Bindy found an ingenious way to clean up and make money.
Here, Bindy Scott, 29, tells the story in her own words.
At 24 weeks pregnant with my second bub, an undeniable urge washed over me. I suddenly needed to clean and organise everything.‘The nesting instinct’s kicked in,’ I laughed to my husband, Trent, 28. ‘I’m going to sort out the house on Saturday.’
As I’d been quite sick throughout my pregnancy, doctors had advised me to take it easy. But there was something I could do…
Going through our cupboards and shed, I found items we didn’t use anymore. Then I took photos of them, wrote a short caption and advertised them on the buy-and-sell website Gumtree.
There were leftover bricks from our house, wheel rims and toys our two-year-old daughter, Lucy, had outgrown. I even posted a beautiful big armchair to make room for the cot in the nursery.
Best of all, it was a lot easier than organising a garage sale. And after two days, everything had been snapped up.
‘We made $800 in a weekend!’ I told Trent, shocked at the result. For months, we’d been putting aside a bit of cash for new storage.
Now we could buy it with our unexpected windfall – without dipping into our savings. After our son, Tommy, arrived in December, we continued to put what we could spare from Trent’s wages into a separate bank account. We called it our ‘fun money’ and it went towards delicious food, birthday gifts or holidays. At the same time, I added to the account every time I had a clear-out.
One day, I sold some iron roofing sheets in less than an hour, and that night I treated us to pizza. It helped Lucy learn a valuable lesson, too – that nice things cost money and you have to work for them.
When she wanted new accessories for her favourite doll, I told her to pick three toys she no longer played with. ‘Then I’ll help you sell them and we can go to the shops,’ I said. We also donated lots to charity. ‘Can we give these warm coats to the kids?’ she asked, making my heart burst.
There are some things I struggle to part with, though. In the garage I have tubs full of the kids’ baby clothes and searching through them can be emotional.I just can’t believe how tiny Lucy was, I think, holding up newborn dresses. How can I get rid of it?
When I’m on the fence like that, I call my sister, Nikki, for her unbiased opinion. ‘Sell it,’ she tells me ruthlessly. ‘You don’t need it.’ ‘You’re right. It will only go to waste or deteriorate,’ I say, seeing reason.
Then, in September, I got another urge – this time for a big spring clean. With Christmas and summer holidays coming up, it was the perfect time to see what cash we could make from our cupboards. I found clothes with their tags on, ornaments and two pairs of cowboy boots. Trent was so impressed when the lot sold.
For years I’d been writing about our life on my blog, Modern Wife Life 31. So that Monday, I decided to post about my latest dealings. I was motivated to start spring-cleaning and decluttering our home… Thanks to that urge I made around $400 in two days!
In a year, we’d made more than $1200 from our home and I wanted to encourage other people to do the same. Go through your wardrobe, your cabinets, I wrote. Sort out what you don’t use anymore or what you don’t really love and pass it on.
After I shared the post, it went viral and was seen by thousands of people! I loved the fact that families all over the country could be richer by Monday.
If something’s gathering dust, you haven’t touched it for six months, and it’s not sentimental, think whether it could make you some money. A quick spring-clean could result in cash!
To read more from Bindi, visit Modern Wife Life 31.
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