Tag: health

Embrace the Promise of Spring (and Spring Cleaning)

Posted on by Jordank

Spring is here! The days are getting longer, the trees are starting to bud and the birds are chirping. It’s the season of rebirth — the time of year when life reawakens from its frigid #winter slumber and starts anew.

It’s also an excellent time for people to revisit their goals and establish new habits for the year. Start with a check-in: Make notes on where you are mentally and where you’d like to be. What do you value most, and are you able to satisfy those needs?

Next, write down a few intentions. Maybe you want to exercise more, meditate or pursue a new hobby. Or maybe you have an attitudinal goal such as being more forgiving to yourself or more patient with family members. Whatever it is, jot it down and revisit it regularly.

Be Meditation suggests a “walking meditation” to review your intentions while enjoying the spring air. Find a quiet path where you can appreciate new growth and encourage it in yourself, deeply “breathing in your intention.”

If one of your intentions is to become more #organized (and whose isn’t?), spring is the time to reclaim your space and experience the rebirth of a #clean, #healthy and #clutter-free life. It’s just one part of the reason #spring cleaning is a perennial ritual in so many homes.

Research shows that a #cluttered environment produces a cluttered mind. “Our brains can only focus on a limited amount of stimuli at a time,” says VeryWellMind. “If you’re surrounded by #clutter, the clutter can actually make it harder for you to think clearly.”

The Organizing Blog is here to help. Whatever your intention — be it a single #clean #closet or a top-down spring #cleansing — we’ve got you covered. We want to help you make this the year you let go of clutter and blossom into a healthier, happier you.

As always, you can #donate any extra #junk to ClothingDonations.org to share your rebirth with #veterans nationwide. Embrace the promise of spring — and #declutter your environment and mind for a brighter future!

The Importance of Getting Vaccinated Against COVID-19

Posted on by Jordank

The spread of the more contagious #Delta variant of the coronavirus has many areas reeling from a dramatic rise in #COVID-19 cases, illnesses and hospitalizations. And getting #vaccinated can help slow the spread and avert more tragedies.

While no available #vaccine is 100% effective against the virus, CNBC says, all of them drastically reduce the chance of contracting a symptomatic infection and almost eliminate the chance of mortal illness completely.

Don’t think that because the first wave of the coronavirus affected the elderly worst that you’re in no danger. Delta is more transmissible, so younger people are getting infected, too — and new cases are concentrated among the unvaccinated.

One great reason to get vaccinated is to protect elderly, sick and immune-compromised friends and relatives. Even if they are vaccinated, they are safest when the people around them are at least somewhat immune to the virus and able to inhibit its spread.

Think of the #veterans in your community: Many have chronic health conditions such as diabetes that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19. When you get a #vaccine, you are honoring the sacrifices they have made on behalf of the county.

The vaccines — contrary to the misinformation campaigns out there — are safe for use. More than 4.48 billion doses have now been administered worldwide and 352 million doses in the U.S., according to Bloomberg. Serious side effects are exceedingly rare.

Many people experience a headache, fever, chills and fatigue in the first 48 hours after their first or second dose. That’s your body learning to fight off the virus. But that’s it — and what a small price to pay for months of protection against a deadly disease.

While vaccines are available free of charge, getting sick from COVID-19 can be very expensive. A coronavirus hospitalization will cost a person with no insurance coverage about $73,000, FAIR Health estimates, or max out an insured person’s deductible.

Perhaps most importantly, vaccines are the best hope for everything — school, work, social gatherings, concerts, event and even grocery shopping — getting back to normal. Don’t you long for the carefree, maskless days of 2019?

The Health Benefits of a Clutter-Free Home

Posted on by Jordank

#Decluttering can help you protect your health during the #coronavirus #pandemic, says HealthFirst. It can improve your focus if you’re attempting to work from home, as well as lower the stress and anxiety that coping with a pandemic can produce (and the boredom of being at home). What’s more, decluttering, #organizing and #cleaning can help eliminate allergens, improve sleep and even provide some low-impact exercise. And if you give what you don’t need to ClothingDonations.org, you can feel good that your extra stuff went toward a good cause.

Declutter to Take Control of Your Quarantine

Posted on by Jordank

Spending more time at home doesn’t automatically result in a #cleaner, more #organized space. You’ll have to #declutter more often to stay on top of all the accumulated #WFH materials, school work, clothing and foodstuffs that you ordinarily might buy or use outside the home. Fortunately, ClothingDonations.org is still offering free, contactless #donation pickups just like it did pre-pandemic. Start weeding through the things that you don’t need, don’t want or don’t fit to get control of your #COVID bubble today.

What Your Donations Do for Veterans

Posted on by Jordank

If you’ve donated clothing and other household items to ClothingDonations.org in the past, you may be aware that your stuff helps fund programs that support veterans throughout the country. But do you know how, and what your donations fund?

When you give the things you no longer need, the Vietnam Veterans Association (VVA) resells them in bulk to partner thrift and secondhand stores, where other people can shop for great deals on lightly used stuff.

VVA takes the proceeds and uses them to underwrite range of programs. On the national level, the association helps veterans tap government benefits and health care guaranteed to those who have served, and lobbies on behalf of veterans in the nation’s capital.

Aware that war can have challenging health effects for decades after a deployment, VVA offers outreach programs to veterans suffering from Agent Orange exposure, homelessness, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse.

It offers programs targeted to POW/MIAs and their families, minority veterans, women veterans, and justice-involved and jailed veterans. In other words, it is a comprehensive, wraparound service organization operated by and dedicated to Vietnam veterans.

As Vietnam veterans have aged and the country has continued to engage in overseas conflicts, VVA has expanded its mission to welcome veterans of all U.S. conflicts. “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another” is its motto.

VVA programs are supplemented and supported at the local level by the organization’s more than 500 chapters nationwide. The chapters use some of the money raised through ClothingDonations.org to host educational and social events, honor veterans, and give back to their communities through parades, scholarships and sponsorships.

Last month, for example, dozens of VVA chapters celebrated National Vietnam War Veterans Day on March 29, hosting luncheons, memorial observances and educational programs around the country to thank veterans living and dead for their service.

While donations to ClothingDonations.org don’t pay for the entirety of the programs VVA offers, the money raised eases the organization’s fundraising burden while providing you — the loyal readers of the Organizing Blog — with an easy, earth-friendly way to get rid of your unwanted stuff.

The nation’s veterans appreciate every donation, and thank you for your support!