Donating, Organizing, Cleaning

When I do get any energy reserves at all, I cope by periodically donating, organizing, and then deep cleaning - one small area at a time.

I've made a few contactless donations and a couple of in-person donations between last year and this year. I gave away furniture, household goods, clothing, and more. I gave more items away at the beginning of the pandemic. I have since purchased some new items and decorated my place. I don't go out anywhere with anyone, unless it is to a doctor's appointment, so my "fun" is in decorating. I have a storage area I rent down the hall from my apartment. All of my spare furniture and decorations are in there, along with many backup items. I'll need to find my bigger clothing again, and soon. And I'll need to place my thinner clothing back in there. My weight fluctuates anywhere between 10 and 30 pounds! I go through periodic weight changes throughout the year. So this is the best way I can cope with that without having to move and rent a two-bedroom apartment.

I plan on organizing and decorating my storage space next. I hate that it looks - well - like a storage room. I would rather it be super organized and uniform, if at all possible. That's going to be my next goal.

I love donating because there were a few brand new items (like fans) that I was saving for when I needed them, but there were families that advertised on one of the local mutual aid sites, and they needed those items more. I plan on donating again this winter. I still have a brand new box fan for a classroom, in case a teacher had to buy her own air purifying supplies. I also have tons of food that I can no longer eat - doctor's orders, so they will become treats to healthier and younger people. I have to go through my storage and organize that anyway, which means "exercise" for me (in the middle of the night, with a mask and goggles on, so as to avoid neighbors and shared air space in the hallways).

There are many ways to cope, but these are some of my most favorite ways to cope. I like periodically cleaning and organizing my life. It feels like I'm moving forward and accomplishing something.

Good idea, and good for you! I like to go through things periodically to. I live in a smallish 1 bedroom apt. I use the storage room as my office. So not much space to store. I really need to go through my closet. I have clothes that I don't wear taking up needed space.

This year I donated most of my belongings. Granted. one of the situations I didn't have much of a choice. I donated them to The ARC because I like the mission of that organization. Before I moved, though. I got rid of so much clutter, things I no longer used or needed. I now own very little. But it makes me happy that I could make a difference for other people. I owned a lot of designer items that I'm sure some individuals out there are enjoying and that makes me happy.

For myself, my life is a lot more simple with less clutter and belongings. People might call me poor, and they would be right. But I have what I really love and what matters to me most, I was able to keep. Once I am back on my feet, I hope to rebuild of course. But I am still in a recovery period so rebuilding isn't my objective at this time. I'm not as much of a materialistic person as I used to be. I think it's important to learn to be grateful while having very little because you can gain a lot of things and have no gratitude or true appreciation for what you have. As someone who has lost almost everything I owned, this was a big lesson for me. My level of appreciation is in a different place.

I am VERY understanding of your desire for organization. I am like that too! I hate disorganized spaces and clutter now. I like my environment to be clean and neat. It helps with the stress levels.

I’m also on the redecoration stuff. And I’m always prone to donate clothes, furniture whatever. I think it’s a very good habit you have. I think the world is better with people like you. Thank you a lot.

Thank you Azul!

My next donation is this cute industrial-style chest of drawers. I'm not sure if I will leave it out back and see who picks it up or schedule a pickup from the local church collecting donations. Since it might rain, I will probably wind up scheduling a pickup. It's one of the major things I'm donating so far. I'm really trying to downsize my things. I'm also realizing that it's easier for me to get "cheap furniture" when I live in apartments, so that I can move it around and/or donate it easier.

I spent the last year organizing and getting everything in bins. Now my place is cluttered with storage bins. I want to free up that space and donate those items. Some of it I need, so I will have to go through each bin. It's my next project.

You sound like me, Deilla. I have a ton of boxes and bins now, but the clutter of those are also overwhelming. At least I have my stuff organized somewhat within them. I just now need to go through all of them to figure out what stays and what goes. That will take me a long time. I give myself until at least the end of Spring 2022.

But come Summer 2022, I want to have a new routine down so that I don't collect so much clutter again, such as a weekly or bi-weekly routine of scanning and shredding unnecessary documents, pausing at least 24 hours before purchasing anything, and determining whether the product I'm buying will be (a) healthy, (b) something that brings me joy, or (c) something that I really want or need - at least temporarily - even if it doesn't bring me joy. There are many things that I buy that are on sale, that I use for a short amount of time, and that I intend on donating later - like certain bedding, etc. I try to take good care of the items I intend on donating later. I typically donate when I move, but sometimes I donate seasonally. It just helps me feel better, though it's not the most productive use of my time. I used to try and buy more expensive keepsakes, but then after having moved so many times and giving away so many expensive things, I decided to just stick to cheaper items. I don't need fancy keepsakes. I have enough keepsakes that I need - such as my Grumpy Care Bear and some military mementos.

I finally placed my furniture donation outside yesterday morning. I haven't check to see whether or not someone picked it up. It is raining now, so I'm hoping someone picked it up before it rained. It's made of wood and plastics, so it should survive one night of rain. It's too cute of a piece for anyone to miss.

I remember scheduling the church to pick up some furniture items once, so I set them outside in the morning for them to take - with signs and all. Apparently, by the time they got there, someone had already taken them. I'm glad because the church would have just turned around and put it on sale in their thrift store. I'd much rather someone take my items for free if they need them. So now, instead of wasting time with the church people and their contactless pickups, I just set stuff out there in hopes that more people will see that as a spot for donations. I think a few of my neighbors have done the same thing.