Tag: decluttering your home

Giving Up Clutter for Lent and Life

Posted on by Jordank

Lent is a Christian observance commemorating the 40 days that Jesus Christ spent fasting in the desert before beginning his public ministry. Those who observe the period typically mark it with prayer, fasting and personal sacrifice.

A Lenten sacrifice is a spiritually motivated, voluntary renunciation of a pleasure or luxury. Common modern-day Lenten sacrifices include abstaining from meat-eating, chocolate, sweets and alcohol. Some people attempt to eschew “sinful” behaviors such as profanity.

Not every faith observes Lent, of course, but each of the major religions has a holiday observed through fasting and sacrifice. Regardless of faith or level of observance, the Organizing Blog suggests that there is something you can give up today for the betterment of everyone: #clutter.

#Decluttering can help you lead a more spiritual existence. When you don’t have to tend to all of the #stuff you’ve collected over the years, you’ll have more time and energy to focus on what really matters: health, family and well-being.

Establish a simple Lenten goal: “I’ll spend one hour per day #sorting through my stuff.” “I’ll #declutter one #closet per week.” “I’ll #clean and #organize my kitchen and bathrooms by Easter.” “I’ll fill X number of boxes and bags with stuff I no longer need or want.”

What would Jesus do? Granted, we live in different times, but he almost certainly would not let a bunch of clothing that doesn’t fit, disused household appliances and mass-market tchotchkes pile up and bog him down. He traveled light.

There’s another aspect of Lent and other seasonal observances demand: almsgiving. It’s charitable giving that puts the needs of others ahead of your own — sharing your time, money and material possessions with others, and especially those less fortunate.

ClothingDonations.org can help with this. Once you’ve #decluttered and gathered up the things you don’t want, contact us for a #free #donation #pickup. We’ll take those lightly used goods and resell them to #help the nation’s #veterans.

Once you see the results from your Lenten sacrifice, decluttering could become a lifelong habit. Have a safe and happy Lent!

Making a Major Move More Manageable

Posted on by Jordank

About 27 million people changed primary residences last year in the United States, according to Move.org, and one-fifth of those #moves were out-of-state. With the job market still competitive and real estate activity starting to slow, more people will likely be on the move this season.

A move is rarely easy, and supply chain dirsruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic made things more difficult. But you can make a major move more manageable if you make a timeline and spread the work out over a period of days, weeks or months.

If you hire a moving company to transport your #stuff (as 80% of people do) there’s a financial incentive to #packing as little as possible. That’s why the first step in any move is to #declutter and #organize your possessions. “If you don’t love it, need it, [or] use it regularly, or if it’s broken, get rid of it!” says Living Well Spending Less. “There’s nothing worse than unpacking boxes of stuff later on only to realize you don’t really need any of it.”

Edit your stuff well ahead of time to give yourself time to sell some of it, or #purge as you #pack. Either way, you’ll have less to transport and integrate into your new home when the move is complete. Assuming you find lightly used items things that you won’t need in the new home, contact ClothingDonations.org to schedule a free, contactless #donation #pickup — or schedule multiple #pickups during your pre-move #packing period and another in your new location.

Moving long-distance is particularly challenging. While couple of friends with a UHaul may be able to handle small moves, that may not be sufficient for families with houses full of stuff. Architectural Digest offers a guide to the moving companies adept at facilitating relocation across the country or another part of the world.

Near or far, a major move is a great opportunity to reinvent your lifestyle and revisit the things you truly value, use and need. It may not be easy, simple or cheap, but you can start fresh in a new place — without the #clutter that weighed you down in the last one. #MovingTips

Summer Reading for the Dedicated Declutterer, Part 4

Posted on by Jordank

If you want to read the de facto bible of #decluttering this summer, look no further than  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. Her crash course in #clutter control asks readers to use the #KonMari method quickly #declutter whole categories of goods: clothing, books, paperwork and so on. Follow the book’s guidance, Kondo says, and you shouldn’t ever have to do such a drastic #decluttering again. “The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life,” Kondo writes. “The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past.” #SummerReading

Summer Reading for the Dedicated Declutterer, Part 3

Posted on by Jordank

Perhaps the best-recognized proponent of a #minimalist lifestyle, Joshua Becker offers a practical companion to his bestselling The More of Less in The Minimalist Home. The book offers easy-to-use strategies to achieve the mental benefits of #minimalism, including a room-by-room approach that starts by #decluttering the easiest room of the house and ends with the most challenging. Keep only what matters to you most, the book says; not only can #minimalism save you money, it can free up the time necessary to give back and engineer a fulfilling, productive life. (As always, you can give some of that unwanted #stuff back by scheduling a free #donation #pickup at ClothingDonations.org.) #SummerReading

Summer Reading for the Dedicated Declutterer, Part 2

Posted on by Jordank

As anyone who has ever moved after a few years in the same place knows, #decluttering often goes hand-in-hand with #downsizing. While its title has the unfortunate tendency to get people singing from the Frozen soundtrack, Peter Walsh’s Let It Go can help people going through a major downsizing resulting from a divorce, marriage, death in the family or move. The book can help readers sort out their feelings surrounding that #stuff, keep only the most meaningful #mementoes and divide up inherited possessions. After #downsizing, Let It Go encourages readers to focus on learning, experiences and helping others. #SummerReading