You may find that a more minimalist life suits you after you do your spring cleaning and donate your excess stuff to ClothingDonations.org. Extend that simple, uncluttered look to your yard and outdoor spaces, says Pacific Outdoor Living, and you can keep your home spotless — inside and out — with less maintenance. Use hardscape elements such as pavers and pea gravel to frame specific areas for entertaining and planting, and include low-maintenance, drought-tolerant plants. With an occasional sweep, your outdoor space will look good all season long.
Tag: clothing donations
Crafting for a Festive Easter Feast
Easter is an important part of the Christian faith, and the holiday includes traditions that go beyond the church services. Whether you are religious or not, chances are that you and your family will take part in a big feast to mark the end of Lent, buy candy for the kids, color eggs and maybe get a springtime visit from the Easter Bunny.
Since you’ve already started your spring cleaning (right?), your home is clean and tidy. You’re ready to host brunch guests for a shrimp cocktail, spiral ham, leg of lamb or whatever it is you like to serve on the holiday. All you need is a few seasonal touches to make your home more inviting, while keeping the kids busy during their spring breaks.
The web is full of craft projects that can lend your Easter feast that special something, including new ideas for coloring Easter eggs ahead of the hunt, dressing up the dinner table and more. And you can have fun adding that festive flair to your home, while not spending a lot of money.
Start at the local thrift. Stores supplied by generous donations to ClothingDonations.org nationwide are a great source for inspiration and materials, and whatever you spend on others’ donated merchandise helps fund veterans’ programs.
The Adirondack Girl @Heart blog recently made personalized Easter-basket mugs using only a thrift-store find, a paint marker, candy and a bit of confetti. Such a project makes inexpensive, one-of-a-kind gifts for coworkers and other adult friends.
You can also pick up a few dozen of those ubiquitous, multicolored plastic eggs at the thrift or discount store, and use them to celebrate the spring season. Equipped with a hot glue gun, potting soil and a few spring blossoms, you can make a colorful, living accent for your Easter table, Made With Happy says.
Kids can help make Easter-themed paper chains and egg boxes out of card stock using only scissors and tape, Martha Stewart suggests. And speaking of Easter eggs, there are literally dozens of ways to decorate them beyond the tried-and-true, vinegar-and-food-coloring strategy. Add flair with glitter, foil and lettering, Country Living says.
More ideas? Use pastel-color socks as the foundation for a whimsical sock bunny that’s fun and easy to make with the kids. Get the kids to help you cut out carrot gift boxes for their friends. Or make Easter baskets out of the cookie tins you find at the thrift by adding linen, ribbon, Easter grass and candy.
Dyeing Easter eggs is a great start, but there are dozens of easy, inexpensive ways to dress up your home for the holiday. Let your creativity run wild this Easter, and you can make memories that last for years—and maybe forge a few new traditions!
Donations Should Be Somebody’s Treasure
One person’s trash is another’s treasure, as the saying goes—unless it’s just trash. When preparing charitable donations, “make sure what you donate is only clutter to you,” says Home Storage Solutions. “It defeats the purpose when we make a charity pay money to haul away our trash for us.” Turn ripped, torn and stained clothing into rags, and leave those damaged, broken and nonfunctioning appliances at the curb.
What Can I Donate?
Unsure of what you can and can’t donate to ClothingDonations.org? We pick up all kinds of clothing, shoes and accessories, in any size and for every age. Other items we pick up and resell to benefit veterans include kitchen and glassware; bedding, draperies and curtains; books, toys and bikes; electronics including stereo equipment and portable TVs; small furniture items and rugs; and more. Just make sure the items are clean and (re-)usable!
A Few Things Donations Helped Fund
When you donate to ClothingDonations.org, you do more than get rid of unwanted stuff quickly and easily; you also help address the needs of the nation’s veterans. The Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) uses proceeds from the resale of donated goods and other fundraising efforts to contribute to veterans’ programs of all kinds nationwide.
For example, VVA funds helped co-host a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Town Hall in Asheville, N.C., last year to connect area veterans with crucial counseling and support services. Almost one-third of veterans who served in Vietnam have suffered from PTSD at some point since serving, and veterans of the Gulf Wars are likely just as susceptible.
In New York, VVA Chapter 11 helps veterans in trouble with the law manage mental health issues and re-adjust to civilian life through the Suffolk County Veterans Court. Mentors from the VVA-funded diversionary program have helped hundreds of at-risk veterans address criminal charges, convictions, substance abuse and other issues in the six years since it was launched.
VVA fundraising has now helped recognize every single veteran of the Vietnam War living in Indiana through the “Quilts of Valor” program, established in 2003. And in San Angelo, Texas, a Vietnam-era helicopter is being restored to mark the city’s Vietnam War Memorial after suffering non-combat damage at the city’s Fourth of July celebration last year.
So, whether you already took advantage of Presidents Day to start your spring cleaning or are just figuring out where to begin, know that all of that stuff you’re going to be giving away goes toward good causes—causes that help those who have served throughout the country. VVA appreciates your support!