Fifty Ways To Leave Your Clutter: Part Three

Here are Part One or Part Two, in case you missed them.

~~ Just Give It Away, Ray ~~
Here you won’t get a tax deduction, but you’ll have the satisfaction of helping someone and expecting nothing in return. Plus good things will come back to you. Here’s a poem quoted by Joe Vitale in The Greatest Money-Making Secret in History:
A man there was, and they called him mad, The more he gave, the more he had.

21. Give it away to someone you know who needs it: a family member, a friend, a co-worker, a neighbor
22. Put things on your front lawn with a big sign free. It is amazing how one man’s junk truly is another man’s treasure. You can also do this after a yard sale; rather than cart things back inside, everything goes to the curb with free on it. What doesn’t go, can stay there for the trash man.

~ Donate a tool, Jewel ~
Pass on tools you’ll never use or duplicate tools to:
23. Newly weds
24. Anyone moving into a first house or apartment or recently divorced
25. A high school vocational class
26. A local theater group
27. A church or food pantry connected with people who are starting over
28. Habitat For Humanity

Bonus Tip: Cultivate A Simple Habit
• If you haven’t used or worn it in a year, get rid of it.
• Yes, there are a few exceptions – some tools, First Aid Kit, turkey roaster, crutches. (Well, maybe I can convince you to get rid of those crutches, with hopes you’ll never need them again.)

~~ Don’t Send Stuff That’s Icky, Mickey ~~
29. Send just the good stuff. The poor deserve dignity. Homeless and needy persons have had enough hard times. Don’t make it harder by donating items that are stained, broken, damaged beyond repair or that nobody would ever want.

~~ It’s Time to Toss, Ross ~~
As much as you hate to throw things away, you may have to. Nobody really wants that dented coffee can full of rusty nuts and bolts, or those broken toasters. Of course you might plan on fixing the toaster. Ahem. When it was time to fix it, did you? If you didn’t fix it then, will you fix it now? If not, why not admit that it’s time to send it to toaster heaven.
Maybe you won’t receive any cash or tax deduction for it, but think of the space, leisure, calm, clarity of thought and lack of embarrassment, once you’ve tossed out all that clutter.
30. Throw it in the trash
31. Rent a dumpster and shovel the stuff into it
32. Consider the fun of Garbage dumps: My friend Sheila Herron, who just turned 70, sent me this message introducing me to the blissful joys of garbage dumps:
“Dear Rita, I have discovered a new favorite past time – dump runs. Nothing quite matches the exhilaration of standing in the back of a pick up, lined in a row with all the construction trucks, and heaving boxes of assorted debris into the waiting, crunching jaws of a giant bulldozer. Ah, Rita, it doesn’t get any better than that!
Love, Sheila”

Rita Emmett is a “Recovered Pack Rat”, a Professional Speaker, and best-selling author of The Procrastinator’s Handbook; and The Clutter-Busting Handbook.
Go to www.RitaEmmet.com for info on Stress Management, Procrastination and Clutter. You will find books, CDs, DVDs and even on-line courses. To subscribe to her free monthly “Anticrastination Tip Sheet” with quick short tips & ideas to help break the procrastination habit, go to the first page of her website www.RitaEmmett.com. Rita can be reached at 847-699-9950 or REmmett412@aol.com.