Welcome to “Lighten Up! Tips for Letting Go in 2024”

Once again, a new year is around the corner. Depending on your circumstances, the past year may have flown by, or it may have felt like a difficult slog. Either way, the turn of the calendar often has us itching to make a change. Each year, during the month of January, I run a themed series of posts to help you clear clutter, get organized, and become more productive.  If you’ve missed these and want to give them a try, here are links to a few previous challenges:

• “Select-an-Effort”
• “Make a Fresh Start”
• “Selfie-Disciplines”
• “30 Things to Store”
• “Digital Declutter”  
• “Quotes in Action”

This year my theme is “Lighten Up!” Each day I will be posting information on what to do with a type of belonging that you no longer want but don’t know how to responsibly discard. The focus of this series is on donating or disposing ­– as opposed to selling – unwanted items.

It is important to be aware that the options available to you will differ depending on where you live. Therefore, I will be trying to provide resources both for my local readers (in Southwestern CT), as well as national resources for my readers in the blogosphere. In all cases, we will be seeking to prioritize solutions that are environmentally friendly and affordable.

When it comes to donations, there are some national charities that work throughout much of the country, such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, Big Brother/Big Sister, and the Vietnam Veterans. Many towns and cities have local charities as well, who serve their residents and neighbors. I always suggest donating to a charity you feel good about.

For some items, finding a specific charity who wants your item may be difficult. For these objects, the best option may be to list your item as “free” in a local, online group (e.g., FB Marketplace, Nextdoor.com, Facebook “Buy Nothing” Group, etc.). You may also have access to a local “take it or leave it” exchange, where you can drop off (and pick up) items for free. In some cases, paying a junk hauler to remove your item(s) may be your best bet. Most junk haulers will donate anything they pick up that is in good enough condition.

A few of the items I’ll be discussing are not “donation worthy,” and for those I’ll be sharing options for safely removing them from your space.

Please know that I am not being compensated to promote any specific resource, nor am I providing a personal endorsement. My goal is to help you take the next step with those things that have you “stuck.”

I hope you will follow along this month and share any resources you have found in the comments. This will help me and all the readers in this community to let go and lighten up. If you feel that you need one-on-one help with your items, you can always reach out to me directly. Also, I am fully aware that you might not be ready to start digging around and removing things from your space every day. I hope you will bookmark this series so you can refer back to these resources when the timing is right for you.

I wish you a wonderful 2024. Maybe it be full of the freedom that comes through organization!