Sorting Donations

Sorting out donations is never easy. But once you have it all done, you have to make time to pack the car and take them to your chosen charity.

This week is going to be one of those weeks where I'll be doing just that - sorting out donations. Then, next week, I'll be taking them to my chosen charity. I haven't sent anything away for about a month, but I'm looking forward to doing it again.

I do have the Donation Box full of stuff; and a bag of clothes I'm not going to miss. However, I really do need to go through my wardrobe to see which things I honestly do wear and what I don't, so I can sort out my wardrobe for the next 2 years.

The home office isn't looking much better - even though I keep making promises to myself that I'm going to get my butt in and sort out this horrible mess here. I just keep on procrastinating (and admitting I'm one is a good thing; at least I know I am one - saying that I'm not is living in denial). 

But last night, I did have a good step forward in the ways of cleaning up my kitchen. I heard a noise in there - in the dark - and started searching for the critter that might have been hiding around my kitchen. I sprayed insecticide in all the corners, under the stove and under the fridge... but nothing came out. I search on top of all the cabinets I could reach, but still I found nothing. So, I spent the night wondering how the noises came about, but I also took down a few things off the cabinet where my mugs are stored and cleaned off the grease from those items and thought to reuse them in the office as artwork for the walls. 

Over the next few weeks, I'll be looking through my kitchen again and working out exactly what I need, what I don't and seeing which cookbooks I want to have in my collection (which will most probably be all of them!). So, once I do made a delivery to Vinnies, the living room will look better, and so will my home. 

And seeing I'm not op-shopping for a few months, I'm saving myself money too. I just want to save up for some things over Christmas for my family. Well, until my next post, tell us all what you've been up to. How is your decluttering going? Are you being the procrastinator - like me - or is it going smoother for you? 

The Plans of Mice and Men

As with a lot of plans, not everything this week has turned out the way I planned. My sofa-bed didn't end up being picked up by any charity I had in mind. Nobody wanted to buy it or take it off my hands for nothing. And I couldn't just leave it outside my unit/townhouse complex (as that's illegal in my area). 

Nope. I thought the Browns Plains Smart Tip would take it off my hands... but oh, was I in for a surprise there! 

Dad and I arrived there and the guy at the weigh station asked if anything was wrong with the lounge and we said, 'A small tear.' he said, 'Nah, they won't take that, it has to be dumped.' 

I mean... what????

Aren't we supposed to be trying not to adding to the landfill? 

As you can well imagine I was mad as all hell after we dumped it. There wasn't anything wrong with the lounge... just that 20cm tear in the top of one of the arms. How pathetic can it get?

It's taken me over 24 hours to really get over this. I've never felt so let down over how society's ego can be so big over a tiny tear in a 30 year old lounge. Exactly what do they expect me to do, spend $3,000 on it then sell it for $300? I don't think so!

Well, today, I slept in because I felt so exhausted and had had nightmares about all the fruit'n'veggie places I visit normally being filled with oranges and lemons (things I can't eat) and a city burning down while I stood by and watch and everyone else panicked, screaming and running around me. I woke up exhausted and didn't want to get out bed.

When I got some of the housework done, I looked at my Donation Box and found a lot of the things in it could be donated, some of the things in it could be recycled and a little could just be tossed in with the general waste. Once it was all sorted out, I packed the car and went off to the local Vinnies and donated it all... yes, I felt better. Then, I found 2 pairs of jeans, a work basket, a lovely set of coasters and a gorgeous decanter... all up, I spent $24. Not a bad day at the Vinnies at Underwood. I could have easily bought all the craft gear there... as there was a deceased estate of it all there sitting on a table.

But I'm trying to keep my craft gear to a minimum; and I'm more looking at collecting oil paints and brushes than glue gun glue and beads. So, I was good today. 

The Bedroom

I'm going to tackle the next hardest thing to the home office today - my bedroom.

Yep, I've been struggling with my bedroom for a long time; and now I have the living room and kitchen just as I like it, I'm going to have to have my bedroom the same way - tidy, easy to get into and easier to work with.

Now, just recently, I grabbed my Winter sheets - as the temperature dropped into the colder numbers - and I pulled out some sheets which were for my old double bed. Before you ask why I still have them, they were for the sofa-bed, just in case somebody slept over. So, they are the first to be put into a bag for the donation box; along with the Summer sheets of the same size. 

What I do next is make my bed. This makes a platform for me to work out my clothes on - a big one - and I can dump all my clothes onto it and sort through them as I put them away, or donate them. 

I've already sorted out a few dresses to give to my niece - as they're too small for me (I'm a size 12 Aust. and the dresses are size 10 Aust.) and they're lovely dresses I thought she'd like to try out before they head off to an op-shop. 

So, this is a start.

I don't like letting go of dresses that I love, but if they're not going to fit, it's best to let them go if they're in good condition. 
Then, there's the clothes I've been given, but have never worn. I know that sounds bad, but these outfits are lovely, are too big and are never going to be worn by me at any stage in my life. My Mum gave them to me and I don't see myself wearing them at all. So, they'll be going to a charity. 

I know what I said in the last post about charities - being fussy about what they receive (and they are) but really, if we don't give our clothes and bits and pieces to them, it all ends up in landfill. My sofa-bed is going to a place called Smart-Tip - not landfill. This place will sell it at a heavily discounted price and somebody out there will be able to afford a lounge with a nice cover and throw pillows; and it will have another life for a while. 

But I digress.

I'm hoping to get a few pairs of jeans out of my wardrobe as I've lost 4kg and have gone down one dress size. So, this means I have to go out and buy a few pairs of jeans at Stones Corner (where they have a huge store filled with jeans, skirts, jackets and basically anything made from denim) and I'm going to look at anything that will fit me, looks great and makes me feel good, okay, not a problem. I've had great deals from there. 

Other things I'm hoping to get rid of are shoes I don't need, underwear I don't want (which will go straight in the bin - because if I don't want it, well nobody else will either) and anything that doesn't fit me anymore. After that, I'll vacuum and dust my room and then, it'll be all done... bagged up and ready for donation (or the bin). So, which room was the worst for you in decluttering? How did you get the clutter busted? Do share your ideas and secrets with us all.

Charities Are Fussy

Today I was supposed to have my sofa-bed taken off my hands by Life Line. But when the guys showed up, they took one look at it and said no, they can't take it. It was because of the tear on the arm that's been there for 15 years. 

I couldn't believe how fussy this charity was being. And I thought the Salvation Army was bad, when they sent me a criminal to collect my unwanted goods - seriously, they sent me a guy fresh out of prison to collect my old bedroom suite; and he rejected it because he hated it.

Anyway, the guys from Life Line suggested the Salvos and I said not them, and told them why. They were shocked that such a reputable charity sent out a criminal to collect things - let alone drive a truck! - and I told them when I complained to the supervisor of the Salvos, they took the driver's side! These guys couldn't believe how badly I was treated... but still they couldn't take the lounge; that it would end up at the tip. They then suggested Vinnies.

After they left, I had a little cry. 

You see, this lounge has been on gumtree, Facebook and I've offered it to all my friends and relatives... but nobody wants it - especially, I don't want it. So, I called up Vinnies and now, they don't want it, all because it's got a tear in the arm. 

There's nothing else wrong with the lounge. The bed in it is fine, the foam in the seating is in good condition, there's a cover and throw cushions that go with it... so why would there be a problem with any charity being so fussy that they don't want a lounge with this tear in its arm. It's from age, not anyone taking a knife to it. 

So, when you're decluttering and you find something might be a little defective, be careful about who you donate it to. I tried all the big charities with my sofa-bed. They wouldn't take it because it was old - not because it was worn out. This is no excuse to reject something a person no longer wants; and it causes more stress on them. 

Now, I really have nowhere to go with this sofa-bed. I really feel lost. What the hell am I supposed to do with it when no charities I know will take it off my hands? 

A Quiet Week

These kinds of weeks are normally when I get the most done. I didn't end up selling the set of drawers on Gumtree, mainly because the buyer didn't show up. Now, I put up a rant on Facebook about this and had many people agree with me about how damned rude it is to kick up a fuss about how pretty wonderful something is, make an appointment, then to pike on the seller.

Now, I'm no saint, I've done that to exactly one person and apologised profusely to him for leaving him hanging. But if you're going to buy something from somebody, please go and get to the appointment; or if you can't get there, make the effort to let the buyer know you're not showing.

Anyway, this week, I'm getting in and cleaning up the living room. I've been so busy lately with things outside the townhouse, that I've just been falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. Now, today, I've found myself burnt out and a little bit of cleaning out wouldn't hurt me. 

The 50 books - with matching magazines - have made their journey to the 'Really Good Book Shop' at Browns Plains. And not far from there, I went to the Life Line Supa Store to score my self a brilliant little 1970's phone-seat... how cool is that? I love it! 
Now, It's just a matter of cleaning up the living room so I can get rid of the lounge. 

But if it doesn't sell by the end of next week, I'll be contacting the Life Line to come and pick it up. I did just phone the QEII hospital palliative ward to see if they'd like it and the coffee table, but they've had been offered a brand new lounge room suite from a family who lost a family member there. They thanked me very much for my kind offer. 
I'm really looking forward to having more space in my living room next week. I'll get the guys to come and collect it. It'll be going to a decent home.  

Well, I hope to have my home in a better shape next week, than it is this week. So, how has your decluttering been going? I'm slowly getting mine together. I'm going to go through my wardrobe and donate some of the dresses that no longer fit me; and then I'll be out looking at jeans that look good on me; as well as dresses.