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After Christmas Clean Up: Recycle, Re-use, Swap, Sell, Donate and Organize For The New Year

The beauty of Christmas, with its perfectly wrapped and coiffed tissue paper filled gift bags, is fading into last year’s memory, leaving you with the clean up. While having a pre-planned organizing system like a solid wood bookcase, shelving unit, armoire, cedar chest or trunk really expedites the clean-up, realize you should not even attempt to keep or organize everything. Some simple, green, earth and money-friendly ideas to help clean up Christmas, will help to make the season bright:

Think Like The Shakers: Recycle/Reuse Everything You Can!
You can choose to take that extra step and recycle all those cardboard boxes at a local recycling center or, better yet, save the paper, boxes and bows that are still in re-usable condition and use them again. Designating a drawer in your buffet, armoire or even a cedar chest can make a green gift wrapping center. Save money on next year’s gift wrapping and create less trash in the landfill.

Think Swap or Sell: Pre-loved Media!
Video games, DVDs, CDs, and good, old fashioned books make great items for swapping for different or selling for cash. Instead of forsaking those older media items to the back of your bookcases or shelves to collect dust, gather them up and take them to the local gaming store, used book store or consignment shop. Online auctions are also a great source for reselling these items.

Think Sharing Is Caring: Set An Example!
Even in a tough economy most kids get many new toys. Teach your children to keep life simple and uncluttered while teaching them to share. Explain to the child that before they can use their new treasures they must prepare their rooms for them. You can also include an important life lesson in sharing and moving past material possessions. With the kids do a sweep of the toy box:
1. Throw out all broken toys and immediately put in the outdoor trash bin.
2. Pack up all out grown toys for donation. Use dark bags so that the toys become invisible, thus less painful to part with.
3. Make a new home for the new toys and celebrate their arrival. Teaching thankfulness is another great life lesson.

Think Charitable: Donate!
Did you get a new wardrobe this season? Before searching for drawer space and hangers clean out those closets, reorganize and begin the New Year in order. Then donate your old clothes to an organization that uses the clothes or the profits to help those in need.

By living thoughtfully, preplanned and uncluttered you will be able to enjoy your home and life to its fullest. Christmas clean-up can be the start to an amazingly well organized and simplified New Year.

Tags: after christmas clean up, amish bookcases, amish cedar chests, amish shelves, amish trunks, christmas cleanup, organization

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 25th, 2008 at 11:05 pm and is filed under Holidays, Organization and Storage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.