Gumtree may be an online marketplace, but it’s also a platform that allows stories to be written through the objects and services that pass from one person to the next. From a beautiful wedding curated with items only sourced on Gumtree, the professional upcycler and the barber, below you can watch seven of these stories and see for yourself how Gumtree can #MakeItHappen
A spokesperson from Gumtree said: “We know that everyone has a story and the same goes with the items you buy and sell online. Whether it’s a new car, musical instrument, furnishings for your new home, or even baby items for the newest member of your family, at Gumtree we’re finding opportunity at every point in life, helping you make the most of your hard-earned cash, no matter what your story is.”
Living in student halls provides the unique challenge of fitting everything you want to have with you at university into one very, very, small room. Before you know it you’re deeply integrated into an intense sharing economy across your corridor, flat, or residence. There are some key items which quickly become hot commodities and make their way from one person to the next, or easily and cheaply bought via sites such as Gumtree. We think we’ve covered them all on this list, although different universities will have different priorities – anyone who has studied in London will have heard “can I borrow your oyster, mate?” at some point.
Yes, the trusty old hairdryer, always in high demand. Everyone has hair, it makes sense really… So why does no one else seem to have one apart from you?!
Sometimes the only purpose a laptop charger seems to have is to break. If you ever meet someone who has gotten through uni life without a dud laptop charger, then please contact us immediately, we need to know their secret. Anyway, the fact these things are destined to break, means there will always be someone knocking on your door, looking panicked, shouting a random electronics brand and looking to you to save the day.
“Anyone seen my headphones?” will be heard as frequently as “anyone bought any milk?”. So get used to it. There will come a time when a long, hungover bus journey to campus looms and the flat collectively realises they have all lost their headphones. Don’t let that happen, buy some spares (but don’t tell anyone, or someone will ask to borrow them, and you know what will happen next).
No doubt, there’ll be that one guy in your hall whose parents made him lug a printer to uni. Well, he is your hero, he is your god. Befriend him immediately, because he will save you in those moments when you’re too tired to go to the library but need to hand in a hard copy of your essay by the next day. And at least bring your own paper when you print, that way you’ll stay in his good books.
Unless you’re one of those people who can open a bottle with their teeth, another bottle, an eyelid, an armpit, a cat, etc. you will be needing one of these again, and again, and…again. Invest in a bottle opener and you will always have someone to drink with, because someone will always be looking to you to free their beer from its vessel.
Maybe not a great one to share, this. But ear plugs are essential nonetheless, and usually come in multi-packs. Halls are loud, lectures are early. You do the math on that one.
Everyone loves tea. Everyone will be drinking tea. Or coffee, or wine. The bottom line is mugs are in high demand at university, that’s just a fact. They’re also a great form of self-expression. Everyone has their own style of mug, large, small or decorated with expletives. Before you know it your whole corridor will have their eyes on your cute little kitten mug. It’s okay to share, everyone should get the chance to drink their tea from a legendary mug, just don’t get too attached, they tend to shatter, especially when used as a vessel for wine…
If you’re in catered halls, this one doesn’t apply to you. But for everyone else, get some oven gloves! There is nothing worse than cooking a pizza in the oven, then just as it’s ready to be devoured, realising you have no way to get at it without burning your hands to a crisp.
This one is closely related to the laptop charger, but likely to be in even higher demand. Sometimes it will fall to you to save your friend’s tinder date, by giving their phone a lifeline…literally. Phone chargers travel quickly around halls, so if you’ve given yours away, don’t worry it will eventually find it’s way back to you, in the great university cycle of phone chargers.
Pre-drinks require music. Music requires speakers. Speakers cost money. Students don’t have money. Speakers are rare. Finding a speaker at halls can be a daunting task, but there’ll always be that one guy who can save the party. It’s likely to be the same guy who owns the printer – so start your search there.
Being a student is tough. We remember the days fondly when we used to live off baked beans on toast and tequila shots… But you can make it easier on yourself by getting some extra cash in your wallet and improving your lifestyle.
There are loads of ways students can make money, so we’ve put together this handy guide of all our articles on the subject, plus a new video:
Of course, we always like to keep things as easy as possible, and one of the easiest ways to make money is by simply selling all your clutter and pre-loved, unused items online. That’s why we’ve partnered with Gumtree, which will clear your clutter in no time at all. Start selling, or if you’re unsure how to, read our guide.
Hannah Wilson, Marketing Director at Gumtree, said: “When you’re at uni you often move around a fair bit, so why not sell items you no longer need by listing them on Gumtree? You can post an ad on the site for free with just a few clicks and even organise the buyer to collect direct from your door, helping to save on delivery costs. Gumtree is also a good source for local jobs, so you can earn some extra cash through evening and weekend work.”
Now, here’s that video:
This April Action for Children are getting involved with Money Magpie’s annual Clear Your Clutter Day so if you’re looking to de-clutter but also do your bit for charity at the same time then why not host a my Swap n Shop in your local community?
All you need to do, anytime from Friday 13th to Sunday 15th April is host a my Swap n Shop sale and help raise funds for this charity that supports over 370,000 disadvantaged and vulnerable children across the UK.
Clear out that wardrobe, tidy up that book shelf and dig out those toys that the kids haven’t played with for years then gather some friends and family and ask them to either Swap or Shop! For more information and a free guide to help you sell your pre-loved things – and how you can donate the money raised – visit www.actionforchildren.org.uk/myswapnshop.
Jasmine Birtles, founder of Money Magpie and declutter queen, introduces Clear Your Clutter Day 2018. Find out everything about this year’s event in the video below.
Jasmine Birtles is a declutter master, and she’s going to tell you how to become one too…
Jasmine reveals the simple method which can turn your unused items into £30,000.
Money Magpie founder and financial advice expert Jasmine Birtles gives you 3 simple tips to declutter your life!
Decluttering is sweeping the nation. And some of the most famous and successful people in the world are right on board with it too. Here are the top celebrity declutterers:
Something about actress Reese Witherspoon always made us think she had her household under control with ease. And apparently our hunch was right. Her housekeepers say that even though she has 3 kids there is never much cleaning to do. In an interview Reese confessed that in her spare time there’s nothing she loves more than reorganizing her bookshelves and sock drawer. Don’t we all sometimes wish we had that kind of motivation…
Becks didn’t just keep things ship shape during the 59 times he captained England on the football pitch. He likes to keep things organised wherever he is. The first thing he does when he gets into a new hotel room? Before he can relax he has to move all the leaflets and books and put them in a drawer, everything has to be clutter free. Victoria Beckham commented on her husband’s condition, saying everything in their house has to match perfectly. We’d love to see inside.
The Japanese queen of decluttering. Her book, “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” has been published in over 30 countries and sold over 4 million copies. Marie’s mantra of only keeping things that spark joy, has found many followers.
The waiting list to get an appointment with her is 3 months long. She’s so committed to decluttering that she even advises readers to ditch her book once they’ve finished reading it. Now that’s commitment. She says that “the inside of a house or apartment after decluttering has much in common with a Shinto shrine … a place where there are no unnecessary things, and our thoughts become clear”. Shrine us up, Marie.
The director of Oscar contender Call Me By Your Name, applies decluttering to his work. He eventually took over directing duties on the film, simply because his method of working was so efficient that it cut millions from the budget. In fact, he shot the whole film in 30 days. Kudos Luca, we respect the work ethic. Even artists need order.
“Shake it off!” seems like a good phrase to apply to your home. Namely, shake off all that clutter. Taylor does just that, confessing she’s a neat freak and can’t start the day without a perfectly made bed. The celebrity admits it contrasts with the whole persona of musicians as messy and free. But we disagree, freedom often starts with a good declutter!
Actress Charlize Theron says her mind gets messed up if she isn’t entirely tidy and organised. She may be onto something because stats from Gumtree show that nearly three quarters of Brits say that having clutter in their lives makes them feel stressed. Charlize says she can’t even get to sleep if she thinks there’s something out of place in her cabinet. If you feel the same, check out our article about getting rid of your mental clutter.
TV presenter Anthea Turner is more than happy to pass on decluttering tips to anyone who asks. She thinks its best to get the whole family involved, because everything in the household has a place and things stay in their place and are easy to find if everyone knows where that place is! Makes sense to us.
Don’t mess with Madonna, or rather don’t invite her over if your house is a mess. The superstar singer goes ballistic if she finds clothes on the floor of her kids’ rooms. She hates mess. If she sees it she has to fix, pick it up and store it away. But that’s only the start, the celebrity also requires a new toilet seat for her dressing room at every venue she performs at – now that’s dedication to cleanliness… Apparently she gets a whole sterilization team in too, to make sure her whole dressing room is spotless before she enters and after she leaves.
Famous for playing neat freak Monica on Friends, actress Courtney Cox will give her on screen character a run for her money. She’s a self-confessed neat freak, admitting to sometimes picking off lint from other people’s clothes. She sees the parallel between herself and Monica. Maybe that’s why she played her so convincingly.
Whether we like it or not social media is here to stay, and it’s constantly evolving. Whether you choose to participate is your own choice, but a lot of times it’s difficult to escape, or you risk getting left out of events, losing touch with friends or missing a career opportunity. However, you can get on top of all your social media, all you have to do is follow our cleansing guide.
To organise your social media you need to understand it. The social media industry is constantly growing and changing. Daniel Miller, Professor of Digital Anthropology at UCL, recently found that people use different social media with varying degrees of privacy. So, when you post on facebook for example your desired audience may be close friends, but on twitter you may alter your tone to best suit career contacts, or vice versa.
Miller also found that social media is generation specific. While many of us may be signed up to facebook, the younger generations have begun to shun it, in favour of snapchat and whatsapp, where conversations are more temporal and private.
It is important to understand the nuances of the social media you use, and whether it is useful for your purposes, rather than just sapping your time away. Are you getting anything out of your twitter account, for example? If you only use it to stay up to date on the latest news, consider instead just subscribing to a news collector website, where the reporting will be far more reliable and geared to your tastes.
Also, facebook, twitter and so forth, all make huge money by selling your personal information. You should be the one making the profit here. So why not sell your own personal data for money.
Be ruthless. If you find that you are not really using a social media platform, deactivate or permanently delete your account. You’ll be better off without it. Sometimes it’s hard to do this, because you use the platform to communicate, and don’t want to lose that possibility. But there are ways around this.
If you are only keeping facebook because you use it’s messenger function, just download the dedicated facebook messenger app on your phone, which will stop you getting dragged into hours of staring at your newsfeed. Also try downloading the newsfeed eradicator widget, if you use facebook on your computer in google chrome.
Make a list of all your active social media accounts and write down all the ways you use them. If you find your reasons being non-essential, get rid of them. The time you will save can be invested elsewhere; why not use it to start walking other people’s dogs for money.
Even if you opt to keep your social media accounts, there is still a lot of decluttering to be done. First of all look at who you follow, who your “friends” are, and which pages and accounts you are subscribed to. If they haven’t posted anything of interest to you for a while, get rid of them and if you can’t remember who that “friend” is, purge them. Narrowing down your social media only to the people and businesses that matter to you, can make the whole thing a lot easier to manage.
According to online classifieds site Gumtree, British households have on average £2,500 worth of pre-loved items unused and ripe for re-sale in their homes.
If you’re keeping your social media accounts, you may as well use them for something productive, and there are a lot of ways you can do that:
Hannah Wilson, Marketing Director of Gumtree, said: “You’ll be surprised by how much money you could raise by simply selling items you no longer use online. Make good use of your social media accounts by sharing your Gumtree listing, you never know, an old friend or colleague may be on the lookout to snap up what you’re selling.”
Finally, and this point is key to decluttering your mind, life and everything else around you, remember to go offline! There is often no better cure for destressing and lowering anxiety than switching off all your devices. Make some time during your day, maybe after work or when the kids are at school, or even dedicate a whole day to staying off social media. You will feel as if you’ve suddenly entered a whole new space.
Decluttering and tidying your home has health benefits. There are tons of reasons why a happy house will foster a happy mind and a healthy body.
Research provided by Gumtree shows that almost three quarters of Brits say that having clutter in their lives makes them feel stressed and disorganised. The good news is that when you start to tame your clutter, you can immediately feel the positive impact it has on your life.
Keeping your home clean and tidy can prove a vital method to making sure everyone in your house is as healthy as they can be. Vacuuming, sweeping and dusting will limit the dust, pollutants and germs lurking in the corners.
Also, make sure to take care of any pet dander. Not only will you limit the chance of bacteria spreading, but you can also reduce how susceptible you, your family and visitors are to allergies, because, simply put, all the allergens will be swept away.
Jennifer McDonnell, MD, from Rush University Medical Center makes clear that things often left uncontrolled such as dust and pet dander can be powerful asthma triggers, particularly in children.
By disinfecting key areas such as the bathroom and kitchen where hygiene is key you can stop cross-contamination of surfaces and stop any bacteria multiplying or indeed spreading around the house.
Confidence can be key to our mental health. If we feel happy in our surroundings, we are more likely to feel happy in our life in general. If you have guests or visitors, presenting them with a spotless, tidy house, can give you a great social boost, and knowing that you have an organised home waiting for you can give you that little extra motivation at work. You will also feel prepared for spontaneous visits and never panic at the prospect of inviting someone in.
Plus, you’ll easily gain your visitors’ respect! Showing you have taken care and energy to make your home welcoming will make guests feel honoured and happy to share your place with you.
A study at the University of California, Los Angeles took a look at stress levels in relation to the home environment. Measuring cortisol, a stress hormone, in the saliva of research participants, researchers found that higher levels of cortisol were present in people who described their homes through words such as “mess” and “chaotic”.
In contrast, lower cortisol was found in those people whose homes were organised. So keeping a tidy home really does have an impact on your body!
Yes, decluttering does help you lose weight. It’s a fact. Depending on the activity, you could be smashing the calorie count.
If you ever need more motivation to tidy, re-read those stats, or even better, check out our in depth article on how decluttering can help you lose weight.
If you know where everything is in your home and there is less clutter stopping you from getting to it, your productivity will hit new heights. An organised home environment makes everything easier. The space will feel less burdened and knowing where everything is will make you feel less anxious. You will no longer be overwhelmed by the clutter that’s crowding out the essentials.
The biggest positive factor is that a tidy house saves you time! You won’t spend ages looking for things, nor will you find it hard to make space for new purchases. Treat your household like a business, remove everything holding you back. Efficiency at home can easily transfer to the rest of your life and help you reach your goals!
This one is an interesting benefit of decluttering. It goes hand in hand with the decluttered home lowering anxiety. People who make their beds everyday are 19% more likely to sleep well according to the National Sleep Foundation. Try it!
Also, in another survey it was found that 75% of people slept better on clean sheets, so remember to change these regularly. It doesn’t take long and will keep your bedroom hygienic and comfortable.
Around one in four over 65s have a fall each year, causing 2.8 million A and E visits. Keeping a clear floorspace and minimizing obstacles in the form of unnecessary clutter can be the key to preventing these.
Get your kids to pick up their toys after they have finished playing – we all know how painful stepping on a piece of Lego can be. Keep things clean and if you have mopped the floor, make sure it dries and does not leave any slippery residues.
Cutting down costs often starts with cutting down waste. Many households are filled to the brim with items designed for one-off use. Replacing these single-use items with reusable solutions will save you time, money and is a great way of contributing to the protection of the environment. There aren’t many opportunities to save the planet and save money at the same time, so get involved! Read on to find out the top wasteful items and how to replace them.
This one is truly a “no-brainer,” especially since Supermarkets introduced the 5p carrier bag charge. Depending on how many shops you do, the costs quickly stack up and over a year you could be looking to spend close to £10 on something which destroys the environment and has little benefits for you after its one-off use. Replace plastic carrier bags with a sustainable fabric carrier bag. Usually you can buy these in the supermarkets themselves or get one online. The other advantage to these bags is that they aren’t as flimsy as plastic, so you can fill them to the brim without having to worry that they’ll tear.
Here are some not-so-fun facts. Only 1 in 5 plastic water bottles is recycled. Plastic water bottles can take between 400 and 1,000 years to decompose. Over twice as much water is used to produce a plastic water bottle than is contained within the water bottle when it is sold. Plus they sap away money unnecessarily, considering the UK is a country where tap water is safe to drink and has more stringent safety checks placed on it than bottled water!
Get yourself a reusable water bottle, this will save you a heap in the long run, stop the endless influx of water bottles lying around the house, and can be a quirky way to express yourself. Try the Joseph Joseph Dot water bottle, it’s cheap, looks sleek and even has a hydration tracker in its lid that tells you when it’s time to top up on fluids. Speaking of water, here are 12 ways to save on water bills.
MPs have recently called for a “latte levy” of 25p to be placed on disposable coffee cups. Brits drink 70 million cups of coffee per day. And a lot of those 70 million cups are single-use paper ones. It’s a huge waste, and they’re not even very handy. It’s easy to burn your hands or spill your drink. Plus, you’ll save money by using a reusable cup:
Pret gives customers 50p off hot drinks if they bring a reusable cup
Starbucks will give you 25p off
Costa will give you 25p off
Paul will give you 25p off
Greggs will give you 20p off
Hydro Flask Coffee cup won the Independent’s best buy award for reusable coffee cups. It’ll set you back £18.95 but it’s fully sealable so it’ll keep your coffee warm and you can chuck it in your backpack.
Want to find out how much you’re spending on coffee, click here.
Next time you’re at your favourite bar or restaurant, bring your own metal straw! It may seem a little silly at first, but it’s an easy way to reduce the amount of waste you are responsible for, plus it makes any drink look better. You can get them from most high street kitchenware shops, or online. It’s a cheap way to live a sustainable lifestyle.
This is one which can earn you huge savings over the years. A bag of disposable razors can set you back up to £10. Ladies, you can pick up a solid wet and dry shaver for under £15. Gents, you can get a top quality electrical razor for under £50. Not only will you save big by cutting out disposable razors, you’ll also have a far more efficient and quick shave! Look good and do good at the same time.
So much fruit and veg comes pre-packaged by nature. It doesn’t need to be wrapped in plastic. Andy Clarke, the former boss of Asda, has called on supermarkets to stop using plastic packaging – saying most of it won’t ever make it to a recycling site. Even if supermarkets continue to use plastic to wrap almost everything, you can do your bit by trying to buy plastic-free. Apples don’t need to be sold in a plastic bag, nor does Broccoli. If you can’t find these items unwrapped, try shopping at your local market instead. You’ll be supporting your local community and doing your bit for the environment. Alternatively, you could also just get all your food for free.
