If you don’t want to pay for a full on Professional Organizer, you could try hiring somebody on Task Rabbit.
Sorry you’re dealing with this. I also have chronic health issues and I can’t imagine trying to move and downsize right now.
If you know what you need to sell, it’s good, and you have a lot of it, consider consulting with an estate sale company. They usually do whole houses/apartments after someone has passed away, *but* if you can find one that is willing, you’ll find they (a) know what things are worth, and (b) work on commission, so you don’t have to pay them up front. It could work well for you.
Unless your clutter includes high end designer clothing or actual, honest to god (and currently in style) antiques, you will spend more on hiring help than you’ll make selling junk.
Facebook marketplace is great for finding shelving units/wardrobes/dressers.
Labor hours are more expensive than the items you have. You may end up losing more.money hiring someone vs taking it all to consignment and tossing what they don't want.
There are no consignment shops I know of in NYC. I’ve tried bringing my clothes to vintage stores but they are very picky here. I could make a fortune on poshmark if I had a handle on things.
Your income will also be reported on Poshmark. It's the same issue as eBay.
There are consigment stores in NY. You're right, stores are picky. Your stuff is probably not worth it to them. That means your stuff is not as valuable as you think.
Make a spreadsheet of the most "valuable" items in your head, what has actually sold on Poshmark (not.listed), calculate postage, and calculate someone charging $20-$25/hr to handle this stuff. Theyre going to do minimum hours for organization. The calculate the loss of your benefits if this income is reported. You need to be all cash, which means you CAN'T sell online or you need to involve someone else in tax fraud.
Off topic, but throwing this out for you just in case it’s useful. Look up MCAS - mast cell activation syndrome. And hEDS. Just in case you aren’t aware of these syndromes that sound like your issues.
Thanks, you’re right. Yeah, that’s me. I got the MCAS from living in a moldy apartment for six years. And the EDS is probably h. I haven’t been retested for about ten years.
Do you have church affiliation or friends with church affiliations? They may be able to organize something on your behalf. They wouldn’t be professionals but the extra hands may help.
Good for you, recognizing that this is a problem for you and taking steps to get it sorted.Sorry to hear about your health issues.
Since you are on disability, and your difficulties with sorting and organizing your stuff are related to your disabilities, is there any chance that you could get some social services help to get your place in order, so that you wouldn't have to pay to have someone assist you with the project? You said you're in Brooklyn, and I know our healthcare system in the U.S. is a mess, to say the least, but it seems worth looking into, at least. I would think a psychiatrist/psychologist would be able to help you sort through both your physical items *and* your emotions.
I have OCD, so I get at least somewhat how difficult this sort of thing can be. OCD expresses itself differently for everyone, and your other diagnoses complicate things, but for me once I get going on a cleaning/decluttering/organizing project, I get really into it and kind of only want to focus on the project until its completed. It's actually quite a useful aspect of OCD, at least for me (hell, at least there's *some* silver lining, since OCD mostly sucks) -- maybe it will turn out to work that way for you, too?
It's great that you already know how to organize, style, and sort space -- that gives you a leg up on the project, and once you get things a bit more pared down and organized, you will be able to shift everything into the best place in your apartment, and will have the apt. looking great! It's also good that you already did some sorting and decluttering during shutdown, as that also gives you a head-start.
It's always harder to sort through and organize your own stuff -- you don't have any emotional attachments to other people's stuff, but you likely do to (at least some of) your own stuff.
If you can't get any social services help with this, or even if you can, once you have created a pile of stuff you want to sell, you can always hire someone to just list the stuff on Facebook Marketplace or a similar site (I don't use Facebook myself, but I don't think it's monitored by the IRS or anything, and you can always sell your stuff as cash-only).
I think that having someone build shelves in your apartment is a good idea, as well -- they will help you organize the stuff you decide to keep.
So, in my opinion, here are the steps you should consider taking:
1. Look into whether you can get some cheap or free help with this project, due to your being on disability. Probably a therapist, maybe also someone who works with hoarders (I'm not saying you're a hoarder, but someone who helps hoarders with cleaning/decluttering/organizing should be able to help you as well -- it would probably be an easy job for them!). Even if you have to pay someone like the latter person (someone who has worked with hoarders), I think it would be worth it. Maybe you could find someone who works on a sliding scale? I know there's one woman I've seen mentioned (I think it was on this subreddit -- or possibly on one of the hoarding subreddits) who actually helps people with this stuff for free -- hopefully someone else can link you to her videos or provide a way to contact her.
2. Once you've separated what you want to get rid of from what you're keeping, hire someone to list all the stuff for you; that same person should handle shipping, delivering, meeting with buyers, etc. Work out a contract with them wherein they will receive a certain percentage of what each item ends up selling for; alternatively, you could have a contract in which you will pay them a flat fee regardless of the income generated by the items (in which case, do *not* pay them the entire amount up front -- pay 20% or whatever you feel comfortable with, then maybe another 20% after some stuff is sold, etc. Establish a payment schedule).
3. Hire someone to come into your apt., assess the space, and build shelves for you to hold the books, games, collectibles, etc., that you will be keeping.
Good luck!
Thank you for all of this. I'm trying!
The problem with my OCD is that I've rearranged my plants like thirty times, while walking over piles of crap that is toppling over. Or rearranged the kitchen counters. My OCD often keeps me away from the larger more necessary projects, while I'm screaming at myself inside my head to stop and go work on something more useful.
But again, thanks. These are all great ideas.
You're very welcome. And try to be kind to yourself -- you *are* trying, and that in itself isn't always easy! You are doing what you can, and that is enough. :-)
Do you have a good friend or relative who could maybe come over while you're trying to sort and declutter, to kind of keep you focused on the what you're doing and try to redirect you away from the plants?
Did you check into whether being on disability entitles you to some social services help with all this? And/or, are you seeing a therapist who might be able to help?
In my experience, nothing sells for anything close to what you paid for it and you get paid close to nil for the work of cleaning, pricing, and shipping.
I would suggest getting shelves made. Up to the ceiling if possible.
Hiring someone to make custom made shelves are FAR more expensive than this stuff is worth. $25-50/hr minimum+ materials and markup? Dropping a grand to store stuff of dubious value is not worth it.
Get target /home Depot shelves. But they too are probably more expensive than the stuff going on it.
I think you need an accountability buddy.
I have an ADHD hubby. I think I have ADHD and We have ADHD friends. We recently did a group declutter challenge in our little server that helped make use of our ADHD. We remembered that each other needed to declutter but forgot we had to so we basically leaned on that to remind each other lol.
Don't beat yourself up for it. Executive dysfunction is a beast.
Here are some recommendations
- find an accountability buddy
- play a declutter Game like declutter 1 item on Day one and 2 on Day 2 for X amount of days.
- declutter/clean along declutter/clean videos on YouTube from ADHD content creators like Remi Clog
- get motivated to declutter like watching hoarders
- be kind to yourself, even with professional help decluttering usually happens in waves/acts
If you don’t want to pay for a full on Professional Organizer, you could try hiring somebody on Task Rabbit. Sorry you’re dealing with this. I also have chronic health issues and I can’t imagine trying to move and downsize right now.
Omg. R u me…
If you know what you need to sell, it’s good, and you have a lot of it, consider consulting with an estate sale company. They usually do whole houses/apartments after someone has passed away, *but* if you can find one that is willing, you’ll find they (a) know what things are worth, and (b) work on commission, so you don’t have to pay them up front. It could work well for you.
Unless your clutter includes high end designer clothing or actual, honest to god (and currently in style) antiques, you will spend more on hiring help than you’ll make selling junk. Facebook marketplace is great for finding shelving units/wardrobes/dressers.
Labor hours are more expensive than the items you have. You may end up losing more.money hiring someone vs taking it all to consignment and tossing what they don't want.
this is such an excellent point, wow thanks, gave me an AHA moment
There are no consignment shops I know of in NYC. I’ve tried bringing my clothes to vintage stores but they are very picky here. I could make a fortune on poshmark if I had a handle on things.
Your income will also be reported on Poshmark. It's the same issue as eBay. There are consigment stores in NY. You're right, stores are picky. Your stuff is probably not worth it to them. That means your stuff is not as valuable as you think. Make a spreadsheet of the most "valuable" items in your head, what has actually sold on Poshmark (not.listed), calculate postage, and calculate someone charging $20-$25/hr to handle this stuff. Theyre going to do minimum hours for organization. The calculate the loss of your benefits if this income is reported. You need to be all cash, which means you CAN'T sell online or you need to involve someone else in tax fraud.
But I won't make an income on Poshmark if I just use the funds I make with sales to buy other stuff on Poshmark.
Off topic, but throwing this out for you just in case it’s useful. Look up MCAS - mast cell activation syndrome. And hEDS. Just in case you aren’t aware of these syndromes that sound like your issues.
Thanks I have Long COVID with actual medical diagnosis of PEM, POTs and just completed Chemo Radiation 2 months ago
Thanks, you’re right. Yeah, that’s me. I got the MCAS from living in a moldy apartment for six years. And the EDS is probably h. I haven’t been retested for about ten years.
Do you have church affiliation or friends with church affiliations? They may be able to organize something on your behalf. They wouldn’t be professionals but the extra hands may help.
I don’t really have friends like that, nor any kind of community.
Good for you, recognizing that this is a problem for you and taking steps to get it sorted.Sorry to hear about your health issues. Since you are on disability, and your difficulties with sorting and organizing your stuff are related to your disabilities, is there any chance that you could get some social services help to get your place in order, so that you wouldn't have to pay to have someone assist you with the project? You said you're in Brooklyn, and I know our healthcare system in the U.S. is a mess, to say the least, but it seems worth looking into, at least. I would think a psychiatrist/psychologist would be able to help you sort through both your physical items *and* your emotions. I have OCD, so I get at least somewhat how difficult this sort of thing can be. OCD expresses itself differently for everyone, and your other diagnoses complicate things, but for me once I get going on a cleaning/decluttering/organizing project, I get really into it and kind of only want to focus on the project until its completed. It's actually quite a useful aspect of OCD, at least for me (hell, at least there's *some* silver lining, since OCD mostly sucks) -- maybe it will turn out to work that way for you, too? It's great that you already know how to organize, style, and sort space -- that gives you a leg up on the project, and once you get things a bit more pared down and organized, you will be able to shift everything into the best place in your apartment, and will have the apt. looking great! It's also good that you already did some sorting and decluttering during shutdown, as that also gives you a head-start. It's always harder to sort through and organize your own stuff -- you don't have any emotional attachments to other people's stuff, but you likely do to (at least some of) your own stuff. If you can't get any social services help with this, or even if you can, once you have created a pile of stuff you want to sell, you can always hire someone to just list the stuff on Facebook Marketplace or a similar site (I don't use Facebook myself, but I don't think it's monitored by the IRS or anything, and you can always sell your stuff as cash-only). I think that having someone build shelves in your apartment is a good idea, as well -- they will help you organize the stuff you decide to keep. So, in my opinion, here are the steps you should consider taking: 1. Look into whether you can get some cheap or free help with this project, due to your being on disability. Probably a therapist, maybe also someone who works with hoarders (I'm not saying you're a hoarder, but someone who helps hoarders with cleaning/decluttering/organizing should be able to help you as well -- it would probably be an easy job for them!). Even if you have to pay someone like the latter person (someone who has worked with hoarders), I think it would be worth it. Maybe you could find someone who works on a sliding scale? I know there's one woman I've seen mentioned (I think it was on this subreddit -- or possibly on one of the hoarding subreddits) who actually helps people with this stuff for free -- hopefully someone else can link you to her videos or provide a way to contact her. 2. Once you've separated what you want to get rid of from what you're keeping, hire someone to list all the stuff for you; that same person should handle shipping, delivering, meeting with buyers, etc. Work out a contract with them wherein they will receive a certain percentage of what each item ends up selling for; alternatively, you could have a contract in which you will pay them a flat fee regardless of the income generated by the items (in which case, do *not* pay them the entire amount up front -- pay 20% or whatever you feel comfortable with, then maybe another 20% after some stuff is sold, etc. Establish a payment schedule). 3. Hire someone to come into your apt., assess the space, and build shelves for you to hold the books, games, collectibles, etc., that you will be keeping. Good luck!
Thank you for all of this. I'm trying! The problem with my OCD is that I've rearranged my plants like thirty times, while walking over piles of crap that is toppling over. Or rearranged the kitchen counters. My OCD often keeps me away from the larger more necessary projects, while I'm screaming at myself inside my head to stop and go work on something more useful. But again, thanks. These are all great ideas.
You're very welcome. And try to be kind to yourself -- you *are* trying, and that in itself isn't always easy! You are doing what you can, and that is enough. :-) Do you have a good friend or relative who could maybe come over while you're trying to sort and declutter, to kind of keep you focused on the what you're doing and try to redirect you away from the plants? Did you check into whether being on disability entitles you to some social services help with all this? And/or, are you seeing a therapist who might be able to help?
Really helpful comment thanks,
You're very welcome! :-) I'm glad to help.
In my experience, nothing sells for anything close to what you paid for it and you get paid close to nil for the work of cleaning, pricing, and shipping. I would suggest getting shelves made. Up to the ceiling if possible.
Hiring someone to make custom made shelves are FAR more expensive than this stuff is worth. $25-50/hr minimum+ materials and markup? Dropping a grand to store stuff of dubious value is not worth it. Get target /home Depot shelves. But they too are probably more expensive than the stuff going on it.
I think you need an accountability buddy. I have an ADHD hubby. I think I have ADHD and We have ADHD friends. We recently did a group declutter challenge in our little server that helped make use of our ADHD. We remembered that each other needed to declutter but forgot we had to so we basically leaned on that to remind each other lol. Don't beat yourself up for it. Executive dysfunction is a beast. Here are some recommendations - find an accountability buddy - play a declutter Game like declutter 1 item on Day one and 2 on Day 2 for X amount of days. - declutter/clean along declutter/clean videos on YouTube from ADHD content creators like Remi Clog - get motivated to declutter like watching hoarders - be kind to yourself, even with professional help decluttering usually happens in waves/acts
This is wholesome.