I want it out of here…but where do I put it?

They say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. So, where do you ditch your clutter? ;-)

I am very un-inventive when it comes to where I ditch mine. If it's trash, it goes into such a receptacle. If it's useable, it is donated to Goodwill. The rare exception is for large items. My husband will want to put it on Craigslist or I will put it outside with a large FREE sign on it.

Book decluttering is easy for me. I buy books that were donated to the "Friends of the Library" organization for the price of anywhere from 25 cents to $1 apiece. When I'm done, I donate the book back to them. :-)

My biggest problem is with magazines. They are read one time only (if that ;-) and then what? They are still in very nice condition and I just can't throw them away. Thankfully, I cancelled my subscriptions late last year, when I realized that having kids & a computer meant very little leisurely reading time. I still have some holdovers and am slowly reading them all. I think I have stumbled onto something good for how I will declutter my remaining stash. The last 2 magazines that I finished were "donated" to the breakroom of the newspaper that is right across the street from the library. Win-win!

I thought it might be fun to use our creativity and brainstorm ideas of where to pass on our stuff. It's clutter to us, but if it is still usable and nice, shouldn't it find a new home with someone who does need it?

Please, share ideas that you know of to help us all find a new home for our clutter. Here are just a few good ideas that I have seen:

1) Pass on Magazines/Catalogues:
- Contact a day care center, preschool or elementary school. They often need magazines and cataloges for the kids to cut up for collages.
- Donate them to places with waiting rooms, breakrooms, etc.
* * * * * 365 Days of Decluttering Challenger Suggestion * * * * *
Pamela Watson says: My library has a bin for magazine give-away and people donate their old mags to us. They are free for the taking.

2) Donate to an Animal Shelter
- Household linens...old quilts, sheets, blankets, large towels (beach towel size) or small washable throw rugs for the smaller cages

3) Donate to a Women & Children's Shelter
(The ladies there will have to make a new home for themselves, and, if they left an abusive environment in "emergency mode", they likely left with very little.)
- Household appliances & furniture
- Unopened samples of hygiene products

4) Let Someone Else Sell It & Keep the Proceeds
- Donate it to any organization you choose that holds a "yard sale" (like church rummage sales) or that has a shop for such things (like the senior center, charities, etc.)

5) Donate Unused/Unwanted Art Supplies
- Contact day care centers/preschools/elementary schools/churches with children's rooms/your city's Parks & Recreation office....or any other places in your community that offer children's crafts