Guest Post

Great Way To Off-Load Junk without Trashing The Planet

by: Janice Hill

Clearing out the clutter in your home and in your life can have a major impact on how much you enjoy the life you lead. If you and your family feel like your clutter is taking over your lives, it’s time to fight back.

Armed with a broom, a few handy-dandy trash bags, and an iron will there is nothing you can’t accomplish – at least not when it comes to the task of off-loading your junk without trashing the planet, that is.
You have to Crawl Before You Walk
Getting started is the hardest part by far. Depending on how long the problem has been building in your life, the task at hand can feel completely overwhelming. Now it’s time to take a few baby steps so that you can divide and conquer your clutter problems.
Don’t tackle the top of the mountain just yet. Instead, start at the bottom, one item at a time. Clear off enough space to create 3 piles: keep, toss, donate. There are plenty of great charities like Habitat for Humanity Stores, Goodwill, and Kars4kids that are all too happy to take your donations. Even animal shelters will be glad to receive things like old towels and blankets to line their cages.
You may need to get a few boxes to label so that you know what’s what. The things that are going to be tossed are generally in no shape to salvage at all. Recycle what can be recycled and carry the rest straight to your garbage container so that they do not find their way back into the clutter pile somehow.
Divide the room into grids and take one grid at a time, with frequent breaks in between, so that you aren’t completely overwhelmed and give up in frustration.
Take Time to Enjoy the New View
Once you finish cleaning one room – that is you have everything out that is going and everything put completely away that is staying – take a moment and enjoy the new view of your room before moving on to the next room. This little moment will help you sustain your momentum long enough to get the job done. It will also allow you a moment to appreciate the fruits of your labor.
When you do move on to the next room, remember all the things that got you through the first room. This new room represents a new beginning and a new opportunity to use what you’ve learned. Break it down into bite-sized pieces so you can enjoy small boosts throughout the cleaning process as you accomplish each and every one of your smaller goals. You’ll be surprised by how much faster the job seems to go when you do something like that.
BOTTOM LINE:
In the end, it isn’t the major changes that you’ve made to the cleanliness of your home that matters most. It’s the small changes in how you approach cleaning and getting rid of the clutter that matters. These are small steps that are sure to get you going in the right direction.

Janice Hill describes herself as a dedicated Mom who is determined to find her way without losing her hair.

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Passing down Clothes – That’s being Green too.

I love getting a call from a dear friend of mine saying, “Sandy – I have gone through the kids things and I have 2 big bags of clothes for your triplets!” It’s like Christmas time going through the bags to see what will fit and what we can use.

Not everything fits or will work, and if we can’t use it I pass it on. I have a couple girls that I work with that have children who I pass the triplets clothes and toys down to. If it isn’t something they can use, I take it to the Goodwill store that is in my town.

My older boys clothes go into a bin that are labeled and I save those for the triplets. (at least the boys)

Personally, I do not keep most of it for garage sales. I do not want to store things through the year waiting for a garage sale to make .25 off a shirt. I would rather give it to someone that I know who can really use it for free, or second best give it to Goodwill. I know someone has to buy it from there, but it is out of my house and I have my space back. Garage sales aren’t bad, if you have the space to store the things until you have it.

I have no problem looking at garage sales for clothes to fit the kids. I am not too proud to use hand me downs or buy clothing at a garage sale. These kids grow fast and aren’t in them more than a season. I wish I could afford to always buy them new, but I am practical and even if I could afford to buy them the best of clothing….it makes sense to reuse things. Recycle…be green with clothes too.

Zwaggle – It’s a Free, Green and Great way to Declutter!

Hey All – I think this is a wonderful service!! Kudos for those responsible.
I know that I use Good Will a lot for myself and my clients. I have some clients who will use E-bay. I think this is easier than a garage sale, you can benefit from it by then being able to turn around and purchase things you may need for your kids now – and it is all without money! Cool
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Do you have a bag of donate items you need to get rid of? Zwaggle It
Do you have clothes that do not fit your children anymore? Zwaggle it!
Do you have a nice purse you can’t use? Zwaggle it!

Do you need clothes that do fit your children? Find it on Zwaggle!
Looking for a stroller? Find it on Zwaggle!

But guess what????? You don’t have to use money for it…you buy and sell your items using Zwaggle Points or zoints (points you earn for joining Zwaggle, “selling” your items, referring friends to Zwaggle).
It cost nothing to join and nothing but zoints to “buy” items. The only money that is used is for shipping the item if it is not local.
This is a great way to be “green” and keep the items that you no longer need out of landfills.
For those of you who have a hard time decluttering, this is new incentive. Not only do you know that your items will go to people who can use them, but you can earn zoints for yourself and then go shopping for items that you truly need.

You can even donate your zoints to charities they have available and help others even more.
Go to the Zwaggle site and watch the video that is at the top of the home page right beside the picture. It explains it very simply.
Be sure to tell them I sent you when you join!!