One person’s trash is another’s treasure, as the saying goes—unless it’s just trash. When preparing charitable donations, “make sure what you donate is only clutter to you,” says Home Storage Solutions. “It defeats the purpose when we make a charity pay money to haul away our trash for us.” Turn ripped, torn and stained clothing into rags, and leave those damaged, broken and nonfunctioning appliances at the curb.
Tag: charity donations
Donations Equal Deductions
When you donate used clothing and household items to ClothingDonations.org, the Internal Revenue Service allows you to deduct the fair market value (FMV) of the items on your income tax return. FMV is the amount you can reasonably expect people to pay for used clothes and other items in secondhand stores; tax preparation software programs such as TurboTax can help ascribe a value to many common items.
Get Organized with the 1-for-3 Rule
If you want to get organized in the New Year, use the one-for-three rule, says the blog Clean and Organized Family Home. For every new thing you bring into your home, eliminate three that just aren’t pulling their weight. Christmas decorations, clothing, and giveaway items that you’ll never use again go in the donation pile. Then, box them up and send them to ClothingDonations.org, where they can find a new life with people who need them.
Streamline to Make Your Space Gracious
Want to feel better about your home? One of the best ways is to streamline your stuff, according to HGTV’s “5 New Year’s Resolutions for Your Home.” Without regular purging, it’s hard to find what you really want, the story says, and too much stuff can make your space look dirty and dated. “This year, resolve to go room-by-room periodically clearing anything that you don’t use, wear or love and donate it to charity.”
Another Task for Your Holiday To-Do List
As the holidays kick off in earnest, you’ll have a host of tasks to deal with: Decking out your home, inside and outside, in a manner appropriate to the season. Buying gifts for the many family members, friends and colleagues on your list. Baking holiday cookies and other culinary delights. Somehow making time for that office party or Nutcracker.
There’s another holiday task that can help bring cheer to any number of people you may not know personally, though: Boxing up lightly used clothing items and household goods and donating them to area thrift stores via ClothingDonations.org.
The benefits of a donation are threefold. First, your donations will help provide people with the things they need for their own holiday festivities. While that sweater, dress or small appliance might no longer be of much use to you, it might represent a real “find” for another person who’s out browsing in search of a perfect outfit or gift.
Next, you’ll declutter your home for the holidays. Are your closets and crawlspaces crammed with clothing and goods you haven’t used in months? Chances are that when you go looking for that wreath or string of lights, you’ll find box after box of stuff you just don’t need. Pull it out and call ClothingDonations.org. You’ll create space for the new stuff you’re going to get this season, and impress your guests with a clean, organized home.
And finally, the proceeds from your donations will go toward programs that make the season a little brighter for the nation’s veterans. Programs that help house, clothe, feed and celebrate the men and women who have fought to keep the nation free depend on these funds, and many veterans will have a happier holiday thanks to your donations.
’Tis the season for giving, so as you dust off those decorations and ready your home for the holidays, don’t forget the veterans. Call ClothingDonations.org and spread the cheer!