Does your house feel out of control? Are you sick of the clutter, the piles of papers, and the tornado of toys and art supplies on the floor? The trick to keeping your house clutter-free is to get rid of the stuff you are not using. The less stuff you have in your house, the less you have to put back and clean around.
One way to make decluttering easier is to designate a donation corner in your house. Place one or two big boxes there. (Don’t use plastic tubs unless you want to donate the tubs too.) A good location for the corner is in or near your laundry room. That way, as you come across unwanted clothes while doing the laundry, you can just toss them into the box in the donation corner.
Get in the habit of putting outgrown toys, unused baby gear, lousy books and too-small clothes in the donation box instead of back on the shelf. Then when the boxes are full, simply drop them off at your nearest charity. Or use the tubs as the basis for your next garage sale and turn your castoffs into cash! You’ll feel better about yourself and your house after you get rid of the unused, unloved stuff that is weighing you down.
Image of the donation center in my house, which is under the stairs in my laundry room.
I agree! Having a place to collect clutter little by little is as effective (if not much more so, for some people) than decluttering sessions. The trick is to get it out of the house once the container is full. Just plan that errand into one's day and get the items to their new home, whether it be the charity or to a person you know.
Our Donation Station is a garbage bag on the floor of our coat closet in the hallway. It's centrally located between the bedrooms and laundry room, perfect for taking items right to the bag once we've identified them as something we no longer need, love, want or use!
If it’s in the bag, though, it’s as good as gone. We never take anything out; it’s as if it doesn’t exist to us anymore. When the bag is full, I put it into my trunk and run it over to my charity of choice after work in the next day or two.
I love it! I like the part where you said, "If it's in the bag, it's as good as gone." That's the attitude one has to cultivate if they want their donation station to work.
I have one of these! Its in the garage in my laundry room. We get so many hand me downs that anything that isn’t quite right goes right into the bag. I also routinely go through my own closet. My theory is if I haven’t worn it in two year it goes in the bag (I give two years due to pregnancies). Our church also has a yearly garage sale for anything but clothing so starting about 6 months out I try to keep a pile (unless it gets too big!) and donate it then. I also always say yes to Volunteers of America… they come right to my door! My other big theory is that if I donate it (before it gets too old!) then it can be a blessing to someone else!
I love that idea of turning your cast-offs into a blessing for someone else. What burdens us by taking up too much space can do so much good for someone else! I will remember to tell my clients that. Thanks for the comment!