In the world of clutter, making the decision to clear up and create a functional space is only one step on the road to order.
Next comes the plan of how you’d like your space to be.
| Once items are sorted into piles decide what you are going to do with them. Check your local yellow pages for listings of stores and organizations that take used goods. Here are a few ideas:
* Hold a garage sale. * Take baby clothes and other clothes to consignment stores. * Make up boxes for loved ones of items that you hold dear and that they might like. Ask family members to come in and take what they might want, then throw the rest away. * Log onto the Internet and check out eBay.com. EBay is the internet’s biggest store where more than 130 million people log on to buy and sell just about any item there is. * Snohomish County Solid Waste has transfer stations throughout the county. If you are not sure whether the item can go to the dump, call first. Disposal questions can be answered at 425-388-3425 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Recorded information is available at 425-388-3429. Go to www1.co.snohomish.wa and in the search box type: solid waste. Cost to use the transfer stations is $89 per ton. There is a minimum fee of $17, which equates to about 360 pounds. Anything over that is prorated. There is also a 3.6 percent state solid waste tax. Vehicles are weighed on scales at the transfer station on the way in and on the way out to determine the weight of the items being dropped off. The Hazardous Waste Collection site is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturday at 3434 McDougall, Everett. 425-388-6050. * Look in the phone book or search the Web for charitable organizations that take clothes and household goods. St. Vincent de Paul at 425-355-3504 or www.svdpsnoh.org. This organization, and others, has trucks that will pick up items. |
Some personal organizers advise people to sit down and draw the room, marking off where everything should go.
Sorting and purging comes next. These mammoth steps can be the most emotional and time-consuming for people.
Many experts suggest starting in one corner or on one shelf and tackling that area. Don’t deviate from the space. Clear it, sort it and purge before putting anything back.
One of the most effective ways to sort is to make piles in an already clear space. Create separate piles for those things you want to keep, give away, throw out or sell.
The biggest challenge is sentimental items such as books, children’s old school projects, or the lamp your grandmother said was her grandmother’s but is so hideous you can’t imagine it being on display in your home.
Ask yourself if there is a space, anywhere, for this item. If not, decide whether you will sell it, donate it or throw it in the garbage. Make a decision on every item.
Once you are at satisfied with your decisions, where do you dispose of the items?
Garages sales are effective for getting rid of things and can earn you some money at the same time, as will consignment stores for clothes and furniture.
Many people donate clothes, furniture and other household goods to charity stores such as the four in Snohomish County run by the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Jim Kehoe, director of stores at St. Vincent de Paul, sees lots of clothing, furniture and household items come through the stores.
“Someone has to think that it’s worth paying money for,” Kehoe said.
People should ask themselves questions before dropping items off: If I am unable to use it will it be of use to anyone else? Will anyone buy this? If it’s broken will it cost a lot to fix it?
Workers at St. Vincent de Paul test televisions and appliances before they accept them. Stained and old clothing is bailed and shipped to Third World countries for a penny a pound. If a person has been wearing a shirt for 15 years then chances are it’s a rag, Kehoe said.
People have been known to get angry when their items are turned down for donation.
Don’t be disappointed if the cat-scratched table or furniture covered in dog hair is not accepted by some organizations. At St. Vincent de Paul there is no one on staff to clean these items. If a piece of furniture is broken or has springs coming out, ask yourself why someone else would want it. Let’s face it, you don’t.
For big items call charity shops first. They may have a truck that can come out to pick up heavy items at no charge.
When clearing out clutter, whether it’s yours or someone else’s, make sure you’ve gone through everything before boxing it for donation. Kehoe remembers the time when someone donated a relative’s ashes, he said.
The people doing the sorting at St. Vincent de Paul’s understandably get a little freaked out when those kinds of items or stowaways such as live mice come in, he added.
Kehoe also suggests that people look at their old tapes before they donate them. There have been some home movies brought to the stores that, well, you wouldn’t want your neighbors to see, Kehoe said.
The staff at St. Vincent de Paul have seen people donate wonderful items that clearly meant a lot to someone: baseball cards, matchbook collections and records. People get upset when they hand over items that are important to them, and it’s put on a pile with other things.
When it comes to medical supplies look for tags and labels that might show the name of where the item came from and call that provider said Sue Graafstra, who works in medical claims at PharmaSave in Monroe.
Bath chairs and other medical supplies for personal care must be clean and in working order. And items going to organizations such as the Lions Club must be owned by the person donating them. Items rented from businesses, of course, can’t be donated.
When taking things to the dump, be aware that the transfer stations around Snohomish County don’t accept pharmaceuticals, asbestos or material containing asbestos, fluorescent lamp tubes and high intensity discharge lamps from businesses.
Ken Moser, planning and engineering manager for the Solid Waste Division at Snohomish County Public Works, adds that no liquid waste, hypodermic needles, rodent-infested items, refrigerators or freezers can be accepted.
The Snohomish County’s Public Works Take it Back Network, includes a list of options for recycling computers and other electronic equipment including cell phones.
Call the county before making the trip. County employees will advise on recycling such things as motor oil, oil filters, antifreeze, propane tanks and other household items.
The hazardous waste collection site in Everett collects paint, propane tanks with fuel, bad gas and pesticides. They accept latex paint, mix it up into four or five basic colors and give it away free of charge, Moser said. Last year they recycled more than 400,000 pounds of latex paint.
Whether people sell, throw away or just move the things that are cluttering up their space, once the project is done, they are too busy enjoying their newly organized area to ask themselves, “What lamp?”
Reporter Christina Harper: 425-339-3491 or harper@ heraldnet.com.
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