Trade party – Throwing a “Trade Party” is a great way to get over the post-holiday blues, not only do you get to extend the festivities of the holidays, but you also get to liquidate your gift inventory and trade the unwanted for something unexpected. All your guests need to bring is just one thing at a minimum that they are willing to trade. Trading is not a guarantee either. You only have to give up your gift if what you are being offered better suits your needs. The invite list should be eclectic. This is a great opportunity to invite friends who may not know each other too well or ones that you have been dying to introduce. The trading aspect opens up conversations through out the night and guests may end up trading phone numbers too!
Donation – If there are no Trade parties in the near future or you just want to offer your unwanted goods to someone who may really have need for them, try Donation Town (www.donationtown.org). They have an interesting donation process. First, they accept almost everything (household items, toys, clothes). You register on their site, tell them what you have to donate, they will give you a list of charities that want what you have. Then, those charities will come to your home and pick them up.
Out with the old, in with the new – For the items that are too good to let go, keen organization skills will come in handy after the holidays. You now have more “stuff” in your house or apartment than you did before the holidays, but most likely the amount of space you have to store it in has not changed. So you are left with an organizing project on your plate.
Gayle Jacobs has turned organizing into her career with her company Actually Organized (www.actuallyorganized.net) and offers readers the following advice:
· Think of your closet like real estate and weed out the items that no longer serve you.
· Hold to the ‘1 item in, 1 item out’ rule
· Make sure to DONATE the unwanted items
· Get “cubic” and look at the actual dimension of your storage spaces and the items you need to store. The height of a particular space is often overlooked, so don't forget to measure all the way up.
· Extra space can be created by adding a shelf, or stacking shelves, adding over-the-door hooks or by stacking in a way that used the space more efficiently.
· Group like items together in the same container (i.e. scarves and gloves). Use containers that fit well the particular shelf or storage area.
If you have other great organizing tips for our readers, please post below.
Happy Liquidating.
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