Spring is trying to spring and then it snows. Just like the warm weather, I start and stop the spring-cleaning process. In my last column cleaning tips and suggestions of places to donate items in good condition were featured. Here are more.

Taking my own advice in my own home

Old TV:

You know that dinosaur of a TV that is sitting in your house collecting dust. That got loaded into the car and dropped off at the Orange County dump. Drive up, pay five bucks, and drive to the TV dump pile and bam! It is out of your house.

Books:

Let’s call this the ‘caffeine kicked in at 2 am’ cleanout night. When insomnia strikes due to strong cappuccino after dinner that’s a great time to clean out a closet or any area in your home. I chose a bookcase. Instead of filling boxes then having them endlessly sit in piles; the next day I loaded my car with 6 boxes of books, audiocassette books and VHS tapes then headed to the Thrall Library Used Book Store in Middletown. This well organized store counted the boxes, gave me a receipt and while I was there, a handful of people were organizing each book by category and distributing on shelves. Impressive.

Clothing

GREEN EILEEN collects gently used Eileen Fisher clothes at their stores and sells them to support programs for women and children. I donated 4 pieces of clothing to the Eileen Fisher Central Valley store. You get $5 store credit for each article of clothing.

“I love Thred-Up for kids and women’s clothes and accessories. It’s a virtual consignment shop. Order a bag for free, fill and return for free. You get paid for anything they accept. Items not accepted are donated,” says professional organizer Dawn Falcone of The Chaos Liberator in New York City. Just ordered a Clean Out Kit to try it out.

Online yard sales

Joanne Hargrove of Otisville says, “Almost every town on Facebook has a garage sale site. Make piles of things then post online to sell or give away. Someone will come and pick it up. I give most of it away for free but most sell at reasonable prices plus it stays in your area and goes to someone who needs it.”

Free-cycle

The Freecycle Network has local groups with message boards. You post the item and select who gets it for free and they pick it up for free. I used this site to get rid of a giant lighted beast of a Christmas tree a few years ago. The woman lived in the next town and I also surprised her with a box of ornaments. She was thrilled and it was something I never had to deal with again.

Habitat for Humanity ReStore

Sales from the ReStore go towards Habitat for Humanity building projects. It is a great resource for both shopping and donating. You never know what you’ll find there. They will take furniture, home décor, books, records and demo items from remodeling projects. I’m gathering up goodies to donate. Stuff from my own home and staging inventory will be dropped off in the very near future. I’m on a roll!