Your Clutter Could Be Another’s Treasure

You don’t have to be a hoarder to have a lot of clutter around the house. Many of us are reluctant to get rid of things that we have become attached to, even if we don’t use them any longer. But one way to motivate yourself to get rid of clutter is, instead of just throwing it out, to donate it to a worthy charity such as Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

The way it works is that you gather up the books you no longer read, clothes you no longer wear, kitchen gadgets that you never use, and anything else that you no longer need. Box them up, and then call the charity to send a truck around to haul the stuff away, You will have the satisfaction of having a cleaner house. The worthy charity will have some more stuff with which to raise money for its causes.

Alternatively, you can have a garage sale. That way your neighbors and whichever bargain hunters come will buy some of your clutter and take it away. You lose your clutter, but you have a little extra money. You’ll also get to interact with your neighbors, always a good thing. It goes without saying that a garage sale only works to get rid of clutter if you don’t go to other people’s driveway bazaars.

The last option is to find out if any of your used items will do as gifts. Maybe you know someone who would love a used pasta machine or your complete set of DVDs of every episode of “Friends.” Your relations and friends get something that they don’t have, and you get rid of something that you’ve had for far too long.