What To Do With Your Junk

When you’re ready to get organized and you have some big projects in mind, it’s a good idea to take a moment to make a disposal plan so you can be free and clear of the debris as soon as possible and enjoy the results. You don’t want to sit around looking at piles of things you don’t want for any longer than is necessary.

You essentially have five options for disposing of items you don’t want or need:

1) Toss It:  Recycle what you can, and use heavy-duty trash bags to bundle up the rest. Make sure that you get realistic with yourself about what is really considered trash. If it’s torn, stained, threadbare, shrunken, bleach-spotted, unraveling, rotten, smelly, moldy, or rusted… please, just give up on the idea of repairing it or salvaging it and move forward. If you have hazardous materials like paint, pesticides, automotive products, or cleaners, check with www.earth911.com to find out how to properly dispose of these items in your particular area. It’s very important to keep these chemicals from getting into the landfills and eventually into our water supply!

2) Give It To Friends:  If you have specific friends in mind during your project, create a special box or bag for each person to gather what you’d like to give to them. Make sure you have a plan for actually making sure the stuff gets to them promptly, and don’t be offended if they don’t want it. Remember, one person’s clutter is possibly another person’s clutter too!

3) Give It To Others: Did you know that the average American throws away 54 pounds of clothing and shoes a year into the landfill? Donating your items to Goodwill helps both the environment and the economy. Goodwill helps place people into jobs and provides job training and other services to put people to work. You can find the nearest Goodwill location at http://locator.goodwill.org. Whatever charity you choose to donate to, please make sure you're dropping off at a legitimate donation site and not a random box in a parking lot that may actually be for profit. And don’t forget to get a receipt! Those household goods can earn you a really nice tax deduction.

4) Return It: You will likely run into items that need to be returned for a refund or store credit, or returned to their proper owners (friends, libraries, video rental stores). Make a note of these items and put them in your car so you’ll have them handy when you’re nearby those locations.

5) Sell It: Organizing can really pay off when you get cash for your stuff! Local consignment stores, Craigslist, and eBay are all great resources. Some people like having yard sales, but make sure you consider the amount of time it takes to prepare and price the items, promote the sale, monitor it, and take everything down when you’re finished. It is often better to donate the items instead and earn the tax deduction, rather than spending your valuable weekend time sitting around your garage.

Consider each of these five options before you jump into your projects, so that the decisions and research are already done and the clutter can flow smoothly out of your life. If you’d like more details on making a disposal plan, you can find them in chapter nine of my book, The Clutter Diet: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life. And if you want personal help from experts to get direct advice on your projects, check out our affordable program at ClutterDiet.com. May all of your projects have LOTS of disposal!

(This article was originally published on Connections for Women, where I am a regular contributor. It's a great site with lots of info and resources!)

Follow me on Twitter for my Daily #ClutterTweetTip: www.twitter.com/clutterdiet