Prepare for Your Wedding by Selling the Following Items in Your Home

A wedding celebrates a new beginning in your life. Often it means moving in with your spouse for the first time, making room for all their things, and adjusting to a partnership where everything is shared. It’s a beautiful thing, but all the change can become overwhelming.

Not to mention all the wedding gifts! With such a surplus of things entering your new home, it’s a good idea to go through your belongings and weed out what you don’t need. Minimalism is totally in, too—it’s high time to leave your packrat days behind you. Not only will you make space for your mate, but you could also earn some money to put towards your big day (or honeymoon) in the process!

We’ve got your back, bride. Going through your old things may seem overwhelming, but you might be surprised at how fun and cleansing it can be! Here are a few tips to remember when tackling your organizing as you prepare for your wedding!

Do You Have Duplicates?

Seems like common sense, but you may not realize how much space is sucked up by duplicates. Blankets and throws, for instance, are often received as gifts or purchased to match a bed set that changes later. Do you have two of the same color? What about T-shirts, which are freely given out as souvenirs and camp mementos? It might be time to get rid of or repurpose your childhood T-Shirts.

Duplicates run rampant through your closet, hidden in your shoe bin and lurking in your folded jean stack. You might have several pairs of pants like leggings and blue jeans, and if there are a few pairs you favor less, maybe it’s time to make extra space in your closet!

Ladles and stir spoons are easy to pick up at the grocery store, along with cutting knives and coffee mugs. If you can’t remember where you got it and you don’t use it every week, get ‘er gone!

Do You Use It Daily?

Which brings us to our next tip—how much an item is used. Some things like cookie sheets may not be used every day, but if you examine your life, you interact with a lot of your things every day. Makeup, curtains, desk chairs, speaker systems, tooth brushes and coffee makers—we use a lot of our things every day. But what about things that take up a lot of space and aren’t enjoyed after work when you’re doing what you want?

Maybe it’s a bedroom television, a piece of furniture that no one sits on or a desk that isn’t used. You may think, “well, someday I might use it, maybe…” Let’s be honest sister, if you haven’t already, you probably won’t.

Do You Like Looking at It?

We all have that one piece of furniture we inherited that we don’t love or that rug that just doesn’t go with your color scheme anymore. It’s simple—if it annoys you, why keep it?

These items can be as big as a couch or as small as a hair barrette. The things we own should, in general, contribute to our happiness. Get rid of old gifts you didn’t like, things that remind you of your ex, anything tied to a bad memory or items that discourage you from moving on. If you bought something during a time of your life that isn’t congruent with who you are now, it’s time to trash it and make room for the new.

Make It Fun and Make It Rain

Think of going through your belongings like a cleansing facemask—let your space get a little disorganized, pick out the bad and leave the good. You’ll feel refreshed, and excited about all the new space you have!

The actual chore can be, well, a chore, so invite your fiancé or your friends over and make it fun. Grab a few snacks, maybe a drink or two and crank up the radio. And make a little cash, too! Give your helpers a checklist of things to look for in older items and embark on a collectibles scavenger hunt. For example, you may have a lot of old coins lying around, and if you know what makes a coin valuable you could sell some of your pennies for a whole lot more than a just few cents!

You can also sell your old clothing or old furniture online to make a few extra bucks before the big day, too. Or if you would rather donate your things to a humanitarian organization, nothing makes a person feel better than a good deed. You might just find your generosity is payment enough! 

Check Your Expiration Dates

This isn’t about selling so much as it is about clearing out space. There is simply no reason at all to keep something that’s expired. Check your medicine cabinet, pantry, and makeup bag. If you’ve been using the same foundation or mascara for more than 6 months, you probably want to toss them. Know when to throw away old makeup to keep your face healthy and free of unnecessary germs! Plus—there’s no better time to freshen up your makeup routine than the start of your life with your true love.

Once you’ve determined what you’d like to sell, check out the following post with suggestions on where to sell it!