Tag: donate household items

Make Your Home Into a Hygge Haven

Posted on by Jordank

As readers may recall from previous wintertime posts, hygge (pronounced “HOO-guh”) is the Scandinavian concept of creating warmth, comfort and conviviality in spite of the frigid outdoor temperatures. With temperatures dropping into the single digits, we at The Organizing Blog thought it was time to offer a hygge update.

With the pandemic entering its third year, it’s worth noting that hygge jibes well with the stay-at-home ethic. It doesn’t require dressing up — just the opposite, in fact. Your most comfortable loungewear, flannels and woolen socks will be the height of hygge style.

A hygge home always includes flickering lights, according to Self magazine. Whether it’s a crackling fire in the fireplace, an arrangement of candles or holiday string lights, lighting should be muted, soothing and romantic.

You’ll also need a warm blanket to hygge-fy your home. Quiet pursuits such as a good book or jigsaw puzzle are extremely hygge, but practitioners are also welcome to binge-watch their favorite television programs. Calm relaxation is the key.

Eating in a hygge household should also be geared toward warmth: Coffee, tea and hot chocolate; hearty roasts and stews; and home-baked breads, pastries and cakes are definitely on the menu. Indulgent but fortifying, hygge foods might be called hearth-healthy.

Practiced most assiduously in the world’s happiest country, Denmark, hygge espouses #simplicity over #clutter. Too much #stuff, and hygge becomes difficult to achieve. After all, a #cluttered atmosphere is a hectic and stressful atmosphere.

“Hygge and #decluttering are a match made in heaven,” says Do You. “While hygge by itself offers moments of comfort, you might be distracted or stressed by feeling that you are in an environment that is #untidy, cluttered or reminds you of things pending.”

If you’re stuck in a cluttered home, start by setting aside a small hygge haven; a single room can be your #sanctuary. Remove anything that doesn’t contribute to calm and cozy feelings, and #donate the things you won’t need again to  ClothingDonations.org.

Then, curl up with a good book, a cup of hot chocolate or whatever best warms your bones against the winter chill. You may just find that hygge is the #simplified lifestyle you’ve been missing!

Fall Cleaning: Just as Important as Spring Cleaning

Posted on by Jordank

Spring cleaning always gets the spotlight. Why? Because people feel like they need to make a fresh start after a long and grueling winter. But fall cleaning is just as important; after all, you’ll be indoors for three months or more, why not spend it a clean place?

The first and most obvious thing to do is get your furnace inspected if you own your own home, and change the filter even if you don’t. You’ll want to enjoy consistent heat throughout the winter, as well as clean air coming out of the vents.

Then, you’ll want to initiate a thorough cleaning. The first step — as always — is to purge some of the things you don’t need. The holidays are coming, and you can make space for new stuff — or all of the guests you’ll be hosting at your Thanksgiving, Christmas and Super Bowl parties.

Town & Country magazine has a list of 50 things that you probably don’t need to keep: condiment packets, outdated reference books, canvas totes, unworn costume jewelry, extra mugs, leftover paint and old phones. They’re just taking up space.

Bag up any lightly used clothing and household goods that might be of use to someone else and contact ClothingDonations.org for a contactless #donation pickup. A truck will visit your house on the appointed day to take that #junk away for good.

Then, start a targeted, room-by-room dusting and cleaning. Take as many hours or days as you need, but concentrate your efforts to make sure everything gets organized, dusted, wiped, mopped and sanitized.

Dust, pollen and insects such as moths probably blew into your home over the summer. Don’t let pests set up shop and overwinter in your basement or rafters. “See who’s hiding where and giving them a squish or kick to the curb before they start snacking on you or your clothes,” Apartment Therapy says.

Think of fall cleaning as a fresh start on a new season — one in which you’llbe spending a lot of time indoors. Don’t you want to live in a clean, sparkling and healthy home? Get started while you can still can!

Claim a Deduction for Your Donations

Posted on by Jordank

When you #donate a substantial amount of used goods such as clothing, housewares, furniture, books and other items to ClothingDonations.org, you can claim a charitable deduction on your federal 1040 form if you itemize. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows taxpayers to deduct the fair market value for such goods — an estimate of what a buyer might pay for the used goods based on condition. ClothingDonations.org will provide you with a receipt for your #donation upon pickup, but you must estimate the value of the goods donated according to IRS Form #8283 to take a deduction.

Donations Contribute to VVA’s Mission

Posted on by Jordank

This week, the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) proudly presents its 18th biennial convention in New Orleans, La. Held in conjunction with the Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America (AVVA), the convention will host as many as 900 veterans for five days of speakers, recognitions, planning and camaraderie.

The five-day event not only helps assist VVA in steering its nationwide activities, but also helps veterans and their families cope with the legacy of service and come together in support of one another. And the convention couldn’t be staged with the help of your generous donations to VVA and ClothingDonations.org.

We’re excited to welcome Charles Figley, a Vietnam veteran who is become an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as the show’s keynote speaker. Acclaimed Native American actor Wes Saudi (Dances with Wolves) and author/environmentalist Doug Peacock (Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness) — both veterans — will also appear to collect VVA awards for Excellence in the Arts.

Paula Cinko, Rosie Gitlin and Jackie Chidsey — all veterans of Bob Hope’s tours to Vietnam — will entertain and reminisce. Veterans and their family members will be invited to share memories with Louisiana Public Broadcasting, as well as screen excerpts from the forthcoming 18-hour PBS documentary series, The Vietnam War.

VVA and the Veterans Administration will join for Veterans Benefits Claims Clinic during the show to help veterans get support, guidance and education related to pensions, education, employment and insurance. The convention will also feature a remembrance ceremony for POW/MIAs, and recognize the accomplishments of chapters and individuals.

Whether you donate lightly-used clothing and household goods to ClothingDonations.org or donate directly, the proceeds help us provide job training and housing, protect veterans benefits, help individuals cope with problems such as PTSD and substance abuse, and much more.

The convention will forge treasured memories for hundreds of veterans and help VVA direct its efforts in the years ahead. VVA programs allow veterans to connect and build a sense of belonging long after the end of what was an unpopular war. The association couldn’t do it without your donations — and the nation’s veterans thank you for your support.

Make Your Garden Grow

Posted on by Jordank

Over the Easter holiday or spring break, you may have noticed that things have started to bloom. Trees are budding, and spring flowers are popping up from the ground. And now that the threat of a frost has finally passed for most locations in the United States, it’s time to plant a garden you can enjoy throughout the year.

First, you’ll need to spring-clean your yard and garden plots. Clip any dead foliage or withered tree branches, and rake the thatch from your lawn. Doing so gives new branches and shoots the room to grow and flourish, according to the EarthEasy sustainable living blog, and you need to clear a path before things can start to grow in earnest.

Then comes the fun part: planting seeds and seedlings. Depending on your space, climate and needs, you might plant containers for a balcony, a sculptured perennial garden that has new blooms every month, or a raised vegetable garden—or all of the above! Better Homes & Gardens offers a plan for virtually every situation, space and skill level.

If you’re new to gardening and on a budget, there’s no better place to shop than at the local thrift. Donations to ClothingDonations.org include lightly-used trowels and other tools, decorative clay pots and containers, and other garden items. When they’re resold, the money goes toward helping fund veterans’ programs throughout the country.

Early spring is the best time to plant new trees and shrubs. It’s also a great time to see hardy flowers such as pansies, irises, daffodils, tulips and hydrangeas come up. If you missed the window to plant early-spring flowers, get summery perennials such as day lilies, black-eyed Susans and roses into the ground, and start preparing your pots for herbs and annuals.

If you want to eat fresh produce from your own victory garden (as many older veterans might remember their families doing during WWII), plant crops such as lettuce, spinach, radishes, carrots, raspberries and peas early in the season. RealFarmacy offers a zone-by-zone list of late-April garden to-dos that can help establish a productive vegetable garden.

As with spring cleaning, the keys to a good garden are organization and elbow grease. When you figure what you want your outdoor space to look like, it will be easy to make the time and space needed to plant and cultivate the flowers, shrubs and vegetables you want. Get started now, and you’ll be able to enjoy your garden all summer long.