Are you ready to hunker down with your cozy sweaters, steaming hot chocolate and a roaring fire?
Before settling down for a long winter’s nap, we’re sharing some awesome tips for getting organized and we have just the place to send your castaways. Lupus Colorado and Healing Minds have partnered with Savers thrift stores to open four new Donation Drop Spots in the greater Denver area that provide convenient locations for community members to donate their used goods.
The new Donation Drop Spots are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and are located at:
- Benefit Healing Minds:
- 5820 S Parker Road, Aurora, CO 80015
- 2730 S Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO 80222
- Benefit Lupus Colorado:
- 15700 East Briarwood Cir, Aurora, CO 80016
- S Parker Rd & Twenty Mile, Parker, CO 80134
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7 Organizing Ideas
Meighan Meeker, owner of Simply Put Organizational Solutions for the Home, LLC is a professional organizer for home or office. She provides these tips (and is offering an exclusive 50 percent discount for Mile High Mamas:
Start in the basement & garage. Store items by category in clear, labeled plastic bins on shelving units. Categories such as outdoor/garden, sports/fitness, clothing, house wares, and photos/memorabilia, make it helpful to remember where to find things. Dontate items that you have not used in the last year or more.
Get organized for the holidays. Get rid of old light sets and decorations that no longer bring you joy. Every time you buy a new decoration think of an older one that you can donate. This goes for all home décor. Your style and tastes change over the years. Do not hold onto things that no longer have a place in your home, let someone else enjoy them.
Organize your office: Go through your filing cabinets and drawers. Shred all your old, unecesssary papers. Downsize the amount of post it notes, binders, pens and other office supplies cluttering your drawer space. Donate books collecting dust, or that you can easily borrow from the library.
Organize your kitchen. Go through each drawer and cabinet to get rid of any food that has expired, utensils, water bottles, serving platters, appliances, or other kitchen ware that you have not used in the past year. Allow yourself to only have one small “junk drawer.” Keep countertops clear of clutter by placing items such as schoolwork, mail, and invitations neatly away in decorative bins or file folders.
Organize your closets. Donate anything you have not worn in the last year, that no longer fits, is not in style, or not your best look. Do this for every member of your household. Organize your clothes by putting tops on the top bar and bottoms on the bottom bar by sleeve or pant length, from light to dark colors. You will be able to find what you need more easily.
Organize the playroom. Decide with your children what books and toys can be donated to charity. Making them part of the process will help motivate them to keep things more tidy and remind them of what they own. Reinforce that there are other kids who can enjoy the favorite toys they have outgrown.
Organize your photos and memorabilia. Keep a bin of artwork and memorabilia in each family members room. Go through the items accumulated over last year and keep a few of the most special pieces. Add them to their permanent memorabilia bin stored in the basement. Think of what items they will want to truly take with them when they move into their own first house or apartment, otherwise, get rid of it. It is also a great time to organize and label vacation and holiday photos into protective photo boxes to easily enjoy, share and preserve for years to come.
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Savers is also on a mission to create a better world through reuse by inspiring local communities to donate reusable items to local nonprofits instead of throwing them in the trash. Through its commitment to sustainability, Savers has become one of the largest recyclers of used goods in the world, keeping more than 650 million pounds of reusable items from landfills each year. In partnership with Mile High Mamas.
Author: Amber Johnson
Amber is the founder and editor of Mile High Mamas, travel writer and former columnist for The Denver Post. She is a passionate community builder and loves the outdoors. She has two awesome teens and is happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin.
