shopping bags - when I did my garage I had a box full of toys. I would put all pieces for one toy in a shopping bag adn tie it up - either it was stored or into donation box.
label maker
Food for you....stock fridge up with easy to make food
Beverage of choice for during the day AND for a glass of something when you're done for each day...
I so wish I had some similar time. I am making some headway but slow going...
I think bigger boxes would be a better idea. You can label them, line them up and just start throwing things in there. Much better than having to go to the trash bag, hold it up, and put the stuff in there.
Look for free boxes at everyone's work and Freecycle. Hope this helps!
BTW, make sure the labels are big enough so you can see them a mile away. Nothing like being on a ladder and you can't see which box you should be "shooting" for.
I'm a fan of the 66 gallon plastic totes. Target had the Rubbermaid Revelations for a decent deal a few years ago, but now the similar ones are priced ridiculously. The Sterilite ones at Walmart are inferior and the handles will likely break, but I got them anyway 15 of them... We used them to pack up our kitchen with the rodent visitors.
Now those bins are labeled with CARDSTOCK taped (painter's tape) to the front edge. HUGE WRITING with a MARKS-A-LOT makes it nice and easy for DH to find them in the attic.
I'd probably make a list of labels to make before even beginning - and just have them ready to stick on boxes as you need. With the painter's tape, it is easy enough to rearrange the labels as needed. It is such a pain to sit down and make a new label midway. I always lose my markers.
Totally jealous of your time to do this. Not quite as jealous as when you had your weekend away, though. If I could ever get my DH to muster up the strength to take all 3 DC away, it would be great!
empty cars to stash donations!
an apron with pockets to hold your tape/markers/stupid little stuff like pennies etc that you find-a cheap painters apron is perfect for this
swiffer duster wipes-lots of them!
index cards
costco sometimes has boxes that will work (and sometimes not!)
Margaret and
(DS 2/06) and (DD 3/08)
I should have taken a before and after picture of my closet - it looks sooooo much nicer now!! The kids' linen closet looks great now, too. But alas, I didn't take before pics. The purpose of this week isn't actually to organize per se, but just to get rid of stuff that we don't need any more and get things back where they belong. So tonight I have two big boxes of donations, a medium box of stuff to sell (kids' consignment sale at the end of the month) and a medium box of stuff to keep that simply belongs elsewhere in the house. (Everything else has already been put where it belongs in the house.) We're not done upstairs since DH was out of commission until about 2pm so need to finish this space tomorrow morning, then move downstairs to the main level. The basement is scheduled for Thursday.
The donation boxes went straight to the garage where they will be sorted for various charities (library, support the troops, goodwill).
Have a fan handy because you will get warm if you are doing things right, lol. I also filled a large McDonald's cup with ice water to keep nearby.
I do recommend having dustcloths (I used microfiber cloths) on hand, plus a dustbuster or small cordless vac (we have a dog and hardwood, so the dust bunnies collect in remote corners).
Single mom to
DS ("twice exceptional") - September 2002
DS - February 2006
DD - July 2009
DD - July 2009
Have a note pad and pen so that you can list items you are putting into the donation bags as you put them in. For tax reasons is a lot better to have "8 men's dress shirts, 3 women's pants" than "3 bags of clothes". If you use turbo tax there is a place where you list everything you donate and it tells you how much its worth.
AlsoI love the super large zip lock bags they have at the dollar store. They hold a ton of stuff and make sorting items easier. I have one full of pool toys etc.
Sarah
DS 5/26/05
DS 5/12/07 our angel
DD 4/8/08
Moralizing and morals are two entirely different things and are always found in entirely different people. Don Herold
oooohh, is it pathetic that I am jealous? yes, it is
How about lots of bins for sorting/storage, sharpie. I would say also a label maker! mine
Today I purged a lot of kid's stuff and, instead of waiting to donate it the "right" way, I got up the guts to just drop it off at Goodwill right away! So much easier for me, and just this once it didn't pile up in my donation pile. however, I couldn't find the goodwill drop off location so it's still in my van! That said, I still do a lot of specific donations, like to the library or school or homeless shelter, plus freecycling.
I had another thread about motivating to donate things because I can't itemize this year and would have to hold them until January. So, no need to write it down - that's a plus in my mind!
I have the large ziplocs that have handles and I have one of snorkles, etc and it hangs on a hanger in the coat closet.
Kris