Have you looked around your home and realized you have too much? Is there just clutter everywhere? Are you teaching your boy to give from his excess to others? Are you limiting how much comes in? All those Legos they have to have? And, how many times a week, month, or year do you go around your house looking for things to get rid of? Well, you should do it—and you should do it often! Giving to the needy out of our own abundance is an important part of our family’s values. You don’t have to be rich to give something. You simply have to have the desire. So many write to me and tell me they don’t know where to start when getting rid of things. Here is a simple way to start: Go around your house—at least once a month—and just look at things. Really look at them.
Think about what things you could live without:
- Do you have a friend in need who might need that thing? Is it worth hanging on to?
- When is the last time I used this?
- Did I know it was here?
- Why am I hanging on to this?
These are the questions I ask myself on a weekly basis. The more you do this, the easier it is to let things go. Giving them to a local charity or organization is an easy way to start clearing out the clutter.
Having a “one-in, one-out” rule is always my standard. But, if you already have too much…it might be a NOTHING in, TEN out rule for you until you clear out most of your clutter. Doing this with your children is even more important. But you need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk! Show them by your own example that you can let things go because you simply don’t need them anymore.
Here are some ideas of places that can use your things:
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The Rescue Mission in your area always {sometimes} calls once every other month to let you know they have a truck in the area. It’s a good reminder to clean out clutter, and they do all the hauling.
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Give to your local crisis pregnancy center, especially your baby items.
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Many Goodwill and Salvation Army both have drive-thru drop-offs.
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We drop off at a place in town that helps homeless teens and teens aging out of foster care. They go directly to the needy people. It’s not to a store front, which we love.
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And many more…
One of my favorite things to do is to schedule a pick-up for a charity truck to come by a certain date. Then, I start going through the house all that week and getting rid of things I don’t need or use. If it’s broken, don’t give it to the charity— throw it out. Only give them things that are actually useable. Sometimes we simply put the “big” things on our curb (marked “FREE”) and they always get pick up by someone!
So, now it’s your turn: are you going to start looking around for things to get rid of? If not, why? If so, what charity will you be donating to? Do they pick up or do you drop off? I would love to know your favorite places to donate!
How do you work on getting the clutter out?
Are you purposeful about what you are doing?
For more help getting organized, visit OrganizingMadeFun.com or follow me on Instagram and keep yourself motivated to keep organized!
