Tag: cleaning up the clutter

Coping With Post-Holiday Cleanup

Posted on by Jordank

Now that the holidays are coming to a close, we’re left with the post-holiday mess. Family and friends have come and gone, leaving signs of their presence (and presents) behind. Those gifts need to find a place among your current belongings, and holiday decorations need to come down. The clean-up can be overwhelming.

But, a clean and clutter free home after the holidays (and just in time for the new year!) is important for getting back into a routine. If this task seems easier said than done, don’t panic—we’re here to help!

We suggest picking one task to tackle first, which will prevent the entire cleaning and packing-away process from seeming insurmountable. Start with the presents. Looking at the new goods you received this season, determine which items belong in which rooms. From there, designate spots for each new item.

Next, start packing away Christmas and other holiday decorations. Whether it’s a closet or a corner of your basement, have a designated section in your home for all holiday decorations. Then, have a few plastic bins or tubs to neatly pack your decorations away, labeling the outside of the container with what’s inside. This way, you’ll have a spot for each decoration, while also keeping them neat and contained.  

As you put gifts and decorations away, think about which items you may no longer need. Post-holiday clean-up is a great time to declutter.

Put these unwanted items in a bag or box, marked with “donation” on the outside. Then, contact ClothingDonations.org and schedule a time for us to swing by and pick up your donations. We’ll take care of the pick-up, and take these items off your hands, so that you can continue organizing your home. Not only will these donations declutter your home, but they will also go toward funding our veterans’ programs this year!

What are your holiday clean-up secrets? Share them with us!

A New Year and a Fresh Start for Your Home!

Posted on by Jordank

We’re only a few weeks away from the end of 2015—can you believe it? While it’s fun to reflect on the year and see all that you’ve accomplished, it’s time to look forward to all that’s to come in 2016. It’s also time for the age-old traditions that accompany a new year.

Resolutions. Many people use the start of a new year to set goals for themselves. For some this means getting into better shape and becoming healthier. For others, it’s a chance to start that business they’ve been dreaming about, or time to plan a trip they’ve been wanting to take.

For those who may have a difficult time keeping their homes organized and clutter-free, though, 2016 resolutions might be focused on staying organized throughout the entire year. Does this seem daunting to you? It doesn’t have to be! Here are a few techniques you can use to help make your clean-home resolution a reality!

  1. One room at a time. Don’t feel like you have to organize your entire home by January 1. Instead of tackling the entire house at once, go room-by-room. Start in the kitchen and work your way into the living room. Once those rooms are done, move onto the basement.  Then repeat. This can help keep the task of keeping your entire home organized less overwhelming!
  2. If it doesn’t have a purpose, donate it! While cleaning and organizing each room, if you come across items that you don’t remember buying, or can’t remember why you ever needed them in the first place, there’s a good chance you don’t need them. If the item is new or gently used, don’t just throw it away—donate it to us! Simply fill out our donation pick-up form on ClothingDonations.org. Then put the items in a box marked for “donation, ” and set it outside by your mailbox. We’ll pick it up for you!
  3. Once it has a place, keep it there. Cleaning and organizing at first seems daunting, but it’s actually the easy part. The hard part is keeping your home organized. While it might seem easier to just leave your clothes on the floor after a long day at work, take the extra time to hang them up in your closet. It’ll keep your home organized for longer, and you won’t feel overwhelmed by clutter!

A new year means a fresh start for keeping your home clean. If you start now, you’ll have a head start on the new year. Take this opportunity to keep your home organized!

Don’t Let the Clutter Take Control—Donate Your Items to Us!

Posted on by Jordank

We’ve all been there. We’ve all had one or two items that we don’t actually need but can’t bring ourselves to throw away. For some, these one or two items expand into three, ten or 25. Pretty soon you’ll have desk drawers, or even a closet,  devoted to these unneeded, yet strangely powerful things.

This is when it’s time to start letting go of emotional attachments and clearing the clutter out. You may think a box of notes you passed with your friends in middle school, the old coin collection gathering dust, clothes from five years ago, or old textbooks from college are absolute necessities. However, if you don’t use them and they’re taking up valuable space, chances are you probably won’t miss them if they’re gone.

When it comes to item that are sentimental, ease into it. You don’t have to get rid of everything, and not all at once. Consider keeping one old sweater that means a lot to you and one or two college textbooks that may help in your career. Then, donate the rest of these items to us. Fill out our form to schedule a pickup, put the items in a box marked with the word “donation, ” and then set them out by your mailbox.

We also found this article by Maria Gracia to be very helpful with tips on how to fight your pack rat urges. One tip she provides that we love is to take pictures of the items that hold sentimental value to you. That way, you can “keep the memory, rather than allowing the memory to take up space.”

Take our advice: De-clutter your home today, and remember to donate anything you don’t need to ClothingDonations.org!

 

It’s time to transition—goodbye, summer and hello, fall!

Posted on by Jordank

It seems like we were just having our garage sales and greeting our kids as they got off the bus, ready for summer. While some of us are scrambling to get in that last minute vacation, many children only have a few days left before a new school year is underway! Translation—fall is upon us.

If you checked out our back-to-school tips, you’ll remember that we talked about the clothes shopping excursions that typically accompany a new school year. Sure your children (and yourself!) may only have gotten a few new items for their wardrobes, but you’d be surprised by just how much space a couple pairs of jeans, some sweaters, and new coats will take up in your closet. Not to mention, you have summer clothes you still need to keep out—where do you put it all?

Our friends over at The Huffington Post have some great tips for helping make that summer-to-fall closet transition a little easier. Here are their suggestions:

1.)    Go through your summer clothes. Now that the season is (almost) over, try on everything. If you don’t wear it or it doesn’t fit anymore, put it in a plastic bag for donation. Then go to our website, fill out a donation pickup request form, and we’ll pick the items up for you!

2.)    Don’t pack it all away yet. The weather is still warm for the rest of August and most of September, so only pack up a few items. Keep any pieces that can be worn in the fall easily accessible in your closet.

3.)    Evaluate old fall clothes. Just like your old summer clothes, try on these fall items. If they are too big or no longer fit your style, donate them to us! We’ll be happy to help those pants and sweaters find a home in a new closet.

4.)    “Hang fall clothes, organizing by type.” By keeping flannel shirts separate from the big sweaters and jackets, you’ll be better able to see smaller items. It also lets you see all of the pieces you own, to keep you from buying things you don’t need!

Now that you have the knowledge you need, start getting your closets prepared for fall today!