GIVING OUTSIDE THE CHRISTMAS BOX
Brought to you by Joan Kosmachuk, Professional Organizer
and Personal Life Coach

“Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others” —Saint Augustine

Most of us get into the spirit of giving as the Christmas season rolls around and our thoughts turn to those less fortunate than ourselves. This month, in the spirit of both giving and getting organized, I’m going to suggest that you think outside of the traditional Christmas gift box and consider giving of your current excess to bless others. Below are 12 items that I find clutter up client homes and perhaps they clutter your home as well?

Take the challenge of re-gifting one item per day for the twelve days of Christmas, or focus on re-gifting one item per month over the next year. You can involve your whole family in this project and as you do, you’ll find that it is “more blessed to give than to receive.”

Backpacks:
Give a Kid a Backpack Foundation collects backpacks filled with school supplies and hand delivers them directly to poor children around the world. Backpacks should be either new or gently used and washed. Don’t forget to fill them with all those extra stationary supplies you have stashed in your home office.

Books:
Reader to Reader provides books to the nation’s poorest communities including inner-city schools, Native American reservations, and poor rural towns. They supply books for all reading levels from elementary to college and universities. Books should be reasonably current.

Your local library is also a great place to donate your books

Business Clothing:
Dress for Success The mission of Dress for Success is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Check with your local chapter for the dates they are accepting donations of women’s suits.

For those living in the Boston/Cambridge area, consider Solutions at Work for donations of both women and men’s business clothing.

Cell phones:
The CALL TO PROTECT campaign collects wireless phones to benefit survivors of domestic violence. Phones are refurbished and become lifelines for domestic violence survivors when faced with an emergency situation. Proceeds from the sale of other phones help fund agencies that fight domestic violence and are also used to support the educational efforts of the Wireless Foundation.

Your favorite local charity may also be collecting cell phones as a means of fundraising.

Children’s Books, Blankets, Toys and Stuffed Animals:
Project Night Night's work is carried out through Night Night Packages that are delivered to thousands of homeless and transient children in shelters across the country. They concentrate their efforts on homeless children ages 0-10. Every child who receives a Night Night Package leaves the shelter with a book to encourage reading and family bonding, a security blanket which can be cuddled, and a stuffed animal which can become a cherished friend. (new or gently used items).

Donate toys, books and games to your local Ronald McDonald House or give board games or puzzles that your family no longer uses to a local children's hospital or homeless shelter.

In the Greater Boston area, Horizons for Homeless Children and Room to Grow also accept donations of used toys, books, stuffed animals and blankets.

Computers/Printers/software:
The National Cristina Foundation provides computer technology and solutions to give people with disabilities, students at risk and economically disadvantaged persons the opportunity, through training, to lead more independent and productive lives. They will accept computers that are Pentium 3 or higher as well as printers and software.

In the Boston area, Solutions at Work’s Get Connected program is a great place to donate your computer equipment.

Prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses:
Donate your old eyeglasses and sunglasses to help people with eyesight difficulties worldwide. (Sunglasses can be non-prescription. They are needed in countries near the equator to help protect people's eyes from sun damage.) Collection facilities include Goodwill Industries stores, LensCrafters stores, and Lions Club drop boxes. Items also can be sent in padded envelopes or boxes to: New Eyes for the Needy 549 Millburn Avenue P.O. Box 332 Short Hills, NJ 07078

Pet Supplies:
Collars, leashes, food bowls, crates, scratching posts, litter boxes, dog/cat food, treats, birdcages, aquariums etc. are needed at animal shelters.

Contact your local shelter for their specific needs.

Un-opened/Un-used Gift Items:
That bottle of body lotion you’ll never use, the costume jewelry still in the box, the slippers from last Christmas that you won’t wear…. Re-gift these to a woman who would appreciate them. At the Woman’s Lunch Place, birthdays are celebrated at the shelter on the fourth Friday of each month. The party includes a cake and personalized gifts. Popular gifts include: slippers, toiletry sets, jewelry and clothing (please only donate unused and unopened items in new condition).

Check your local crisis pregnancy center, women’s shelter or mission for their wish lists

Used Clothing and furniture:
Charitable organizations such as the Salvation Army and Goodwill, welcome your used clothing and furniture. Each of these organizations has general guidelines for clothing and furniture donations.

Winter coats and jackets:
One Warm Coat is a national non-profit organization that assists in the donation of coats. OWC helps individuals, groups, companies and organizations across the country collect coats and deliver them to local agencies that distribute them free, to people in need.

Women’s Handbags:
FredaLA.com is donating work-appropriate handbags to all residents of La Posada part of New Economics For Women, a charity that helps families achieve increased job preparedness, employable skills, job stability, asset building and better parenting skills. They will accept your gently used handbags by mail.

For other extra items you have not listed above, check out Excess Access . This is an on-line site designed to match the needs of charities in the U.S. and Canada with individuals who have excess items they wish to donate.

If you need help with organizing consider getting professional input by hiring a professional organizer. To hire the services of Joan Kosmachuk, please email your request to info@simpleeffects.com or call 617-784-0707.

If you found the information in this newsletter to be of value to you, please feel free to forward it to your friends and colleagues; you'll be helping them organize their lives.

NEW: Check out my “Organizing Small Spaces” Blog each Tuesday