SPRING CLEANING 101: CLUTTER

Nothing says spring like a little cleaning.  It's time to open up the windows, let some fresh air in… and open up the closets and let some stale junk out.  But how do you know when it's time to let things go?  And where do you send it once you've given it a one-way ticket out of your house?  One out of ten American families has something in self-storage.  And the other nine, have all their surplus stuffed in attics, basements, closets, beneath beds, garages,… you know who you are.

Here are 5 simple ways to know when it's time to say goodbye:
1.    Have you used it in the last year? No?  Get rid of it!
2.    Can you think of a way to use it in the next week? No? Syanara. 
3.    Does it hold any special sentimental value? Grandma never liked those dishes? Then, neither do you.  Bye-bye.
4.    Does it make you sad? Yes?  Let it go.
5.    Do you have more than one?  Yep?  Separate the twins.


Now, what do you do with the stuff you no longer need or want?
1.    Give it to charity.  I always have a box marked "giveaway" in my utility closet.  When it gets full, I make a run to my local charity thrift shop and make a donation.  They, in turn, give me a tax receipt.  (And I ask for my empty box back.)
2.    Sell it.  If you have a whole lot of stuff or particularly valuable items, consider making money off of them.  If you have a lot of stuff, hold a garage sale.  For your crème de la crème, sell on eBay.  And if you have large items like a sofa or refrigerator, advertise them on craigslist.  Someone will come pick it up and cart it off for you!
3.    Swap or barter.  Waste not, want not.  Put an ad in the local paper or on the internet that you have "x" (say a silver set) that you'd like to trade for something.  You'll be surprised what kind of offers you'll get because someone else wants a silver set and has an extra riding lawn mower.  
4.    Trash it.  If it's junk through and through, take it to the dump.  There are some things nobody wants. Even then, the happy caveat is most town dumps have a "swap & shop" area, in which you can leave things that people may want.  At my dump, for example, people are there cutting off power cords from appliances.  Who knew, there is a resell market for them!  As for electronics, they are filled with materials hazardous for the environment.  The Electronic Industries Alliance provides a state by state e-cycling guide on the web at eiae.org. 


MOST OF ALL… in these economically and environmentally troubled times, let's remember what our grandmothers said: WASTE NOTE, WANT NOT.