Organized Clutter….(Crap Management)
When you live in the city, decluttering is part of survival. Thanks to Chile’s & Burban’s challenges I have stepped up my usual spring clear out. For one, in order to most effectively maximize my donations, I have been taking tips from Chile and being very organized. Clearing one area at a time has helped from getting overwhelmed and having so much stuff that has been deemed unnecessary piled waiting for a home that I , or much more likely my husband, gets frustrated and dumps the whole thing in a box in the basement in the “please take me home” corner. (I knew some of you looked familiar.)
Notice, I did not say I was taking part in the no buy challenge. The reason? Spring is also when we replace the things that need to be replaced and prepare for the spring/summer season and travel. This year, however, I am making a list of things needed as I declutter and am waiting to buy until after I have cleaned everything out. Why or, what is the BFD? Well, I am finding that half the things on my NEED list have been misplaced and have come out of hiding, or have a perfectly good substitute. The result…less need to buy and less stuff needing a new home.
The second list I have made is of things that are going out. The reason? Simple. For me, clutter comes from not wanting things to end up as trash. It makes it a lot easier to find proper donation homes if you know what you have to give. A church advertised a book collection for a Habitat for Humanity book sale fund raiser – on my list… a big ol’ box of books and CDs. Brought the list to my son’s old nursery classroom..his teacher picked out what she could use…we are down a huge pile of mega blocks and little people. Also, when I run into friends I can pull out my little list and see if anyone needs any of my trash/treasure. (Now if I could only find a home for that automatic banana peeler.) How great would it be if I could get just 5 other friends to do the same? We could meet up…compare our need/junk lists and probably save each other a ton of money and a lot of stuff from hitting the landfill. Alas…I have no such power over other people…but maybe some of you have mastered subliminal messages and can get your friends to play along.
That’s a great idea. I organized a baby clothing and toy swap two years ago and it worked out really well. I “rented” one of those party rooms at a local kids’ bouncy place and everyone paid $5 to participate (cheaper than the cost of just bringin in a kid to play).
Anyhow, the kids got to play while the moms laid out all their goodies and then picked up what they wanted. Toys, carseats, clothing, you name it. When it was all over, I took all the leftovers to Goodwill.
Damn I need to coordinate one of those again!