In The Spirit Of Giving

It's just a few days until the end of the year; you still have a couple of weeks to gather up items you no longer need or want and donate them to your favorite charity thrift store.

If you plan to itemize on your tax return, those donations are tax deductible. If you don't itemize, it's still a wonderful thing to do this time of year. In addition to selling items in their stores, some thrift organizations pass clothing, coats, blankets and household items directly to people who need them. Meanwhile, you get a head start on a more organized and clutter-free 2010.

Some thrift stores will take nearly anything you have to give, while others have restrictions on taking large furniture, mattresses and even magazines. Be sure to check with the store before packing your things and making the drive. Items that aren't eligible for donation can almost always be given away on craigslist or Freecycle.

Getting Serious About Decluttering

The 365 Day Declutter Challenge continues, and I'm getting more serious, not just in getting The Stuff out of here, but in ramping up my eBay and craigslist sales.

Determining what to try to sell, what to give away to charity thrift stores and what to give directly to individuals is often a guessing game. It's generally pretty easy to determine if something has value and will sell, but its value, size, popularity will determine whether I list it on eBay or craigslist. Large items and those I want out of my way quickly get listed on craigslist. Highly popular items (like certain books) and collectibles usually get listed on eBay instead.

Giving away items is actually a little trickier. On the one hand, there is the tax deduction to be had when I give things to charity thrift stores. On the other, I like the idea of putting useful items directly into the hands of someone who can use them. I don't get the tax break, but I do get the warm fuzzy feeling that I never get when I drop stuff off at Goodwill. Thus I try divide my freebies evenly.



Here's the rundown of days 76 through 94.

Day 76 – Shipped a requested book to a Frugal Reader member.

Day 77 – Sold a set of spring form pans on craigslist.

Days 78 & 79 - Put 5 cookbooks in the donation box, listed 1 on eBay and listed 4 on half.com.

Day 80 – Removed 4 baking dishes and two Wilton cake pans from my kitchen cabinets. Will sell some and donate the rest.

Day 81 – Spent the day decluttering the computer room (aka catch-all room) and sorted things into piles to donate or sell.

Day 82 – Sold two attic ventilators on craigslist.

Days 83-87 – Sold 3 books and 2 CD on either eBay or half.com.

Day 88 – Donated. All the stuff I’ve been putting in the donation boxes adds up, as you can see:



Day 89 – Sold four pairs of Kat’s outgrown jeans and two of her skirts on eBay.

Day 90 & 91 – Discontinued my Frugal Reader account as the books I have to trade have been listed there more than a year; they probably aren’t going to be requested any time soon, and heaven knows I don’t need to request any for myself since my “to read” stack is about 40 books high. Ended up giving away 61 books via a craigslist ad.

Day 92 – Sold another CD on eBay.

Day 93 – Sold an outgrown coat and sweater of Kat’s and a never-worn fleece pullover of Shane's on eBay.

Day 94 – After culling out a few I think I can sell, I gave away 23 cookbooks and 28 cooking magazines to someone via a craigslist ad. I may officially be in recovery!

Addressing the Subject of Donations

My mother-in-law's mom, before she passed, used to receive a host of solicitations in the mail asking for her small contribution to their cause. Most of these solicitations included complimentary address labels, and feeling guilty about receiving them for free, Grammy would invariable send in a donation.

So far this week (just in time to send some cash and still be able to deduct it from our 2007 taxes), I've received two sets of mailing labels and a kitchen notepad. I'm not sending a donation for any of them.

I'm all for charitable donations and works. I'm doing a little something for Salvation Army this season, and I always make sure to donate to Harvester's, our local food pantry. But I firmly believe that Shane's and my money should be spent the way we decide, even for charitable donations.

When you receive something in the mail, clearly addressed to you, but that you didn't order or agree to purchase, then my understanding is the item is yours to keep. Items such as address labels, notepads, and magnets that come along with a solicitation fall into this category. Take time to decide if the cause is one you want to support monetarily. If not, keep the labels if you like and recycle the rest.