Please, Just Take My Stuff
When you imagine a good professional organizer, what skill or attribute seems to be the most valuable? The way an insightful professional can convince you to let go of the junk that once seemed so important, but now just gets in the way? The way she or he can visualize how a space will work best for your needs, exceeding even your own vision? Or maybe his or her encyclopedic knowledge of storage solutions, showing you how to store 50 things in a place where previously you could only fit 15?
Ha! All of that is mere child's play. To me, the most amazing thing an organizer can do is simply make my stuff go away. Instantly. That makes them worth their weight in gold.
I do come at this from a special perspective. Professional organizing is among one of the many things I am trained for. Evaluating and sorting are second nature to me. I can envision better workspaces with little effort. I'm the kind of person who experiences a thrill when she finds something to let go of.
But all my knowledge about organizing and project coordination does not make it any easier to physically get rid of the leftover junk.
That's because I have an intense case of landfill guilt that makes it very hard to just throw good stuff away. Oh, I don't want to keep it. But the idea of how much space my past purchasing mistakes, changes in decorating tastes, and lifestyle changes might take up in the local landfill...well, it makes it hard for me to breathe. I don't want that kind of responsibility.
Now, you watch any organizing show - I don't care if it is Neat, Mission Organization, Clean Sweep, or Clean House - and they make getting rid of stuff look easy as pie. Once the homeowner begrudgingly parts with the flotsam and jetsam of her life, aside from maybe a yard sale segment, it all just "goes away." Some of it gets loaded onto big charity trucks and the rest gets hauled in dumpsters. Ta-da! All clean.
Right. I'd like to know what thrift stores are in their town.
In the Real World, anyone with serious de-cluttering experience knows that it is rare that any one charity will take everything you've got. They have rules. Sometimes the rule is nothing with upholstery or no clothing or, most tedious, they simply want to pick through everything and decide themselves. And if you can't transport everything yourself and want it picked up...well, good luck!
When I lived in a flat in San Francisco, driving my convertible with almost no trunk to speak of, this was a constant challenge. I moved out of a four-bedroom home into my flat, dragging behind me an enormous amount of stuff. Some stuff I really wanted to keep and the rest was the stuff my ex-husband refused to take in the divorce. After paying for storage for a few years, I realized this wasn't working. And so, I re-evaluated everything I owned and conducted a brutal de-cluttering exercise.
I was left with 20 boxes of items to donate, along with many loose items. None of this was crappy stuff - these were clean items in very saleable condition. The kind of stuff that sells quickly at a garage sale, only that wasn't a good option on my street, so I was donating. Trouble is, no one would come pick them up. I called every place in the phone book and they said no, you have to bring it in yourself. I remember looking around my apartment in wild frustration when suddenly, my line of vision intersected my dining room table.
Ah, my dining room set. It was one of those things that seemed like a good idea in 1984, but in 1999, the style seemed...unfortunate. The set sported a cream-colored faux enamel finish with pastel upholstery on the seats. I had Miami Vice flashbacks whenever I would look at it. I kept it because, well, I needed a table and I used it often, but I did not intend to keep it forever. I had to ask myself, which was more important to me? Getting rid of the boxes or having a table on which to do projects?
I called a charity and dangled the table and chairs front of them like bait. Instantly, they were ready to bring a truck and take it all away. Bastards.
I'd like to say this was an anomaly, but it wasn't. It became an ongoing theme. When I was ready to donate over 300 books (in very good to fine condition) the Friends of the Library would not come get them. I had to rent a van, then load and unload it myself. Oh, they said thank you very much, but gee! When I was getting rid of duplicates after combining households here, I again had to throw in a piece of furniture to get someone to pick everything up. It's crazy! Maybe owning a flatbed truck would be cheaper in the end.
The worst moment was a year and a half ago, when Kathy and I drove around in a rented van full of primo goods that we needed to donate to a thrift store. We were moving this stuff out of a house on a super tight schedule that allowed no time for a garage sale (and we were so tired from weeks of hard work that the very idea of one seemed exhausting.) However, even though we had rented our own van to transport everything, none of the local charities would even take a peek at what we had. They said they were 'full'. (I saw their bins; full of dirty, broken crap that I'd never have the audacity to donate!)
We had to beg one organization to just come out to the van and look, at which point they realized that they'd make a ton of money our stuff. That didn't stop them from taking a full two hours to unload the van, as they kept getting distracted. Charity must be good for the soul, because it sure isn't good on the nerves.
Luckily, Freecycle is a great alternative to the thrift store system, but even it isn't perfect. With Freecycle, a grass-roots organization, you post the items you have to give away on a local email list and people who are interested contact you. You then arrange a time and day for them to come get the item. Freecycle is especially good for the things that a thrift store might reject or that you can't transport well yourself - the whole goal is to keep things out of the landfill.
In general, Freecycle works okay. But not everyone shows up when they say they will. When we were giving away a working free-standing stove range, no less than SIX PEOPLE failed to show up after making arrangements. Usually, they didn't even tell me they weren't coming, so I was forever dragging the stove in and out of the garage. The one who finally did come get it, right on time, turned out to be a neighbor who also uses Freecycle. She has earned the right to first pick of everything I'm about to give away!
Between sweet-talking charities, making Freecycle arrangements, arranging for hauling, and selling special items in various venues, I start to think that life would be easier if I just kept all my crap. Or wasn't so invested in re-use. But I've learned that changing my character is something I should never bank on.
If, when reading this, you start to feel tired about your own life's leftovers, not to worry. I have recommendations so that you can learn from my mistakes.
First, build a network of friends through which you can share the items you don't want. I was very isolated when I lived in San Francisco and wish I had this. You can even network by email and regularly let each other know what you'd like to give away.
Second, host a yard sale as a group. As you know, my friend Sue had a garage sale where she invited us, and other friends, to join in. That makes the process much more enjoyable.
Third, if you live on a street where dragging something to the curb means it will disappear, never ever move. Okay, maybe I'm kidding. Kind of.
Fourth, build a resource list of the places in your area where you can send items for re-purposing (and find treasures, too). Leverage what your friends know to create a list that everyone can benefit from.
Fifth, if you are considering hiring a professional organizer, ask the candidates: what happens to all the stuff that I decide not to keep? If they say they take it all away and you don't have to be bothered with a thing, just flat-out hire them.
Otherwise, six months later, back in the recesses of your garage or basement, you'll find that your junk mated with your partner's stuff and you'll wonder just what you got out of the organizing experience.
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