After this week the New Year won’t be so new anymore. How are you going to make this year different or at least try to? Let the New Year bring with it the urge to purge, declutter and reorganize but don’t get paralyzed when it comes time to execute.
Pick a neglected closet in your home to start with. Chances are if you put something in it long ago and haven’t thought about it, it’s time to say goodbye or time to find a more permanent home for these items instead of tucked away in the corner of the closet.
The first thing you should do is take a deep breath. Calmly approach your closet with a few plastic garbage bags; use one for trash and one for donation items. As you go through, touch each item and take it out, make a decision if it’s something you want to keep or discard. Does it belong in this closet, does it serve a purpose? If you’re feeling super motivated you can ask yourself the famous organizer Marie Kondo’s question…..”Does it spark joy?” If you decide to keep it, make yourself a keep pile. If you choose to discard, decide if it is trash or a donation. You should do this with every item in the closet and make sure to give yourself enough time to realistically assess your items. Half and hour won’t be enough. Give yourself a solid 2-3 hour chunk of time per closet. You’ll be amazed at how much you don’t need and how contagious the urge to purge can become. Once you’ve cleared out the unwanted items you’ll amaze yourself at how much space you’ve discovered.
Are you a sock collector? A toiletry hoarder? Books? Clothes that don’t fit anymore? Linens and towels? Dishes? Chances are you accumulate much of one particular item and if you don’t use it someone else certainly can.
Here’s a list of local resources to donate to so you can make some room in your house for some of your “new” and take out the “old.”
Any local library will take like new & gently used books
VVA (Vietnam Veterans of America) will take gently used clothes, household items, baby gear, linens, etc. and they will pick up at your home.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of NJ – will take a long list of unwanted items and they will pick up at your home.
Many local homeless shelters and food banks not only take food donations but also unopened toiletries, socks, coats, jackets, hats & gloves, towels and linens.