering $100 for someone to take it! (to go towards transporting costs).
But our between our sold house and our moving in house we have 4 full sized commercial sized garbage cans and they are FULL each week! Trips to Goodwill/likewise and treasures at the curb continue to be offered.
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We donated a family piano to a local retirement home. They were delighted. In our case they paid for the move, thankfully, but you may need to offer to have it moved.
I sometimes attended programs at the retirement home during the holidays just to hear it played again by visiting choral groups. Win-win.
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Maybe there is a way to offer the piano to your buyers?
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We will offer but honestly they are a newly married couple (no kids) and I feel like chances are low as what % of people actually play or WANT a piano!
Most schools/churches/senior centers/community centers seem to already have a piano!!
If you get lucky, one of them had piano lessons as a kid.
Yea, it is hard to find a group taker. Our church got rid of our uprights (in Sunday School rooms) year ago - I think they bartered them to piano tech in exchange for tuning credit on the grand piano in sanctuary.
The tricky thing with pianos is the buyer (or freebie taker) usually need to pay a few hundred dollar for a mover. When we upgraded to a nicer console piano when son was playing, I charged the neighbor $200(?) and then swung a deal with the store to have the mover take it one door down when they brought the new one. Probably 20 years later they are wondering how to dump it.
H is suddenly motivated to clear out the attached garage so we can park two cars in it. It’s taken more than a year, and I am so relieved. I refuse to look at his smaller detached garage, or the shed he assembled last month for the overflow.
H took a pick up truck full of donations to a local charity shop two days ago and again today. One frustration was learning that they (as well as Goodwill and others) will not accept high chairs, baby seats (such as the Baby Bjorn bouncy seat), or infant swings. We already knew they won’t take cribs. This week he was told they won’t take anything that “a baby’s bottom has been on.” He set the baby stuff at the curb when he returned and a neighbor picked it all up before dark.
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Just finished reading an interesting article on the New York magazine website about decluttering by David Pogue, CBS Sunday Morning correspondent. His goal was to avoid sending things to the landfill and evidently he was relatively successful, tossing only 11 garbage cans full of stuff after living in his home for 20 years.
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It’s really really hard to get rid of a piano. DH and I got lucky 11 years ago when an acquaintance decided he wanted it. They paid to have it moved. Thank goodness!!
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Great story, @oldmom4896 !
Gave away a set of pots and pans today (via Buy Nothing).
The back story is that every other year or so H (who shares cooking with me) decides he doesn’t like the ones we have (which he picks out) and replaces them. So every few years I have some to give away.
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Mr. B cleaned up our garage in anticipation of getting a new workbench and has a few items to give away: a tiller, a weedwhacker, and a gas generator. We haven’t used any of these since moving and have no use for at least the former two at all.
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We must have matching husbands because mine does this too!
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How do you get rid of garage junk? Hire a contractor crew to do a project around the house and offer the “goodies” to them. The junk magically disappears! That’s how my husband got rid of the dog kennel that came with the house. Ditto the latest round of tools he no longer needs. 
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I can relate. We had our house painted, and gave two TVs to the crew. Win/win.
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That’s a great tip.
After trying unsuccessfully for several years to give away a very old but sturdy 2 story wooden play fort, I decided to mention it to the lawn crew. They got excited and came back a few hours later with an empty flatbed truck. With three guys, they quickly dug up the pilings (we planted it deeper after heavy wind blower it over years ago). Then they turned it on its side and dragged it to the street without needing to dissassemble.
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That’s a biggie!!
Depending on the project, it might be cheaper to pay for hauling the item away.
I JOKE, I JOKE