Tag: donate household items

Are You a Decluttering Lion or Lamb?

Posted on by Jordank

With its rapid temperature fluctuations and blustery winds, it’s often said that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. This begs the #spring-cleaning question: When it comes to #decluttering, which one are you?

#Decluttering lions roar into a room and make snap decisions. They’re prepared to sort things into #keep, #trash and #donate piles fast, and have labeled bins, boxes and bags at the ready. They’re fed up with #clutter and perhaps preparing for a deadline or an imminent life change.

“Aggressive decluttering isn’t gentle editing; it’s decisive, time-boxed and real about what your home can hold,” says The Scarlet Society. “You’ll move fast, make smart calls and stop saving for a ‘someday’ that never comes.”

Aggressive #declutterers often follow if/then rules: The 20/20 rule, for instance, says that if you can replace an item in less than 20 minutes for less than $20, then get rid of it. If you can replace a rarely used memorabilia item with its memory (a photo), it’s time to say goodbye.

You might take as little as 48 hours as a decluttering lion, spending a few hours on each specific area of the home and paring things down to the essential, often-used #stuff. Then, you can bundle the rejects for #sale or #donation and contact ClothingDonations.org for a #free #donation #pickup.

If you’re more of a lamb when it comes to #decluttering, you will aim for slow and steady progress instead of a frantic purge. You might target one drawer instead of a whole room, taking just 30 minutes to #sort things out. The next day, you can move on to #organize another spot.

Gentle #declutterers often get overwhelmed by the task. To prevent decision fatigue, Simple Clean Living suggests keeping a “Not Sure” box close to catch things that may have true practical or sentimental value. “You can revisit it days, weeks or months from now, when your nervous system is more settled.”

You can let go of #clutter without the rush if you do it in manageable moments. The key is to make it a regular, ongoing practice to ensure progress. With time and regular effort, lambs can create calmer #spaces for themselves.

Lion or lamb, ClothingDonations.org is here to accept your #donations of lightly used clothing, media and household items. Let us take care of the things that no longer serve your lifestyle or fit your space!

African Americans and the Vietnam War

Posted on by Jordank

It’s Black History Month — a great time to remember that African Americans have served honorably in the U.S. military for as long as there has been a U.S. military. But service often meant fighting for one’s country even while being denied equal rights at home.

More than 300,000 Black Americans fought in the #Vietnam War, making up an outsized share of those drafted (16.3%) compared to representation in the general U.S. population (11%). Black soldiers were more often assigned to combat duty in Vietnam and less likely to be elevated to command roles.

Fighting shoulder-to-shoulder in desegregated units for the first time in Vietnam often helped build camaraderie among the troops, regardless of racial and ethnic differences. But most Black #veterans recall discrimination during and after their service.

Upon being drafted or enlisting, “Black soldiers were immediately faced with discrimination and racism during basic training, which typically took place in the Jim Crow South,” an article in Time magazine says. “The racism was there: It was real and felt between soldiers.”

After the war, Black veterans suffered disproportionately high rates of PTSD and were twice as likely as white veterans to lack full-time employment. Veterans Affairs often routinely denied Black veterans’ claims for disability benefits even through the 1970s.

Institutional and interpersonal barriers have since eroded with no small amount of struggle. Military service is now regarded as a viable career option among African Americans; today, they make up one-quarter of enlisted Army soldiers while making up 13% of the population.

Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) and its local chapters support all veterans of all U.S. conflicts by helping with benefits claims and connecting them with health care and mental health care services, housing and job assistance, and much more. And it does this with your help!

You can easily support the nation’s #veterans by clearing out some of your #clutter and scheduling a #free #donation #pickup with ClothingDonations.org. Your lightly used clothing and household goods will be resold to #support programs that #veterans rely on nationwide.

Celebrate Black History Month with a #donation! You’ll #support veterans and eliminate some of the #stuff you don’t need at the same time. #BlackHistoryMonth

Create a Project for the Dead of Winter

Posted on by Jordank

There’s always a time of year when the #winter weather starts to wear on a person. Snow and cold likely find you indoors more than you want to be, and there are few holidays or occasions to provide a distraction. We’ve entered the year’s gray doldrums.

There’s a fantastic way to fight any boredom, anxiety, cabin fever or seasonal blues you might be feeling, however: Think up a new #project and get it off the ground! There’s extra time on the calendar, and you can defeat the winter weather to get something accomplished.

At #new year’s resolution time, the project might be yourself and your health. You might have started a dry January or be counting down to a dry February. You might set fitness goals such as losing X number of pounds or visiting the gym regularly.

You might decide to enhance your knowledge by learning something new — a language, a musical instrument, or a craft such as woodworking or pottery. The internet is full of free and reasonably priced classes; sites such as OpenCulture, MasterClass, Babbel and others help you get started.

Perhaps you’ve been planning a few small #household renovations — interior painting and redecorating, installing new insulation or shelving, and so on. As long as you’re trapped inside, you might as well get started on a project that makes your surroundings more inviting.

#Decluttering and #organizing is a great project to start now, since it can rapidly improve your home’s livability and your mood. The Spruce offers a 30-day challenge for the winter months, but you can adjust the scope of the project to suit your capabilities. ClothingDonations.org can help when you schedule a #free donation #pickup.

Projects don’t have to be huge to make a difference. Maybe you have a hobby you’d like to revisit. Maybe you’d like to finish one good book. Maybe you’d like to update your résumé, volunteer locally or help a family member with their project. Now’s the time.

Tackling a project can keep you from getting frustrated and bored during the dreary winter months. No matter what you might choose to do, you’ll feel more confident when you launch a new project and a sense of accomplishment when you complete it. Get it started!

How to Help Your Aging Relatives Declutter and Downsize

Posted on by Jordank

As people get older, they often enter a paradox: They have collected a lifetime of memorabilia and possessions, and they may only use a tiny fraction as their needs, interests and health circumstances change.

The problem isn’t limited to the elderly; people of all ages keep substantial amounts of things they don’t necessarily need. But the older one is, the more one is likely to have amassed a lot of #stuff — and the more likely that life changes will demand a #downsizing.

If one of your parents, relatives or friends is “getting up there” in age, they may need some help #decluttering. It can be physically, mentally and emotionally challenging, says The Homes I Have Made, but the effort will be worthwhile.

#Clutter affects physical safety and mental well-being. Once thoroughly #decluttered, a home is easier to navigate and keep #clean if a relative plans on aging in place. And if they are planning on moving to a smaller space or a sunnier location, it will be easier to pack up and go.

The whole family can get involved if an aging parent has a lot of stuff — sharing memories and making new ones. Take your time, but have everyone involved target specific areas for decluttering. Have boxes and bags ready and take frequent breaks to enjoy one another’s company.

When you help a family member shed cherished furnishings and accessories, you can ensure that those things go to a good home. Someone in the family may need that antique armoire that’s been in the family for decades, for example, or want to give that dining-room set a new home.

Any unwanted goods can be #donated to a worthy charity. ClothingDonations.org accepts used clothing, furniture, appliances, housewares, kitchen items, media, toys and many other items, for example, and will pick them up to make #decluttering convenient. Those #donations will be resold to help fund valuable #veterans programs throughout the country.

It’s never easy to #declutter or #downsize, but your aging relatives don’t have to go it alone — or worse, suddenly have to make a life change that’s hindered by a lifetime of stuff. Start today to make their golden years happy, healthy and #clutter-free.

Embracing Summer’s Bounty

Posted on by Jordank

#Summertime offers an embarrassment of riches — warm weather, #holidays to celebrate and cookouts galore. If you don’t like the heat, there are air-conditioned #summer blockbusters, pool parties and water sports to help keep cool.

Summer delivers bounty in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables, too. Whether you grow your own favorites in a backyard #garden or visit the local farmer’s market, there’s no match for fresh, flavorful produce harvested in season.

Here at The Organizing Blog, we enjoy growing heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, hot peppers, chard and herbs — and with the recent heat wave, are looking forward to a bumper crop. In less than a month, we’ll be running out of ways to use it all!

We’ll grill sweet corn and summer squash. We’ll bake zucchini bread and tomato-and-chard tarts. We’ll blend up potato-leek soup, basil pesto and fresh salsa. And we’ll make a host of other dishes that celebrate summer.

There are ways to keep enjoying that bounty year-round, say the chefs at The Chopping Block. Some vegetables can be blanched and frozen, and even more can be pickled and canned. And to enjoy a summery entrée later in the year, cook an extra and freeze it for a wintry day.

Even as you discover creative new ways to eat your way through the season, consider for a second whether your material bounty — your stockpile of owned, nonperishable things — is getting out of hand.

Summer is a great time to cull through those possessions and #organize. Cold weather won’t get in the way of #decluttering, and you can always stage a #garage sale to make a little money off the things you no longer want or need.

You can also #donate lightly used #clothing and household goods to ClothingDonations.org year-round with a #free #donation #pickup. Resale of those goods helps fund valuable #veterans programs.

However you choose to embrace summer’s bounty, remember that it won’t be around for long. Now’s your chance to enjoy everything that summer has to offer! #SummerBounty