Which Things Should I Donate?

Dear Lori,
First, organize and box up all like items in boxes and label. Books in one box, Kitchen Items in another, etc. If anything is dirty, clean it before packing. If anything is ripped, torn, broken or chipped, get rid of it. You wouldn't purchase this type of article and neither would anyone else. Store the boxes until you are ready for your garage sale. If you find you don't need or go looking for anything you packed before the garage sale, then you don't need it. Put it in the sale. What you don't sell, donate.

I bought three storage containers, one marked e-bay, one marked Freecycle, one marked charity. As I clean each area when I find something I ask "Do I love you, Do I need you? If not then I put it in the appropriate box. I have been getting a lot of comments on how organized my house is...so it must work. Here is how I seperate the stuff once I decide how I am going to get rid of it...

e-bay-still has tags, ect has value but I don't want it
Charity--something they want...(they often won't take some items)
Freecycle---all the rest!!!

Freecycle is a group that tries to keep stuff out of landfills, the rule is that it must be for free when you post it...I have gotten rid of a lot of stuff that was perfectly good that the charities didn't want this way!!!

Helpful websites that got me organized!!!

www.flylady.net
www.freecycle.org

I hope this helps!

Another helpful thing is to price things as you pack them. This will save time later when you are setting up for your sale. Just keep in mind temperatures in your storage area. If it gets too warm, it may melt the sticky on your tags and ruin the item they are stuck to. For clothing I typed up prices on the computer and made a line for the clothing size and printed on bright colored paper. Then I cut into 2x2 squares and stapled onto the collar or arm of hanging clothes and on the front of folded clothes. This makes it easy for people to sort through without constantly messing up your stacks and the size is easy for them to see.

Also, always think, "What would I pay for this used at a sale?". Many times we remember how much we paid for the item and don't want to sell it too cheap, when the truth is, others don't know what we paid for it originally and just want something for next to nothing.

Also, something I ran into this past summer is that after my sale I tried to take items to the secondhand stores and donate them and many had signs saying they were too full and could not take any more donations. That was a shock to me! So I found churches that had clothing closets, the alcohol rehab center, women's shelter, etc. I didn't have to throw anything away.

If you dont sell everything would you be willing to help our ministry out but donating things .my husband and i would be willing to travel out of state or pay the shipping a little at a time thank you .