Idea #11: Donate your things

I've mentioned my love of cleaning before. Sorting through those things you don't need any more is a great way to clean up or place and help someone at the same time. As a girl who loves to go shopping, I inevitably end up with clothes I don't wear that often but are in great condition. I just went through my toys as well and realized there are toys that are in excellent condition (as in basically never played with) and they don't hold sentimental value for me. Donate! Getting rid of books, CDs, shoes and other miscellaneous things can be quite liberating.

My parents house has been the home to all of my things all my life. In the basement rests my luggage, household items (ready to move wherever I do when I get a job), school stuff, appliances, etc. My bedroom also has a side attic attached to it, and that houses stuff from elementary - high school, college papers and random things, about 100 Georgetown t-shirts (not an exaggeration), my Christmas decorations (the red and green comes out Nov. 1), containers with my toys and old prom photos. It has been a goal of mine during unemployment to sort through that stuff in the attic especially because it's getting a bit crowded in there.

I'm proud to say I've really consolidated a lot. I recycled tons of old school work and class documents that I'll never use. I went through all those Georgetown shirts, and have decided to let go of 8-10 of them (that's progress!). I also found all my old corsages from all the high school dances I went to. My dates picked out some beautiful flowers! However, what am I really going to do with these dried flowers? Honestly...time to go!!

But back to the donating...so hanging in my closest were a lot of clothes that I just knew I wasn't going to wear again. However, before you go to Goodwill or Salvation Army, consider Plato's Closet.

Plato's Closet buys your used clothing, and there are locations all over the US. (http://www.platoscloset.com/) Here's the catch. They prefer only popular labels (Abercrombie, American Eagle, Forever 21, etc) and the clothes usually have to be in style from the past year or so. They will buy clothes, shoes and accessories AND they buy guys' clothes as well. So it's worth it to try and see if you can make a few bucks, before you take everything to donate anyways. Often the styles are a bit more targeted for a younger age group (high school/college, casual), but in my town there is another store tied to the Plato's Closet called the Clothes Mentor. They buy clothes as well, but they are looking for more professional, grown up attire. They will pay you for your clothes and accessories and will only buy styles from the recent years. The Clothes Mentor is also located in various locations throughout the US. But if neither of these stores exist in your area, try to Google for another similar store or try any secondhand, consignment shop in your town.

As far as my toys go...I had some very adorable stuffed animals. Unfortunately hospitals cannot take toys that have fur because it's not good for the kids as they cannot be cleaned easily. So I tried to look up other places to donate my precious animals. I learned some new things.

First off, your local fire department will often collect those toys to give to children who are victims of house fires or other unfortunate situations. There are also two other venues for donating those cuddly items:

Stuffed Animals for Emergencies (http://www.stuffedanimalsforemergencies.org/)

Project Night Night (http://www.projectnightnight.org/): This organization is specifically for homeless children.

Both of those organizations have various chapters around the US, but sadly neither were located here in Buffalo. I So Salvation Army it is! I encourage you to try those organizations above though, especially if you live in Michigan, where chapters exist.

Song of the Day: "Ridin' Solo" by Jason DeRulo