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.
Author: Jordank
Editorial Coordinator
Shop the Thrift for Mother’s Day
Sunday, May 13 is Mother’s Day, and if you’re on a budget, you’re probably looking for a good way give Mom a nice gift without looking cheap. Start at the thrift store; there are often plenty of lightly used treasures there that are ready to wrap and give. The thrift can also offer items that form the foundation of a craft project that repurposes used goods in a glamorous new way. Better still, many of the items sold at your local thrift store come from donations to ClothingDonations.org, so that DIY project will not only provide Mom with a heartfelt appreciation, it will also help fund crucial veterans’ programs throughout the country.
Mayday! The Clutter Must Go
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.
Garden Cleanup Before Garden Dress-up
The garden may be looking a bit haggard after a long winter and wet spring, and you’ll need to clean it up to make it presentable for the summer. Trim the bushes and prune the trees; clear the yard of sticks, leaves and other detritus. Weed the flower beds, plant annuals and mulch the beds to keep weeds at bay. Clear the cobwebs from your shed or garage and organize your stuff into bins. Finally, give your deck or patio and its furnishings a good power wash and dress up the whole are with hanging baskets and pots, House Beautiful says, and you’ll be able to create a welcoming space for entertaining guests or relaxing in the great outdoors.
Make a Kondo-Quality Outdoor Space
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.”