I love knowing that my used items are going to a place where people who really need them will get a chance to use them. For years I have been donating a variety of items; household items, clothing, jewelry, etc... Only in the past year, I began attempting to sell some items on e-bay before donating them. Mostly clothes and a few other pricer items that I was happy to get a little bit of money back for.
If an item has not sold on e-bay I set it aside to donate.
Here is what I do with my donations...
In the picture above, among the other boxes and water cases you can see a paper bag from Bakers and a plastic bag from CVS (which has been replaced more recently with a few Walmart bags).
The paper bag holds all items that could potentially be sold on e-bay or donated to the Salvation Army. Any clothes, jewelry, household items go inside this bag. All food, personal, and items that could be donated to a shelter or friends and family go in this bag.
Food a personal items
Clothing and household items
Dog food to donate!
Earlier this year, I showed you how I planned on knowing which clothing items to donate- I placed a little tag on each item of clothing and after I wear the item, the tag comes off. Even though the year hasn't ended yet, I have been able to go through the majority of my winter clothes and ween them down. You know how you can just tell what you won't be wearing? Yeah, there were quite a few things in there that I knew I would never wear again, or that I have never worn and needed to get out! Valuable closet space was at risk!
When I am searching for donations I make a mess. I toss everything on the floor and just make piles everywhere. Yup, it is often a disaster.
After making a disaster, I sort my donation items from the items I'm keeping. Then I sort my donations by what I plan to sell and what I plan to send right to the Salvation Army. I take pictures of the items I want to sell and as soon as I have free time, I list them all on e-bay. It's always nice to make a little extra money!
Where do I store my donations? Right in my closet. I keep them inside the bags until I have a fairly full bag, then I bring it down into our basement where we keep our donations for the Salvation Army. When we have a big enough haul in the basement, we make a drop off.
As for my other donation items (personal items and food...) I'm unsure what my plan is yet. I definitely want to find an animal shelter for all the dog food I have to donate. I need to find a place to bring the food and personal items. Anyone in the RI area have any suggestions? I'm going to wait until I have a big enough haul because right now it's a little small, but I will hopefully be able to donate those items soon!
It honestly makes me feel great when I have a huge bag of clothing to give away to someone who will actually wear it. Often times we are so consumed with wanting endless items that we don't realize we are actually just holding onto items that we never use! I am all about getting rid of the excess and just keeping what I actually need.
My advice for sorting through your items?
- Be honest with yourself, do you really need it? No? Well toss it! Get it out of there!
- Think about the last time you wore or used the item, if it's been over a year, that baby should be long gone!
- Figure out an ideal number of that item you would like to have and attempt to stick to it. Do you really need 9 winter coats? Probably not, especially if you live in Florida. Keep things realistic.
- What good are household items in storage? If it's not out on display ask why. Is it an item that is a family heirloom? That's okay, but if it's a vase from Pier 1 that no longer matches your decor, send it to someone who will actually use it!
I personally love sorting and organizing my items, so if you are planning a sort through your clothes or whatever- enjoy it! Go get that clutter! =)
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