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These past few days have been crazy what with the move
here at Macomb Daily Drive and the spring cleaning going on at home.
Does anyone have any more boxes?
Anyway, one of the things I noticed about packing up to
move – is we always forget about the closets – or avoid them. As the old saying goes once the doors are
closed – it’s out of sight, out of mind. Still, some of our most important
items – things that we lost track of years ago – turn up in an old box lying
under a stack of stinky shoes.
In this case it might be a good idea to clean your closet
whether you’re moving or not. Plus, with spring not far off a lot of charities
will be looking to replenish their stock. To help in the process of sorting and
to encourage homeowners to consider those with less and the environment (by
helping to keep 470, 00 pounds of clothing out of landfills every week) DonateStuff.com has come up with a list of tips. “You’ll be amazed at how much
happier clean closets can make the whole house feel – especially when you turn
the stuff you don’t need into a good deed,” said a spokesperson for DonateStuff.com.
The first thing you need to do is find some boxes. These
can be marked for donations or as giveaways. Remember, just because it doesn’t
fit you or that you’ve grown tired of it, doesn’t mean a sister or friend
wouldn’t love to have it.
Now you’re ready for the biggest task, which is sorting. Consider
the one year rule – if you haven’t worn a piece of clothing in the past year –
or can’t remember the last time you even considered putting it on – you don’t
need it. Other items to purge from the closet might include old books, shoes,
old toys and things like that hot pink purse you bought on impulse but never
used. Sort the remaining pile of clothes according to seasons. If you’re closet
it small – consider keeping the current season’s wardrobe in your room and
storing the rest wherever you have space. Buy garment
bags and use them to keep the clothes from being ruined.
In tackling the linen closet consider organizing the
items by room such as kid’s sheets, bathroom towels or dining room tablecloths.
If it’s a closet that contains anything and everything including the
mini-vacuum, art supplies and camera lenses sort by categories; cleaning and
hobbies.
Once you’ve eliminated the excess consider where to take
that which you no longer need or want. Ask your neighbors or family members if
they belong to a group that might need the donations. The Macomb Charitable Foundation is one group that provides the
hundreds of homeless children and their parents in Macomb County with
necessities. Just recently, the group took up collections for Easter, new items
and baskets filled with goodies for children who are in need. They can be
reached at 586-232-3473. DonateStuff.com is another option. Just plug in your
zip code and you’ll see an address for a charity near you. Among the charities
that they partner with are Easter Seals, Purple Heart and AMVETS.
Lastly, go green. I don’t mean paint your closet. I mean
instead of buying new plastic containers to organize the items not on hangars
consider reusing the baskets, crates and shoe boxes you already have lying
around the house.
