Tag: decluttering

The Scariest Stuff

Posted on by Jordank

At #Halloween time, people love to have a little fun with the phobias that scare them. Houses get bedecked with #spectres and #spiderwebs, and children dress up in #ghoulish, #gory costumes to roam the neighborhoods’ front porches in search of free candy.

But the really #scary stuff may be INSIDE THE HOUSE. Overstuffed closets that don’t shut. Heaping toy bins. Stacks of books and papers that list under their own weight. Shelves jammed with boxes of rejects and extras. That’s right: Your house is #haunted by #clutter.

Many of the things creating the clutter may be uncomfortable to look at — clothing that no longer fits or has gone out of style, for example. It’s embarrassing to look at, so you shove it to the back of the closet and try to forget about it.

Or those extra knickknacks that didn’t find a place in your new home (and never will). Isn’t it best, you might think, to just box them up and put them on a shelf in hopes that someday they will fit in to your decor?

No! Get rid of them now, and you’ll say goodbye to those embarrassments while creating new space in your home for the things you use and love. Along the way, you’ll reduce the anxiety that having a cramped, disorganized and cluttered home can produce.

Scary Mommy says that clutter produces an ominous dread in her that’s worse than any installment of the Friday the 13th franchise. “Cleaning up clutter is not just another thing on the to-do list like packing my kids’ lunches. It’s a full-on ragey kind of panic.

“It’s the feeling that I literally can’t breathe with all the clutter that’s filling our house,” she says. “It’s a feeling that the world is a chaotic place that I can’t control, and all of that chaos is represented by the loud, unruly, angsty wreck that is my living room.”

Chaos is scary. But the #decluttering process is also scary, because it demands that you go through all of that broken, disused and extra stuff and make snap decisions about what can stay and what should go.

In the spirit of the season, resolve to face those fears. Pick a disorganized, overstuffed shelf, closet or room and begin. It may be uncomfortable, embarrassing or frightening at first, but as your space slowly gets more organized, you’ll feel the anxiety lift.

If you find anything that may still be useful to other people as you declutter, bag it up and contact ClothingDonations.org for a donation pickup. Like giving out candy, you’ll be cheered to donate something knowing that it will assist veterans year-round.

And that may just make decluttering feel like a trick and a treat. Happy Halloween!

Harvest the Benefits of a Fall Garage Sale

Posted on by Jordank

The temperatures are cooling, the leaves are changing colors and soon enough, snow will be falling in many parts of the country. But although fall begins on Monday, Sept. 23, there’s still time to do a good #decluttering and make some money by selling the things you don’t want.

That’s right — fall is one of the best times of the year to have a garage, yard or tag sale. The weather is often as good as or better than it is in the summer, and having fewer sales and other events to compete with can help your sale corner the market.

“Spring and summer may be the most popular #garagesale seasons, but popular is not always a good thing,” says the Skywriters Garage Blog. “A fall garage sale typically faces little to no competition. With no competitors, you could be the busiest sale in town.”

What you decide to #declutter and tag can also have an impact on your fall sale’s success. Few people are looking to buy used Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations during the spring and summer seasons; sell them now, and buyers will pay premium prices.

Similarly, nobody is thinking about cooler temperatures while they’re shopping in the sweltering summer sun. Down jackets, winter coats, sweaters and flannels will sell better as the weather starts to cool off.

You can also lure customers in by selling fall treats such as pumpkin bars and hot apple cider. Put the kids on this task and let them use the money to get Halloween costumes or whatever else they need for the season.

There are still six weekends until Halloween, when the northern states see a radical shift in temperatures and daylight hours; any of them is fair game for a sale. If you live further south, you’ll have more options before your neighbors hole up against the cold.

The money you earn can help fund a happy holiday season, and getting rid of excess #clutter is its own reward. “Before you batten down the hatches for a winter-long hibernation, decluttering and #organizing your home will help ease stress and make the season go more smoothly,” says Financial Avenue.

When your garage sale is over, #donate the lightly used clothing and household items that don’t sell to ClothingDonations.org. You’ll support valuable veterans programs throughout the country — and avoid bringing that clutter back into your home.

Six More Weeks of Summer

Posted on by Jordank

With the Labor Day weekend behind us, most people (and especially people with kids) are mourning “the end” of summer. Whether or not you or your kids have to be in school, however, there’s still plenty of summer left to enjoy.

At the time of this writing, there are still nearly three weeks until the fall equinox — the official end, astronomically speaking, of the season. But many places in the U.S. won’t see real fall weather for several weeks beyond Sept. 23.

If there was a Groundhog Day in the summer, in other words, Punxsutawney Phil would likely give us six more weeks to enjoy. So there’s no reason to stop having cookouts, taking road trips and otherwise savor the season.

Take in a baseball game, BroBible suggests. Go for swim. Attend a music festival or see a summer blockbuster. Throw a Frisbee. The weather is fantastic (in many places, better than in August), so don’t let the calendar tell you when the summer fun needs to end.

Most of the activities you’ve enjoyed since June are still going strong, HuffPost says, so maintain your summer mindset into October. “Continue to have fun, to eat fresh produce from the farmer’s market, to read trashy novels, to spend time outdoors, to go for walks after dinner and long bike rides on weekends.”

There’s still time for decluttering, of course. As you squeeze in those last few summer outings and events, be conscious of what you will and won’t need as it starts to feel more like sweater weather.

For example, you’ve probably worn those white jeans/shorts/linens for the last time, so you can now safely donate them to ClothingDonations.org. The same goes for outdoor equipment you won’t be using much longer, such as camping gear and pool toys.

By the same token, you can also stock up on sweaters, blankets and household items best suited to fall festivities at the thrift stores supplied by ClothingDonations.org. The resale of #donated goods helps fund veterans programs throughout the country year-round.

Now’s the time to squeeze the last bits of outdoor merriment out of summer. As Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” And summer ain’t over just because the kids are back in school!

Declutter Before Doing Back-to-School Shopping

Posted on by Jordank

Before you hit the back-to-school sales with your kids, says Simply Organized, take inventory of what is and isn’t in their closets already. Invest about an hour per child to clean out and #declutter closets and dresser drawers together, having them try on any garments that might be too worn, the wrong size or not their style; ClothingDonations.org an pick up any items that can be resold. Track what you keep and make a list of things you need to buy, and “shop with your list,” the blog says. “This will prevent you from overbuying and keep you on a good budget. [Being] familiar with closet and drawer space will also keep you from impulse overpurchasing.”

Declutter the Kids’ School Paperwork

Posted on by Jordank

Even as classrooms transition to digital technologies, kids can gather lots of papers — assignments, reports, art projects, completed quizzes — during the school year. These can pile up and create #clutter in the home if you don’t stay on top of them. To keep the papers you save to a minimum, Simple Purposeful Living says, ask three questions as you start to go through them and #declutter: (1) “Is there more than one?” Keep only the best of the flower/house/truck drawings. (2) “Can you get it again?” Forms, immunization records and report cards often fall into this category. And (3) “What’s worst thing that could happen?” Would you really miss whatever it is if it were gone?