Tag: clothing donation pickup

The First Day of Spring Means Cleaning

Posted on by Jordank

Ah, spring! It’s the season of new beginnings, when the gloomy grays of winter surrender to sunnier weather, warm temperatures and new growth. The flowers are starting to bloom, the birds are chirping and the grass is turning green again. What’s not to like?

As you emerge from your wintry cocoon, you might notice that your home has also suffered from the winter doldrums. Things might look a little bit dingier and a little bit more cluttered than they were just a few months ago. That’s not your imagination.

Your home was shut against the cold, and as a result, it kept the dirt and clutter in. But as the season of renewal begins, you can also refresh your home in preparation for the warm months that lie just ahead. And to do a thorough job, you need a plan, Vogue says.

Start by decluttering. The holidays likely helped you bring a lot of new junk into the home; you don’t need it all, and after you weed through what you want to keep, trash or donate to ClothingDonations.org, you’ll be able to see what needs a good scrubdown.

Next, gather your supplies. You’ll need your favorite all-purpose cleaner, rubber gloves, glass cleaner, a sponge, a duster, and rags or paper towels. Put these in a carry-all so that you can transport them easily from room to room.

One by one, start at the top of each room. Dust the ceilings, picture frames, wall hangings, books and shelves. Get into spaces that rarely get cleaned — behind the toilet, under the bed and under the sink.

Finally, do the floors. Pick up and wash throw rugs and send the finer area rugs out for a professional cleaning. Sweep and mop hardwood and tile floors, and vacuum all drapes, carpeting and upholstered furniture.

Don’t forget the refrigerator. Toss expired foods, unused condiments and leaky containers. Wipe the appliance’s interior clean and any jars you plan to keep, wash the shelves and drawers, and finally, replace what you’re keeping.

When you’re done, celebrate your accomplishment by bringing the spring indoors. Display a bouquet of fresh flowers or bring a new plant into your space. There’s no better way to start the season.

Tackle a Rainy-Day Organization Project

Posted on by Jordank

Rainy spring days are a great time to head to your garage or attic to ensure that the seasonal housewares and decorations you dragged out for the holidays are stored in an orderly fashion. Bed, Bath & Beyond suggests emptying storage areas completely and sorting out all of the “keepers,” placing them in labeled, reusable bins, and putting them back on the shelves. Anything that doesn’t make the cut and is still in usable shape can go into boxes and bags for your next ClothingDonations.org pickup. And the junk? Send it to the curb!

Rainy Day? Pick a Closet to Organize

Posted on by Jordank

Spring is now officially just days away, and there will soon be more rain coming down than snow. Take advantage of one of your gloomier spring days to organize a closet for the upcoming warm-weather seasons. First, make sure you have enough boxes and bags at the ready, says professional organizer Denise Levine. Then, pick a closet and empty it out completely. Dust, clean and vacuum the space. Then sort your clothing, returning only the clothing you use to the closet, boxing the stuff you won’t need again until next winter, and bagging up the rejects for your next ClothingDonations.org pickup.

Decluttering Do’s and Don’ts

Posted on by Jordank

Decluttering is difficult. People tend to let stuff pile up until they just don’t have any more room for all of those extra items of clothing, appliances, knick-knacks and books. The surplus stuff often builds up slowly — purchase by purchase, gift by gift — so you may not even notice how much junk you have until you need to move.

Holding on to all of that stuff can be anxiety-inducing. At the extreme, you may actually feel crowded by it, or overwhelmed by the cleaning and organizing tasks that you’d like to get done if you could only get some of that junk out of the way. That’s when the need to declutter has reached crisis proportions.

But there are ways to keep decluttering from getting to that crisis point, and strategies you can use to keep your stuff from getting out of hand on a regular basis. These are the “Dos and Don’ts” of decluttering, and they can save your sanity — or at least some of your space.

The first “Do” is to let go of the guilt that may be influencing you to keep things. Did an aunt give you an ugly sweater you’ll never wear? Did a friend give you a tacky souvenir? Items like these certainly may have memories or some sense of responsibility attached, but you should chuck them without a second thought if you don’t use and enjoy them.

Another “Do”? Tackle one room at a time. Limiting the decluttering project (or dividing into small chunks) allows you to focus and can keep you from getting overwhelmed by the bigger, whole-house task. You can even start with a closet to see the results of your efforts fast — and it might just inspire you to check more rooms off your list.

If you’re sorting through a clothes closet, try the “hanger trick” to determine what you can get rid of. Turn the open part of the hook of every garment toward you; as you wear and return some to the closet, turn the hanger the right way around. At the end of the season, anything still on a hanger with the point facing out is something you don’t want.

What’s a decluttering “Don’t”? “Don’t hold on to things because you’re going to sell them,” the OneCountry blog says. “Either sell them or don’t sell them, but don’t hold them onto them for a nonexistent point in the future when you might get around to selling them. Most things don’t hold as much monetary value as we think they do, regardless of what we paid for them.”

One final “Do”: The minute you decide to declutter, visit ClothingDonations.org to schedule a pickup. Not only will it help you commit to the task, it will give you a date to complete it. Put that date on your calendar — it could be the start to your new, uncluttered life.

Decluttering Helps Bring Dignity

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Not only do your donations to ClothingDonations.org help declutter your home, they also help fund VVA programs such as Uniforms for Final Salute, an initiative that Chapter 910 in Corpus Christi launched that ensures that homeless and indigent veterans are laid to rest in uniform and with dignity. Chapter members in the area have arranged funeral services and honor guards for more than a dozen of their brethren so far, and ClothingDonations.org has helped many thousands of people get rid of their unwanted stuff.