This Weekend: De-Clutter AND Make a Year End Donation to Goodwill

By
Real Estate Agent CO: II100035296

This is a great weekend to de-clutter and make a year end donation to Goodwill or other similar organization.   

 

1.    Are you having problems finding a place to put the new Christmas gifts?      

Goodwill Colorado Springs 2.    Do you plan to sell your home in the very near future?

3.    Do you still have unpacked moving boxes from your last move? 

4.    Can you park in your garage? 

 

5.    Does your closet resemble a fashion museum? 

 

6.    Are your kitchen cabinets and drawers packed with things that you never use? 

 

If any of the above applies to you, consider making a year-end donation to Goodwill or a similar organization.  

 

Having problems getting started?   It is really easy.  Pick the most cluttered area in your house.  Quickly look at what you have.  If you haven’t worn the item this year, donate it.  If you haven’t used the item this year, donate it.  If you don’t like it, donate it.   If it is broken, throw it away.   Don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it.  Just do it.   Once you get going, you may find yourself wanting to de-clutter other areas. 

 

If you commit to making the donation by next Tuesday, December 31: 

 

  • You will be starting the New Year with a less cluttered house.   
  • Your donation could also be used as a charitable tax contribution deduction for 2013 if you itemize  your tax return.  

 

Sincerely,


Sondra Meyer Peterson, CPA
Colorado Horse Property Specialist
 
Colorado.  See It.  Experience It.  Live It

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments (17)

Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee's Virtual Assistance - Jonesborough, TN
Retired and loving life

Sondra-Definitely words of wisdom. I am doing that myself in the house and my woman cave. Less clutter is freeing and frees up time and space. Happy New Year and happy decluttering

Dec 28, 2013 01:29 AM
Sondra Meyer:
Colorado Springs, CO
See It. Experience It. Live It.

Thanks Sharon, now that I've got this posted, I'm about to start in the closet.  

Dec 28, 2013 01:37 AM
Debb Janes EcoBroker and Bernie Stea JD
ViewHomes of Clark County - Nature As Neighbors - Camas, WA
REALTORS® in Clark County, WA

I so appreciate the opportunity to start fresh - love decluttering and giving to Good Will, or Salvation Army, etc.  It's the best option for the discarded items. I like the 1 year rule too...

Happy New Year Sondra.  D

Dec 28, 2013 01:57 AM
Donna Foerster
HomeSmart Realty Group - Parker, CO
Metro Denver Real Estate Assistant

Sondra~ I just dropped off 3 reusable grocery bags of clothes and other household items to Good Will. I'm sure I could fill another 3 bags, but don't think I'll have it done before the end of this year. 

Dec 28, 2013 02:11 AM
AJ Heidmann ~ CRS
McEnearney Associates, Inc. - Alexandria, VA
YOUR Alexandria & Arlington, VA Real Estate Expert

Sondra - A great post to remind people to make the effort to clear out the unused stuff in the house and work on a tax deduction at the same time

Dec 28, 2013 02:51 AM
Gary Woltal
Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX
Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

I'm embarassed in this category talking about the garage I had at a former house and not being able to park the cars. It took me 2 1/2 months to clean that out. I do agree if it is worthless rid yourself of it and junk people will pick it up for a price too to make your life easier. I have donated to Christian charities locally and like Goodwill they will give you a receipt.

Dec 28, 2013 02:58 AM
Roy Kelley
Realty Group Referrals - Gaithersburg, MD

Sadly, several of these statments could be applied to our home. We have some work to do.

Enjoy the weekend!

Dec 28, 2013 03:01 AM
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

Sondra,

We do this quite often, we learned this concept from our first move from our apt to our home, and have been doing this regularly...just started again last week, and it is amazing things one finds.  A

Dec 28, 2013 03:15 AM
Jerry Newman
Brown Realty, 210-789-4216,www.JeremiahNewman.com - San Antonio, TX
Texas REALTOR, San Antonio Military Relocation

Hi Sondra, Yes, Yes to all of the above. That's certainly a project that I need to work on this weekend myself. It will be nice to be able to park in my garage again.

Dec 28, 2013 03:32 AM
Debbie Reynolds, C21 Platinum Properties
Platinum Properties- (931)771-9070 - Clarksville, TN
The Dedicated Clarksville TN Realtor-(931)320-6730

I have 4 boxes and one bag of items ready to go to the donation center this afternoon. I can barely tell they were removed from my closets. Maybe it is time to go back through again.

Dec 28, 2013 04:14 AM
Ricki Eichler McCallum
CastNet Realty - Corpus Christi, TX
Broker,GRI,ABR, e-Pro, TAHS

Great blog and great idea to get it done by Dec 31st.  Thanks for the reminder.

Dec 28, 2013 04:39 AM
Brad MacKenzie
Brad MacKenzie - Duxbury, MA
Turning Houses into Homes on the South Shore

Ha! Not in my home. But Goodwill is such a good choice, and deserves your support.

Dec 28, 2013 04:53 AM
Cindy Westfall
Premiere Property Group,LLC Portland Metro & Suburbs Oregon - Tualatin, OR
ABR,GRI Your Tualatin & Portland Metro Real Estate

Hi Sondra, Lets see, 1) Yes 2) Nope...just did a MAJOR downsize move 3) Ugh..yes 4) I want it bad! 5) Hmmm...my kids would say so 6) So far so good

A great post! Having just moved from a 4500 sf home with 1000 more in storage space to a 2100 sf home with no storage other than the garage, I can attest to getting rid of quite a lot of stuff and donating it! I still have a second stage of donations to go!

Dec 28, 2013 07:53 AM
Andrew Mooers | 207.532.6573
MOOERS REALTY - Houlton, ME
Northern Maine Real Estate-Aroostook County Broker

Good thinking... time to tidy it up. Thanks!

Dec 28, 2013 09:52 AM
Debbie Laity
Cedaredge Land Company - Cedaredge, CO
Your Real Estate Resource for Delta County, CO

This really is a great time to say...Out With the Old and In With the New. Hope you have a great New Year, Sondra. 

Dec 28, 2013 11:17 AM
Rebecca Gaujot, Realtor®
Lewisburg, WV
Lewisburg WV, the go to agent for all real estate

Sondra, this is indeed a great time to go through your closets and drawers to get rid of things that haven't been used.  I did my kitchen cabinets last evening and now onward to my closets. 

Dec 30, 2013 03:54 AM
Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Great time to clean out items no longer needed AND get a tax write off!   Goodwill especially needs coats!

Dec 30, 2013 11:33 PM

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