Tag: decluttering

Get Your Garage or Yard Sale Ready Now

Posted on by Jordank

The “official” start of summer — Memorial Day — is now less than two weeks away! Longtime bargain-shoppers and declutters alike, however, know summer by its other name: garage-sale season.

We at the Organizing Blog aren’t going to tell you not to spend a sunny summer day perusing other people’s castoffs. There are tons of deals to be had! Our favorite finds include vintage bicycles, quality furniture and outdoor equipment — all scored at a fraction of their retail or auction prices.

But you likely have a lot of items like this (not to mention plenty of garage-sale staples such as CDs, small appliances, games, tools, clothing and glassware) that you just don’t use anymore — or never did. Now’s the time to start setting those things aside for your own sale.

You should allow yourself triple the time you think it might take to get your garage, yard or tag sale ready, according to The Spruce’s Do’s and Don’ts or Planning a Yard Sale. And if you start now, you can kick off summer with a few extra bucks in your pocket, and still host a holiday cookout, too.

Start with a good decluttering. Go room by room and closet to closet, and pick out the things that you haven’t used lately or just never found a place in your space and routine. Chances are good that there are quite a few of them, and they could all use new homes.

Sort those extra goods into bags and boxes; you can price and tag most items as you box them to save time later. Bulk items such as records, CDs, DVDs and magazines can go into boxes marked with a per-piece price.

Expect garage-sale shoppers to haggle, but price your merchandise to move; as much as you loved whatever it was when you bought it, you want to get rid of it now. If there is a particular item you want to mark with a non-negotiable price, put the price and “Firm” on the tag.

“Don’t price your goods based on sentiment,” The Spruce says. “The customers don’t care about your memories, and they’re certainly not willing to pay more to purchase them. If something is that valuable to you, maybe you should keep it.”

Move those boxes to the garage (or other staging area) as you fill them. Pick a day or two (and a firm time) to stage a sale, and start promoting it with advertising and signage. When the sale day arrives, you’ll be ready to put everything on display.

Contact ClothingDonations.org to pick up the leftovers and anything else you might wish to donate after the sale ends. Most areas have pickups throughout the week, meaning that you can put the extras back into boxes and place the boxes on the porch.

Start now, and you’ll have extra money in your pockets and less clutter in your home!

Time and Effort Make the Best Gifts

Posted on by Jordank

Sometimes the best gifts don’t have to cost a thing. On Mother’s Day, dedicate your time and energy instead, Money Crashers says. Mow the lawn and do the yardwork; vacuum and wash her car; make her breakfast in bed or let her sleep in for once, the site says; Mom will appreciate the effort, and these gifts will only cost a little bit of time to show you care. Another suggestion? Clean that old junk out of the garage, hall closet or basement, and contact ClothingDonations.org for a pickup. If your Mom is anything like ours, she will appreciate the newly decluttered and organized space.

Mayday! The Clutter Must Go

Posted on by Jordank

In medieval times, May Day began as a celebration of the return of spring. People would weave floral garlands, crown a local May king and queen, and decorate and dance around a May tree or maypole to ensure fertility for their crops. In the late 1800s, though, May Day became associated with the labor movement. Workers’ rights groups designated May 1 as a holiday to commemorate Chicago’s Haymarket Riot.

In these relatively prosperous times, you may instead recall the old distress signal, “Mayday, Mayday!” This expression, it turns out, has nothing to do with the May 1; it is borrowed from the French “m’aidé,” or “Help me.” And people who have too much stuff know all too well the helpless feelings it can produce.

Psychology Today says that physical clutter — which it defines as more knickknacks, paperwork and other junk than can comfortably fit into the space — can have an adverse effect on a person’s ability to move and think. Multiple studies say that streamlining one’s space can reduce stress and improve one’s life satisfaction, physical health and cognitive capabilities.

Physical clutter (and now, digital clutter such as email) competes for your attention, LifeHacker says; it takes away from the tasks at hand and robs people of creativity. In order to think effectively, you must eliminate it. Unfortunately, getting rid of stuff that has emotional value produces a pain response in the brain. It may actually be easier to apply constraints to the things you bring into the home than get rid of the things that are already there.

In addition to increasing stress, clutter can affect your diet, produce respiratory distress, harm relationships, encourage poor spending habits and bring on a host of other problems, the Huffington Post says. And when you have boxes of extra stuff stacked in your bedrooms, overflowing closets and stacks of dusty papers in your office, clutter has reached a crisis level. You need help! (M’aidé!)

Take a deep breath. Designate a place in your home where you can stage a major decluttering (perhaps the garage, where you can also stage a sale). Set up boxes and bags for the stuff you’re going to keep, trash, and sell or donate. Schedule a donation pickup with ClothingDonations.org and start sorting. Decluttering will get easier — and once you start, you’ll feel better in so many ways that you may make it a habit.

Make a Kondo-Quality Outdoor Space

Posted on by Jordank

Take a cue from celebrated declutterer Marie Kondo to bring order to your outdoor space. Set aside time to examine each category of goods populating the patio, yard and shed — tools, furniture, plants, etc. — and ask yourself Kondo’s quintessential question as you encounter each item: “Does this spark joy?” If it doesn’t, get rid of it. In doing so, you’ll free your mind of the need to make everything somehow fit into a perfect scheme. “Let go of the ‘what-ifs’ and ‘somedays,’” says the Houzz blog. “Toss that half-dead plant into the compost bin and tidy up the debris of an unfinished garden project.”

What Is Your Patio’s Purpose?

Posted on by Jordank

Consider the purpose of your outdoor space so that you can declutter it more effectively, says Home Storage Solutions 101. It might be a playground for the kids, a place to hold elegant al fresco dinner parties, or your own little garden spot. Whatever its function is should help determine the stuff that occupies the space. The rest can go into a garden shed and storage bins when not in use to free up space. As you weed, clean and organize your patio, toss any broken items, and save any still-useful items that just don’t fit into your scheme for a donation to ClothingDonations.org.