Kathryn Porter is a recovering clutter-holic. Or, as she calls herself, a reformed clutterbug. In her book, Too Much Stuff: De-Cluttering Your Heart and Home, she candidly reveals the ultimate cost of clutter in her own life—her mother died a tragic, untimely death, partly because there was so much stuff in her house that the paramedics couldn’t get to her in time.

“In the end her possessions owned her,” writes Kathryn. “They required her constant attention.”

Kathryn inherited her mother’s tendency to collect things, but decided to live her adult life differently. In her book, she shares loads of practical techniques for reducing clutter, interspersing her own testimony. She writes:

“With every piece of clutter that went out the door, I lost pounds of emotional weight…the most beautiful treasures filling our homes are not our possessions, but the people who live with us.”

Kathryn and I met at a couple of Christian writers’ conferences last summer and fall, and she agreed to share some de-cluttering techniques for adoptive parents this week in honor of “Get Organized Month.”

Here are some questions submitted by my blog’s readers, along with Kathryn’s responses (I’ll be posting questions and answers the rest of the week at my Exploring Adoption blog – you can learn more there):

We are trying to raise money to adopt our first child and would like to get rid of some clutter at the same time. What's the most profitable way to sell "stuff"?

eBay can be very profitable, but there's a lot more work involved. Some smaller priced items that can sell for pocket change at a garage sale may not find buyers on eBay. You may want to consider auctioning a few items on eBay and then selling the rest through more traditional means.

Online want-ads such as CraigsList (http://craigslist.org/) are also popular. In these forums, you list your items according to the city in which you live and then you make arrangements with the buyer for pick-up. If you have a lot of items to sell, this could still be work-intensive because you have to write the posts for what you sell.

Print want-ads are still widely used and might be a good choice for higher ticket items.

Flea markets are a nice option because they have a core customer base and it saves you from advertising. It's also much easier to drop off unsold items at a donation center afterwards because you have to pack any unsold items back in your car.

Garage sales require the least amount of work. If you can get a few neighbors to do it with you, it will increase your traffic and earn you more sales.

To answer your question on what is most profitable, it really depends on what you are selling and the work you are willing to put into it. My favorite method is the flea market. Although I might be able to get a few bucks more for things on eBay, I don't like the extra work involved. My time is valuable and I'd rather spend it on something other than selling unwanted household items. My husband loves eBay and doesn't mind researching what similar items go for, writing the descriptions, taking photos of the items to be sold, shipping the item, and the potential headache of something going wrong with the sale. When determining what is most profitable for you, consider your schedule, energy level, and personality. Then make your decision.

I am adopting two children simultaneously. I want to convert the guest room to a bedroom for them. What can I do with all the stuff I have stored in the guest room to make room for the children’s belongings?

Do you really need all that stuff you are storing in the guest bedroom? Examine why you are keeping it. If you are not using it, sell it or donate it to a charity. If it's something you use or plan to use in the next year, give it a home. "I might need it someday" answers for any item means that it's time to part with it.

Check out my Exploring Adoption blog for more tips from Kathryn.