Tag: free

Get the Jump on Back-to-School Season

Posted on by Jordank

For kids and the college-bound, the lazy days of summer will soon come to an end. School starts as early as mid-August in many parts of the United States, so it’s goodbye to campouts and cookouts and swimming pools and pickup games, and back to the books.

Parents will want to take advantage of the many sales. Retailers are promoting back-to-school #deals earlier to tap the average $875 parents will spend this year to get each child outfitted in new clothes, computers and backpacks.

College students need even more to set them up for success: $1,365, according to the National Retail Federation, because they also need basic housewares such as sheets and minifridges. Whatever the student’s age, Good Housekeeping offers a guide to the things they might need.

You’ll want to get your students looking the part, from outfitting them in the latest styles (baggy jeans and leopard prints are back) to getting them a fresh haircut. (Great Clips is offering 24,000 free haircuts and a glossary of Gen Z slang to get parents up to speed.)

“It’s tough to keep up with the latest slang kids are using, but it is important because you can’t help your child succeed if you don’t really know what they want,” says former NSYNC singer Joey Fatone, who stars in a promo with his teenage daughter.

Parents who want to cut the #clutter will also want to prepare for the inevitable onslaught of student projects. Now’s a great time of year to work with your kids to #clean out #closets and make room for new #clothes, #organize a desk and #file last year’s school work.

Set aside any #clothing that still has some useful life in it and contact ClothingDonations.org to schedule a #free #donation #pickup. Other parents appreciate the deals they can find at the #thrift stores supplied by those generous #donations, and #veterans benefit from the resale proceeds.

So (attempting Z slang here) don’t do back-to-school mid — gas up your kids for the new year. If your beige flag is organization, it’s a good time for you to cook. But start right away — letting kids start school unprepared is delulu!

More Stuff Equals More Garage Sale Shoppers

Posted on by Jordank

A #garage sale is kind of a needle-in-a-haystack proposition for shoppers, so more #stuff tends to draw more people. If you have a ton of #merchandise to #declutter, you can go it alone with a sale, but if you don’t, “collaborate with friends and family,” says My Blessed Life. Create a bookkeeping system to divvy up the money, or piggyback onto a neighborhoodwide sale. You can also attract the interest of more and different customers by having the kids set up a lemonade stand or sell baked goods. And before you even open for business, schedule a #free #donation #pickup with ClohtingDonations.org to get rid of the excess junk after the fact. #GarageSaleHacks

Price Garage Sale Goods to Move

Posted on by Jordank

Even if you’re looking to make #money on your old #stuff at a #garage sale, don’t get so caught up in the profit motive that forget why you’re selling that #junk — sorry, those treasures — in the first place. Everything must go if you want to clear the #clutter! “Focus on pricing to sell,” says Love to Know. “Your front #yard isn’t an #antiques store, and you shouldn’t set your prices like it is one.” You can, however, price certain items to allow room for haggling. If you’d like to make about $10 in profit on a quality collectible, for example, tag it a bit higher to make room for people who will inevitably ask for a break on the price. #GarageSaleHacks

Why Garage Sales Need a Free Box

Posted on by Jordank

A #garage sale should always have a box of free items, the Welcoming Simplicity blog says. There are always things that don’t justify a 25-cent tag, yet don’t need to be thrown away. Place the free box near the checkout table, so shoppers can have the thrill of getting something for nothing or linger longer over those priced items. Toys for the kids make great giveaways and have the added bonus of quelling boredom that might otherwise encourage their (paying) parents to make their visits brief. Also offer bags to purchasers — those ubiquitous plastic grocery bags need to be reused. #GarageSaleHacks

In Search of a Clutter-Free Summer

Posted on by Jordank

Memorial Day — the unofficial start of summer— has come and gone. If you’re anything like us at The Organizing Blog, you probably used the long weekend to plant some flowers, take a bike ride, visit with friends and/or have a cookout. Fine pursuits!

But do you know what can make one’s enjoyment of those pursuits (and most others) even better? #Organization! A #clutter-free environment knows no season — and it can provide you with the #clarity you need to truly live in the moment.

Think about it: A cluttered space demands attention. Maybe you waste a lot of time looking for things among the stacks of papers, piles of laundry and dusty gewgaws. Or maybe wrangling all that #stuff leaves you with little down time.

Summer is a great time to get those things under control. With good weather and a few hours each week, you can conquer that #clutter — and enjoy all of the seasons to come.

Start with the #garage. Has that #space attracted a lot of stuff that doesn’t have a home elsewhere ? Go through it and ask yourself why you hide #junk there and if you’ll ever really need those things again. Weed out what you don’t have a use for and set it aside.

Along the way, fine-tune your storage of the things that do have a purpose — even if that purpose is occasional, such as holiday decorations. Sort “like” items into labeled bins and boxes that you can find and access easily without a lot of hunting. Shelve or stack them thoughtfully, and you’ll be creating new space!

Next, do the same for the basement. Organizing your below-ground space likely will have the added benefit of helping you keep cool while you work. Set aside the things for which you don’t have a purpose or can’t find a place, and put them in boxes and bags.

See that growing pile of #junk? Slap some price tags on those things and have a quick #garage or #yard #sale. Or click though to ClothingDonations.org to arrange a #free #donation #pickup. You’ll be #helping the nation’s #veterans and be ready to enjoy the rest of the summer #clutter-free!