Decluttering part 2: Giving Back

As my quest to declutter continues, I've decided to change these posts from being about getting rid of crap to giving stuff to people who need/want it.

It shall be called Giving Back, though still accomplishes the decluttering. Giving Back has a twist though - you're still getting rid of stuff you don't need/want anymore, but giving it new life with a new home. In my decluttering quest, I've found out about some really cool charities that will take stuff that you don't want anymore. Also found some neat ways to recycle stuff to new people - not necessarily charities, but keeps things out of the dump all the same.

Here's what's been happening since the last decluttering post:

Magazines: are finally gone! The person who I had emailed from Craigslist didn't reply back. So after a week, I posted my own advertisement to give away free magazines. Five minutes later, someone emailed back asking when they could get them. Sweet! I dropped them off last night to a lovely French lady, also named Michelle, who wanted the magazines to help her improve her English. I was very happy to give away my stuff to help promote literacy (and especially to help a fellow Michelle) :)!

Textbooks/Other Books: With school starting back up, it's a perfect time to get rid of textbooks. I've already successfully sold two textbooks on Amazon.ca in the last week and a half, and have since posted up another few textbooks and some other stuff that I had lurking around that might fetch a buck (some DVDs and other books/novels).

Unfortunately, I have some textbooks that can't be sold, either because they are damaged or because they are too old and no current student would be looking for them anymore. I would still like to give them to somebody, if anyone will take them, and I'm not expecting to get any cash for them. I've found out about a few cool charities in the States and one in Quebec that accept donated textbooks for various programs, but most ask you to drop the books off at their office rather than mail them in (and really, I'm not going to spend $15+ per book on shipping to give it away for free).

The Canadian School Book Exchange is one of the few places that I've actually found within the GTA that accepts donations of textbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc. The books are given to organizations across Canada and internationally that promote literacy education. If they can't be used for these purposes, they can also be recycled, in which case the proceeds from the recycling are donated to United Way charities and a matching donation is made. Their office is located in Mississauga, so next time that I have access to a car, I will make the trek out there with my stack of old/non-saleable textbooks.

Other organizations

In trying to find charities to donate to, this website kept popping up on Google. I assumed that it was something for the city dump, since it's posted on the City of Toronto Solid Waste Management website. However, it turns out that it's really an awesome list of charities and organizations seeking donations of just about everything! These organizations are looking for things like clothing, books, non-perishable food, art supplies, small appliances, furniture, bedding, kids bikes, and even old cars. Visit www.toronto.ca/reuseit/orgs.htm to find some local charities that are looking for your stuff!

In the future, I'll try to keep posting about neat charities that I find to take stuff that I no longer need. Since I'm far too poor now (as a starving student) to donate money to anyone, I love that I can still give back in a different way!

What are some of your favourite places to donate items, food, or funding?

Remembering Jack

In case you are living under a rock, or at least not living in Canada, you might not have heard that Jack Layton died on August 22, and that his funeral was held yesterday. You might also not have seen the enormous outpouring of love and support from across the country. Canadians from all walks of life have come together to remember an inspiring, loving and influential politician. A politician!!! How many people in politics could ever imagine that such a response would be seen for them???

He was really no ordinary politician though. Known simply as "Jack" to most voters, the optimistic and smiley handsome gentleman transformed what we once thought of Canadian politicians. He was a leader of the people, giving a voice to the voiceless. He worked tirelessly as a Toronto councillor, deputy mayor, and eventually as the leader of the opposition to bring issues of domestic violence, homelessness and poverty, environmental impacts and cycling safety, and other social concerns to the forefront of Canadian politics. He engaged voters, particularly youth, to encourage people who had been soured by the voting experience to make a difference in their world. He truly believed that together we could change the world, and embodied these beliefs wholeheartedly.

The country was saddened to learn that Jack had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in early 2010, but saw him fight valiently against the disease. He gave a face to prostate cancer, working with cancer associations and encouraging education and prevention across Canada. He won his battle with cancer, never slowing down in his continuing efforts to bring social justice to the country. He went on to win a shocking victory for the NDP - earning his place as the official leader of the opposition for the first time in the party's history. Across the nation, the people had spoken, showing that they were ready for change and ready for an inspirational leader to bring it.

Only about a month ago, Jack announced that he had been diagnosed with a new type of cancer (though never revealing what the cancer was). Appearing gaunt and frail in his press release, he stated that he fully intended to come back to serve as the party leader when Parliament resumed in September. Sadly, he didn't make it that far. Jack passed away on August 22.

As the daughter of a cancer survivor and continuing patient, and someone who has worked in social and community services and housing advocacy, the passing of Jack Layton made me surprisingly emotional. I never thought that I would be so sad about the death of a politician, but here I was in shock and disbelief to find myself near tears as I watched the news coverage. It didn't take long for Canadians to begin to show their support for Jack. At his office on Broadview Avenue, in front of the Parliament buildings of Ottawa, and at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto, supporters began to lay orange flowers, cards, and letters of sympathy and thanks to the man that we had come to admire. One woman wrote a message in chalk at Nathan Phillips Square. By the next day, every surface of the square was covered in messages (including my own). People lined up for hours when his casket arrived at City Hall, eager to pay their respects in person. On the day of his funeral, thousands lined the streets of Toronto to follow the hearse carrying Layton's casket, and watched from the park next to Roy Thompson Hall as the state funeral took place.

The funeral was simply amazing. Having known that he would pass, Jack had discussed his wishes with his wife Olivia Chow (also an NDP MP) and the reverend who would lead the ceremony. He had made clear the types of music he wanted to have played, and the fact that he wanted the ceremony to be a celebration of life, not a mourning of his death. That is exactly what it became - from the music chosen (from Bach to Van Morrison), the eulogies and readings given (from the Bible, Torah and Quran, and an Aboriginal blessing), languages spoken (English and French), singers chosen (one with physical disabilities, a community church choir, Steven Page), mixed political affiliations (the Liberal Premier of Ontario sitting next to the very conservative mayor of Toronto) and the fact that 600 members of the public were allowed space in the hall, the funeral truly exemplified and celebrated the diversity of the land and people that Jack loved. It was sometimes hard to tell that it was a funeral at all, with standing ovations, cheering and clapping, flags and signs waving from balconies, and cheerful music playing. Truly, it was a celebration of life for everyone, just as Jack would have wanted it to be.

In his final letter to Canadians, written just days before his death, Jack made clear his wish that Canadians carry on his work. Regardless of political affiliation, whether you agreed with his politics and beliefs or not, I think that everyone can learn from these words:

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world.

Decluttering: Part 1

So it's only been a few days since I last posted about decluttering, and I've hit it head first :) Since my post, I've discarded three bags worth of recycling and garbage, found a way to get rid of my magazines, a bunch of old towels, and even did away with my sister's wedding dress!

How??

Magazines: This is what I found in my magazine pile: 23 Fitness magazines, 18 Weight Watchers magazines, 1 Oxygen, 5 Women's Health, 3 Cosmo and 1 Canadian Family (I've never even HEARD of this magazine, why do I have it?!?!). This totals a whopping 51 magazines! Whoa.

I actually have more than this, but I'm keeping the current year issues because I do like to go back and look at them. I'm keeping about 8 magazines, all WW and Fitness.

I hated the idea of just chucking out 51 perfectly good magazines, especially those that are full of awesome recipes and fitness plans. So, I headed out to find them a good home. I tried to give them to my local hospital for their emergency room/waiting rooms, but sadly they wouldn't take them, saying that they are already so overloaded with other magazine donations that they would just end up tossing them too. How unfortunate :(

I then discovered that people actually look on Craigslist for old magazines. Seriously?? Yes! Teachers, caregivers and other crafty people looking for arts and crafts supplies, and I even found a person who was looking for women's and fitness magazines to keep her motivated on the treadmill. PERFECT!!!!! I've sent an email offering up my stack, and just waiting for a response!

Towels: I had a little pile of towels that have been collecting under my bathroom sink. Last year when boyfriend moved in, he brought along an insane number of towels. I mean really, why would one person have thirty towels??? We gave a lot of the less used ones away to the yoga studio where we teach, as they have a big stack that they lend out to students/teachers. The others have been floating around ever since, including some not-so-nice looking/ratted up ones. I finally packed them up and took them to the Toronto Humane Society, who appreciate them to make bedding for their dogs/cats/other creatures, and also need rags and small cloths to clean cages. The puppies seemed pretty happy to get them - then again, I was also fawning all over them and oogling them to pieces, wishing that I could take them home in exchange for a bag of towels :)

Wedding Dress: This one is my favourite thing so far that I've gotten rid of. My sister got married a couple of years ago, and has been trying to sell her dress for at least a year or so with no luck. Unfortunately, she's just a ridiculously small person, and not too many brides will fit into this teeny tiny dress! She has moved away (out of the country) now, and in the cleanup of her own clutter/rest of the house, she gave me the dress and asked me to find a new home for it. She gave permission to give it away for free if it couldn't be sold.

That's when I discovered The Bride's Project.

This is officially my favourite place ever. Basically, they accept donations of gently used wedding dresses and other wedding things (including bridesmaids dresses, jewellery, accessories and veils, suits, etc etc etc), sell them for a lot less than they were originally worth, and give the proceeds to cancer charities. Wicked! I took the TTC out to their store, looking like a bag lady/crazy person (really, who takes a wedding dress on the TTC!? lol!) and delivered the goods. They were very happy to receive it, and I was very happy to be giving indirectly to a cancer charity, plus get the dress out of my closet at long last. They will put my sister's dress up for sale for about $400, about half of what it was originally worth.

Best wedding dress store ever.

How have you creatively decluttered?

Decluttering

Since boyfriend moved in over a year ago, we seem to have accumulated an extraordinary amount of stuff. The vast majority of it does, actually, belong to him (as he moved from a larger space when he came to my apartment), however I'm not entirely blameless. I have some clutter that has been accumulating around the apartment too, and when added to his house worth of stuff, it makes for a crowded and unpleasant living space.

I have the next few weeks off from school, and have lots of time on my hands during the day. The first day or two, it was awesome. Now I'm bored to tears and am raging to find something to do with myself. Yes, I do go out to exercise to relieve boredom on occasion, but really, I can't just go to the gym or yoga for 8 hours a day.

I've decided to spend this time off in a fierce decluttering frenzy, and finally dealing with the little projects that I've been saying "I'll get around to it" for way too long.

My goals over the next 3 weeks:

• Selling/getting rid of old textbooks that I won't need anymore (including some from my past life as a business administration student...)
• Donating/getting rid of some clothing that doesn't fit/isn't stylish anymore (not that I have much style to begin with, so you can just imagine the stuff I'm trying to get rid of!). This includes a pair of snowboarding boots that I've been trying to sell for a couple of years, and for some reason my sister's wedding dress that has been hanging in my closet (and doesn't fit because she's 4 sizes smaller than I am!)
• Doing something with my pile of Fitness, Weight Watchers, Women's Health and Cosmo magazines. I had subscriptions to Fitness and WW for several years and have accumulated an astonishing number of magazines. I even gave some away to my coworkers for free last year, and I still have at least 3 years worth collecting dust.
• Organizing the gaming devices that we hardly ever touch. For example, we have 7 Guitar Hero/Rock Band guitars and a drum set, but I think it's been at least a full year since they were last used. I'm sure that this can be downsized a little bit.
• Doing something with the vast array of novels and other books that we have already read a hundred times through and no longer want/need. Boyfriend has a lot more of these than I do, but I think that mine are probably more give-away-able.
• We have a lot of Tupperware. Like, a lot. I have no idea how the collection of plastic tubs has grown so exponentially. I think they're mating. Most of them don't even have matching lids anymore. They need to go away, or become useful in some other way.

I would love to have a yard sale to get rid of some of the other knick-knacky things around the place, but living in a condo makes this kinda difficult and they aren't really the kind of thing that someone would search for on Craigslist. I'll need to get kind of creative to make this happen...

Updates to come on how the decluttering goes, and hopefully I'll be able to provide some suggestions and helpful hints along the way!

In the meantime, if anyone is interested in getting some stuff off my hands...