Clutter drives me crazy almost any time, but it seems like it gets worse during the holidays. We’re working with the charity Boat Angel, which accepts boat and car donations, to offer what we think are the 6 easiest ways to declutter before the holidays hit.

They’ll help reduce the stress of trying to deal with all your anxiety-causing, space-wasting “stuff”  by helping you focus on what you can get rid of (the first secret to decluttering), while organizing what you want to keep.

1) Start With Your Clothes – Keep What You Love and Wear; Donate the Rest

Clothing is one of the biggest sources of clutter in my home and maybe yours, too. We have a tendency to hold on to clothes we’ve outgrown or whose styles have outgrown us. Little wonder that all those shoes, dresses, shirts, pants, sweaters, scarves, coats and jackets end up in big piles at the back of our closets, or falling off hangers, or stuffing up drawers.

Here’s how I keep my clothes clutter under control.

At the beginning of every season, I make a big pile of the past season’s clothes that no longer fit, that are no longer stylish, or that I just don’t like any more.

For example, with winter arriving, I’ve put the fall season sweatshirts, sweatpants, jeans, flannel shirts, blouses, skirts and dresses I never or barely wore into a pile. That created room in my closet and drawers for the winter clothes I think I want to wear.

Next, as I put my winter clothes away, I’m looking at them critically and trying on some things before they automatically go into a drawer or get hung up.

From that lot, I also put aside the apparel I just don’t think I’m going to wear anymore.

It probably takes two hours to go through my closet and all my drawers.

I make the time go faster by playing some music and having a cup of tea on hand to sip as I sort. When all is said and done, I have more room, my clothes are better organized, and I have a bag full of garments to donate to Goodwill or the local thrift store.

Since Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and Purple Heart all do pick-ups, I simply call them to say the goods are ready, then put them on my porch and voilá, they’re gone before I know it.

2) Work Room by Room, One Room at a Time

The same sorting process works well in every room in the house. In the kitchen, pull out items from the pantry you no longer use. Donate old housewares to a community kitchen or half-way house. Donate unopened food to a food pantry.

In the garage, collect excess tools and sporting gear, and consider whether now is the time to donate your car, boat, trailer or motorcycle.

A quick internet search will provide you a list of groups that are always looking for these types of goods and will allow you to even donate a boat without title.

3) BOGO – Buy One, Give One

Once I’ve made room in closets, cupboards and drawers, the trick is to keep them from filling up again. I make a practice of trying to give away the old version of something when I replace it with the new. It helps to keep a “donation bag” handy to put the old items into, rather than stuff them in some out-of-the-way place.

4) Recycle electronics

Among the biggest sources of household clutter are old electronics. Smart phones, computers, lap tops, tablets, printers, fax machines, cables, chargers – who doesn’t have a drawerful of electronic clutter they’d love to see emptied? Fortunately, electronics are as easy as clothes to unload, since pretty much every big box store that sells them also takes them back. Staples, OfficeMax, and BestBuy all make it easy by having drop-off boxes so you can just walk in and leave your old gear. Just make sure to swipe the data drives and remove the sim cards before you do.

Here’s our post on 15 Things You Can Recycle to Ease Christmas Clutter Clean-Up

5) Cancel Catalogs

Retail catalogs are a constant source of clutter in my home. They’re also a scourge on the planet because they want so much paper! You can cut that way back by refusing to provide your address or phone number when you shop in person (of course, if you buy online, you’ll have to provide your address). Another option is to call the 1-800 number provided in the catalog and ask the operator to remove your name from the company’s mailing lists. This will only take a couple of minutes. You can also sign up with CatalogChoice, and they’ll help you cancel the catalogs you no longer want to receive.

6) Give Everything a Place

Once you’ve gone through your home and removed the unnecessary and unused bits and pieces, you can organize what’s left.

But don’t be random about it. Put shoes in an over-the-door hanging shoe rack. String ties on hangers or tie racks. Use shelves so you can see what you have where.

Visit the Container Store to get ideas for the best way to organize your belongings, and pick up some baskets, shelves, or boxes if you need them. Clear boxes and bins are best for seeing what’s inside, but you can also label them on the side or top to keep track of their contents.

By the way, if you have kids at home, make sure you teach them to keep their clutter to a minimum, too. Even when they’re still quite young, kids can be taught to place dirty clothes in hampers, hang their back packs in a mud room, put their toys in the toy box, and place art supplies in a container when they’re finished using them. Setting aside 15 minutes before bedtime for everyone to put away their things is a good way to get the entire family involved.

Don’t forget to ask the kids to recycle and donate the toys, books, and gear they no longer use.

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The post The 6 Easiest Ways You’ll Want to Declutter Before the Holidays Hit appeared first on Big Green Purse.

With the changing of the seasons comes the changing of the clothes, the cleaning out of closets, and the charging of the credit cards. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2004-2005 Consumer Expenditure Survey, women spend an average of $1,069 on clothing for themselves every year. Add another $823 to that if you shop for your husband, and several hundreds more for every kid you’re outfitting. With anywhere from $3,000 a year or more in purse power, choosing clothing that makes a difference could go a long way toward greening apparel manufacturers and the clothing industry. We can also put the three R’s to work-reduce, reuse, recycle-to improve our wardrobe’s eco-impact.

Reduce-Buy Fewer, But Higher-Quality, Clothes

Slow down. Buy fewer clothes that will last longer. The way the fashion industry works, what goes around comes back around. Beat the industry at its own game by building on your wardrobe, not trashing it.

Invest in good clothes. Buy brands that will last, even if you don’t plan to wear them every single season. You’ll save time and money-as well as resources-by not having to replace as many items every year.

Create a budget. Know how much money you can or want to spend, and track your expenditures the way you do other household items. You’ll limit the impulse buying that leads to over-consumption by becoming a master of the phrase, “It’s not in my budget.”

Reuse-Buy Gently Worn Clothes, Vintage Garments…or Swap

Buying used clothing offers another green alternative to new duds-and may ultimately conserve the most resources. Where to go?

Your neighborhood. An estimated twenty thousand resale shops offer fashion values and let you sell the clothes you never want to wear again for money you can take away or spend on other items in their stores.

Minneapolis-based Plato’s Closet offers the latest styles in name brands and discount prices. The company has opened some two hundred franchises since 1999 and planned to open thirty-five additional stores in 2007.

Crossroads Trading Co. is where shoppers can buy top-quality recycled and new fashions as well as   receive cash or trade credit for items they sell to the store.

Buffalo Exchange has thirty national stores whose offerings feature designer wear, vintage, jeans, leather, great basics, and one-of-a-kind items.

You can also swap clothes with friends and family members who are as tired of their outfits as you are of yours. Host a swap party. Set as the price of admission three or four articles of clean clothing and organize the rest however you wish!

Recycle Your Clothes

Clothes and shoes take up more space than any other nondurable goods in the solid waste stream, because, says the EPA, only 16 percent of discarded clothes and shoes are recycled. Despite the best efforts of charities and thrift stores, millions of tons of clothing are wasted every year.

However, dozens of charities like Purple Heart, the Salvation Army, and Goodwill will gladly take your clothes and get them to people in need. Here are some other options:

Dress for Success. This international not-for-profit organization promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire along with job counseling. Since 1997, Dress for Success has served almost 300,000 women around the world. You can donate suits, blouses, pants, shoes, jewelry, briefcases, black tote bags, and other appropriate business apparel.

Soles 4 Souls. Providing free footwear to people in need around the world, this nonprofit organization started after the Asian tsunami in December 2004, continued in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and today distributes shoes worldwide. It also partners with Dress for Success to provide career footwear.

One World Running. This Colorado-based nonprofit organization ships donated running shoes, soccer gear, and baseball equipment to athletes in Central American, Haiti, and sub-Saharan Africa.

Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe. The program grinds up and recycles discarded shoe material to build playground mats, basketball courts, and running tracks. Visit the website to find a drop-off spot near you.

Project Rejeaneration. Del Forte Denim lets you recycle your jeans. When you no longer want them, send them back (in the bag they came in) and they’ll be recast as a new piece of clothing. As a reward for recycling, you get 10 percent off your next Del Forte purchase (or you can donate your 10 percent to the company’s Sustainable Cotton Project).

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