It is that time of year again…time to go through all of your junk and clean those nooks and crannies that never see the light of day.   One key to not being overwhelmed by spring cleaning, besides ebbing the the crap tide coming in all year round, is to be organized .  Step 1, of course, is to have less crap in the way of cleaning.  Since most of us crunchettes have a really hard time sending anything to the land of garbage, we need to take the extra step of having a plan for our crap.  Start by creating a list of local charities or even people that might be good recipients for your goods.  (For example…the single mom of 4 down the block who has kids slightly younger than yours might think your ol’ hand-me-downs are the bee’s knees.)  Also make a list of random things you would like to get rid of and start asking around.  Your best friend just may happen to be in desperate need of that extra electric banana peeler you have laying around. I find knowing my old stuff will be well used by someone else makes it much easier not to hold onto things and makes the process go much faster…no time to reconsider needing that neon green and organge afgan/poncho.

So get in those closets and start letting go! You never know what you will find….like this old post I ran around the holidays.  Perfectly good…only slightly used…slightly moldy.  (I am not  lazy blogger…just an accomplished recycler.)

As mentioned, I ran this list around the holidays to help with post holiday clutter…but find it comes in handy for spring cleaning too.  Some of these are specific to NYC, but I am sure you can find equivalents in your neighborhood.

Who :Dress for Success
What they want ffice and interview appropriate attire, dress shoes, purses, and accessories
What they do : Dress for Success is a nationwide organization that helps women get back on their feet and into the work place through practical general job skills training, interview practice, and job placement and support. Once a woman has completed her training courses the organization goes one step further; it, through your donations, helps her literally dress for success. Can you imagine living cent to cent and being forced to purchase an entire office appropriate wardrobe? It can be a real roadblock for someone without even enough money for food. If you have things to give click on their link and find a local drop-off. They have offices in almost every major and even many minor cities.

Who : Baby Buggy
What they want : baby gear of all kinds including furniture
What they do : Baby Buggy works with social services to provide families in need with the necessary baby gear by collecting the millions of unwanted items from the 5 boroughs and redistributing them where needed. Their efforts are brilliant because they provide desperately needed relief in our poorer neighborhoods AND save tons of very useful gear from hitting our landfills. They do only serve the NYC area, but if you contact your local social service agency they may know of a similar organization.

Who : ASPCA
What they want : pillows, blankets, pet food and pet supplies
What they do : ASPCA provides care for unwanted animals and assists in finding them loving homes. Your old blankets and pillows can provide a touch of home and comfort to an animal awaiting a home. There are ASPCAs in almost every neighborhood.

Who :DonorsChoose.org
What they want : classroom supplies
What they do : They allow you to choose a specific subject, age, town and even income level of the area to help.  Teachers post exactly what they and their students need.  Trust me…schools need this.  The budget cuts are ugly…and teachers and students feel it.

Who :Materials for the Arts
What do they want : Art supplies of all kinds…including frames
What do they do : In their words,”Materials for the Arts has provided thousands of New York City’s arts and cultural organizations, public schools and community arts programs with the supplies they need to run and expand their programs. Materials are gathered from companies and individuals that no longer need them and redistributed to the artists and educators that do. In the process, hundreds of tons are removed from the waste stream every year and kept out of landfills, helping to sustain our environment and promote reuse and waste reduction. MFTA helps artists realize their visions, provides students with a richer educational experience and furnishes businesses and individuals with a simple and efficient way to enhance the cultural life of their city.”

Who ell Inc., Epson, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lexmark, MPC Computers
What they want ld or non-working computers, printers, etc
What they do : According to NYC Charities, the offices here in the city will take them back and recycle/refurbish them. Couldn’t find out a lot of details, but since broken computers are virtually impossible to find a home for otherwise, it is certainly worth the effort of returning them to their creators.

Who :Housing Works Thrift Shop
What they want : Clothes, accessories, and housewares, furniture, books, etc.
What they do : The Thrift Shop provides….thrift stores.  Seems simple…but frankly we don’t have a lot.  By providing a place and opportunity for these goods to be purchased they are keeping millions of lbs of unwanted goods out of our landfills and providing affordable goods for lower income families.  And guess what they do with the money they make? They provide for NYC’s population of homeless suffering with HIV and AIDS. This organization is such a great example of how to help so many groups at the same time even when extra funding dollars are scarce.Clean out your clutter, keep goods out of the landfill, help the poor get what they need, and provide for our neediest all at the same time. Brilliant!

I think this list covers just about any household items you might be looking to clear out. If you have something you aren’t sure what to do with, leave a comment and I will try to track down a home for it. As I mentioned in my first charity post, get your friends on board and each take up one charity/ one collection/one drop off. You can even make a little party out of it. After a few glasses of good wine it will be much easier to let go of that old sequence bell bottom jumper 2 sizes too small that is still in your closet. Yes… we know it is still there.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 at 7:43 am and is filed under green cleaning, projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.