The Organizing Blog’s favorite holiday is nearly here, and it isn’t Christmas, Hannukah, Diwali or Kwanzaa. It’s the day practically everyone pays attention to how much stuff they have and where they’re going to put it — Boxing Day!
Observed on the day after Christmas, Boxing Day got its start as an occasion for wealthy English landowners in to present servants and tradespeople with #holiday #gifts. The box — filled with seasonal delicacies and trinkets — was a gratuity recognizing their contributions over the year.
Boxing Day continues to be a holiday in many parts of the former British Commonwealth such as New Zealand, where anyone working gets time-and-a-half. And retailers in the United States use the occasion as an excuse to mark down merchandise and shore up holiday sales figures.
We regard Boxing Day as having a meaning that’s arguably closer to the original and more literal: a day to box up your holiday decorations and extra merchandise and give it to a worthy service provider or charity.
You can observe Boxing Day on Dec. 26th or any day of your choosing. Have some empty boxes ready to collect extra decorations and household goods, clothing that didn’t quite fit this season, books that have been read — whatever you no longer need.
Sort those things out as you bring a close to the holidays. As you see the boxes fill up, set them aside in a special location. As the boxes start to pile up — and this will happen faster than you might imagine — #schedule a #free #donation #pickup at ClothingDonations.org.
Put anything you will continue to use back into their proper, designated places in closets, drawers and bins. And know that you will be getting rid of some of the #clutter that has built up and be able to start the new year more #organized.
Your #donations go to a good cause: supporting programs that help the nation’s #veterans. And thanking #veterans — those who served — by giving merchandise is about as close to the original meaning of Boxing Day as you can get.