Once you’ve removed everything from the #garage, you can sort everything into the familiar #keep, #donate/sell and #trash piles, says Living Well, Spending Less. This requires you to be absolutely honest about your answers to the following question: If you haven’t used whatever it is in the last year, will you really ever use it again? If the answer is “No,” that thing is #clutter. So get rid of the disused sporting goods, the rusty or duplicate tools, and anything that appears broken. Slap a price sticker on anything that someone else might want and host a #garage sale, or contact ClothingDonations.org for a free donation pickup.
Tag: clutter
What’s the Most Cluttered Area of Your Home?
While many people concentrate their #decluttering efforts on #closets and #kitchen cabinets, the #garage is often the most #disorganized space in a home, says Garage Living. Studies say half of homeowners rate the garage as the most #cluttered area of their house, and only one-third of those with two-car garages can fit more than one vehicle inside it. It’s an easy out-of-sight/out-of-mind dumping ground for #stuff — and especially the “aspirational” #clutter you rarely use, but might come in handy “someday.” Do yourself, your car and the things that you do use a favor: Contact ClothingDonations.org to #donate that stuff.
What Does Freedom Mean?
Amid the bombast of the fireworks, the festivities of the family cookout and the splashy hubbub of the pool party on Independence Day, you might take a minute to think about what #freedom means. Few of these celebrations would be possible without it — or at least they might not be nearly so joyous.
Too often, the word “freedom” is misused in service to a partisan position, author, Afghanistan war correspondent and documentarian Sebastian Junger told Military Times upon the 2021 release of his book, Freedom. “Freedom comes with responsibility. Freedom means freedom from oppression, not freedom from obligation.”
While The Organizing Blog regularly talks about freedom from #clutter, true freedom is an all-encompassing imperative. Even as you thank a #veteran, remember that you, too, are in the fight. Be wary of those who misuse the term in service to an ideology that seeks to undermine it, and join in the work to guarantee that every person in America is equally entitled to lead a life of liberty.
“Freedom is being able to come out of your house and do what you want to do,” Maryland veteran Harrison “Lumpy” Johnson told the Severna Park Voice in 2015. “People complain all the time about the country and where we are headed. We have freedoms other countries do not have. When The Star-Spangled Banner plays, it gets me.”
The concept is not lost on children. “Freedom to me is being able to go school to get an education, to go to church to practice my religion, to have a house to call a home,” wrote Kylar Thomas, winner of the Manistee (Michigan) VFW’s 2015 Patriots Pen contest. “These are just a few of the things we have in the United States that some countries cannot do freely. That is why many people from other countries want to move to the United States.
“We are a country that has brave men and women who have fought to protect these rights. They know first-hand how important it is to be thankful and to protect our freedom,” Thomas noted in his essay. “We need to be grateful for all they do and the sacrifices they made for our country.”
The definition of freedom may be just a little bit different for every person in the good ’ol U.S. of A. It’s a melting pot of cultures and attitudes — people working together toward a brighter future. That’s what makes the country great and free. Remember to celebrate that fact in the weeks ahead.
Happy Fourth of July from the Vietnam Veterans of America and ClothingDonations.org!
When Dads Create Clutter
As #Father’s Day approaches, you may be thinking about ways to celebrate dear old #dad. Depending on his pastimes, a pizza oven, automotive accessory or gadgety gift may be in his very near future. But before you buy, consider for a second how dads create #clutter.
It may be a gross generalization to say that moms probably think about clutter and household #organization more. In a consumerist society, individuals of every gender can accumulate lots of #stuff as time goes by, and that stuff can pile up around the house.
But surveys say that women often spend more time cleaning than their spouses. They are also more adept at planning work-related tasks, travel and holiday celebrations. They largely dominate the professional #organizer field.
Dads may be prone to let things pile up. And they many build vast collections of tools, garden implements, collectibles and other highly specific and specialized #stuff that’s seldom used on a day-to-day basis.
If you have one of those dads, try to make Father’s Day a day free of added clutter. Focus on the experience: buy him tickets to a ball game, a round of golf or an online class. Or go for something consumable, such as a nice steak dinner — in or out — or a bottle of his favorite spirit.
Like with moms, you also can give the gift of #organization by actively helping #clean, sort and consolidate his stuff. Wash his car or have it professionally detailed. Install pegboard organizers in his home office or workshop. Help him clean out a storage closet or the garage.
If you find anything he no longer needs or wants, schedule a free #donation #pickup from ClothingDonations.org. That way, you’ll assist in clearing the extra unwanted #junk from the home environment, which will make dad’s life less stressful overall.
The best gift for any parent is not only #clutter-free, it’s also virtually free: spending quality time together. So whether he’s a hoarder or a neat-freak, that’s the best way to honor dad on Father’s Day. #FathersDay
Help Mom Get Organized for Mother’s Day
Sometimes the ultimate #clutter-free Mother’s Day gift is something that helps wrangle and #organize her #stuff, says Sensational Organizing. Gifts that add to #organization include a set of packing cubes to keep clothing grouped during travel, sets of matching and labeled kitchen containers, purse organizers and laundry carts. Or consider helping digitize family photos and videos that still exist in old media and get rid of the physical copies. Or you could spend the day actively helping Mom #declutter, and #donate any extra # clothing and household goods to ClothingDonations.org. #MothersDay