Count the number of stuffed animals in your child’s room. You’ll likely be amazed at the number. Help your child keep some and donate others.
Tag: back-to-school
It’s time to transition—goodbye, summer and hello, fall!
It seems like we were just having our garage sales and greeting our kids as they got off the bus, ready for summer. While some of us are scrambling to get in that last minute vacation, many children only have a few days left before a new school year is underway! Translation—fall is upon us.
If you checked out our back-to-school tips, you’ll remember that we talked about the clothes shopping excursions that typically accompany a new school year. Sure your children (and yourself!) may only have gotten a few new items for their wardrobes, but you’d be surprised by just how much space a couple pairs of jeans, some sweaters, and new coats will take up in your closet. Not to mention, you have summer clothes you still need to keep out—where do you put it all?
Our friends over at The Huffington Post have some great tips for helping make that summer-to-fall closet transition a little easier. Here are their suggestions:
1.) Go through your summer clothes. Now that the season is (almost) over, try on everything. If you don’t wear it or it doesn’t fit anymore, put it in a plastic bag for donation. Then go to our website, fill out a donation pickup request form, and we’ll pick the items up for you!
2.) Don’t pack it all away yet. The weather is still warm for the rest of August and most of September, so only pack up a few items. Keep any pieces that can be worn in the fall easily accessible in your closet.
3.) Evaluate old fall clothes. Just like your old summer clothes, try on these fall items. If they are too big or no longer fit your style, donate them to us! We’ll be happy to help those pants and sweaters find a home in a new closet.
4.) “Hang fall clothes, organizing by type.” By keeping flannel shirts separate from the big sweaters and jackets, you’ll be better able to see smaller items. It also lets you see all of the pieces you own, to keep you from buying things you don’t need!
Now that you have the knowledge you need, start getting your closets prepared for fall today!
Put Them to Work!
With the kids home over the summer chances are that things are a little bit more cluttered at your house than usual! As they dig out old toys and games, outdoor sporting equipment and other sundry items used to keep them amused during those long, lazy days of summer things can pile up.
With school looming in the not-too-distant future, now’s the time to get a head start on summer clutter clean-up. And what better timing than when the kids are at home to lend a hand!
Whatever their ages, your kids can be put to work on helping to clean up the clutter in preparation for back-to-school. One added benefit—as they get rid of the old they can keep a list of what replacement items they may need. Whether old clothes are torn and tattered, or simply no longer fit, now is a good time to begin those back-to-school shopping lists.
Don’t have kids? Summer time still means some added clutter for all of us. There’s no better time to declutter than when the temperatures are warm and the nights are long!
Here are some additional tips to help you get on top of summer clutter:
- Do it in stages. Maybe one week you assign a task of emptying old dressers and closets, another week you focus on the basement, the garage, the family room, etc.
- Keep that list handy: ask everyone to keep track of the replacement item “must haves” that they will need when they get rid of no-longer-need/want items.
- Separate “need to be tossed” from “someone else may value” items so you can readily donate your still-in-good-shape, but no longer needed items.
- Don’t overlook adult clutter: spend some time focusing on all of the areas of your house that lend themselves to clutter: “junk” drawers, kitchen cabinets, pantries, etc.
- Give us a call! When you’ve cleared through the clutter and have identified items that can go to good homes, give us a call—we offer free pick-up.
Finally, gather those lists together and plan for some fun end-of-summer, back-to-school shopping to replenish your closets for fall!