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Schedule a donation day for unused home items

Trish Krebs' photo
Detroit Organized Home Examiner

Photo/Salvation Army

Do you have household items, clothing, or stuff that you know you are going to get rid of, but have not yet gotten around to donating yet? 

Donna Smallin, the Southeast Michigan-based author of The One-Minute Organizer Plain and Simple,  writes that you can declare one day in the spring and fall as "donation days".  It only takes a minute to schedule the day on your calendar or planner.

What takes longer than a minute is actually getting the stuff out the door.

Considerations as you prepare your donations:

  1. Drop-off or pick-up? Does the charity, or individual that you want to donate to require you to drop off the items at a certain location, mail it in a certain condition? Some local charities have regularly scheduled pick up times every few weeks. Take advantage of those opportunities. You may also consider calling places like the St. Vincent DePaul-Detroit  (1-877-788-4623), Salvation Army (National: 1-800-728-7825) or Purple Heart Service Foundation (Michigan: 734-728-4560) to schedule a pick up time convenient for you.  
  2. Tax considerations?   If you are claiming donated items as tax deductions, you will need to document those items before they leave your house.  Perhaps you can take a picture of the items.  You can make a list of the items to put it in your yearly tax folder.   Goodwill Industries   (Greater Detroit: 1-313-964-3900) provides an online guide to help you put an estimated value on your gently used items.    (For more information about IRS guidelines for charitable contributions, see IRS Publication 526 and IRS Publication 561)
  3. Back up plan? What will you do if the scheduled day for donating items comes and goes and the items are still in your home?  Will you reschedule? Is there someone who can take them for you? Are these items still worth the extended trade-off in space, time, and energy that you are now dedicating to the process of getting rid of them?

Trish Krebs is a professional organizer based in Troy, Michigan. She specializes in helping families reclaim time and space in their homes.   Trish can be contacted at 248.709.2608, pmkrebs@orderlyoasis.com  or via the web at http://www.orderlyoasis.com.

For other Donation and Disposal Resources from Orderly Oasis Professional Organizers LLC, click here. 

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, Detroit Organized Home Examiner

Trish is the owner of Orderly Oasis Professional Organizers LLC, a hands-on home organizing company serving Southeastern Michigan. A former engineer and schoolteacher, Trish has combined her technical experience with her passion for inspiring people to make cluttered, hectic lives more manageable...

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