Creating stations to get rid of clutter
What do you do when you come across something in your home that you no longer want? Do you throw it out? Take it to a local charity? Or perhaps you’re like most people and you just ignore it.
It’s easier than you think to get rid of items in your home that you no longer want.
There are 3 “stations” in our home for discarded items that I think maybe helpful for you.
For sale station
(Our for sale station is in our basement, next to the stockpile donation station.)
If you would like to try selling some of the items in your home, set up a “for sale” station.
This can be anywhere in your home and items can be in plastic tubs or stored on shelves. Set aside time once per week to list and/or re-list the items you have for sale on Kijiji, Craigslist and/or eBay. If your items don’t sell within a reasonable amount of time, donate them.
If you’d like to save all of your items for a yard sale, be sure to donate all items that don’t sell once your yard sale is over. If it didn’t sell one year, it’s not likely to sell the next.
Donation station
(Our donation station is in a corner of our basement, but I just cleared it out the other day to take the items to the local thrift store, so here they are sitting in the dining room.)
Perhaps you can’t be bothered with selling things, and would rather donate items you no longer need. That’s great! Set up a donation station in your home for storing these items until you can make it to the thrift store.
Our donation station is in the basement, but you can keep yours anywhere that you will be able to see it often.
Make a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly trip to drop off your donations. If your pile of items to donate grows larger than the container you are using to store them, drop the items off earlier. Don’t let the container overflow.
Stockpile donation station
(Our stockpile donation station is right next to our stockpile on a small shelf.)
If you are often able to obtain large quantities of items with coupons (or even without), consider donating what you will not use to a food bank or shelter in your area.
Dedicate a small location in your stockpile for items to be donated and once that area is filled up, deliver your donation and free up room in your stockpile (to collect more donation items, of course!).
Having these 3 designated areas in our home has drastically reduced the amount of clutter we have. It also feels good to have a donation and for sale schedule as well, to make sure that these items actually make it out of the house.
It’s not hard to find unwanted items in your home. I think I find a box full of stuff to get rid of every week or two. I don’t know how the stuff gets into our house in the first place, but if it’s not being used, out it goes!
Comments
Yes we do…sort of…the foodbank donation pile (things we don’t use bought with coupons-which is most of what I use coupons for) is behind the couch that faces the dining room. When it gets too big I bring it to church and the foodbank fellow takes it and gets it weighed. The Goodwill/Salvation Army/Diabetes pile is just inside the front door beside the mitts/hats dresser. We don’t often do a garage sale so most things get donated (once we make that decision!). I always try and find a good home for our discarded things-seems to help me psychologically!!! Our kids old clothes, toys, any furniture, etc I always ask around to find someone in need.
Not ideal as we have no “extra” places to put things, but it’s what we can do.
I have a bookshelf in my laundry room that is all my for sale stuff… i have 4 shelves on it and two are for stuff thats listed and two are for items i still have to list.
I also have a box beside it that i put random things in and when its full i list it as a “mystery box” on freecycle.
I throw what I don’t want into a bag or box and take it to work with me. I work at a food bank!
Hi Cassie,
Just a quick question where do you donate your asprin and vitamins to?
I tried to donate vitamins and advil to thrift stores and the food bank and they said they dont take them?
Thanks!
Where can I donate items like the aspirins?
bee & zoey: Try local food banks and shelters. 🙂
Ooops, ZOE, not zoey (sorry!).