Give it Up.

 Many years ago, Dolores introduced me to Feng Shui, the Asian art of “placement.”  One of the concepts that really made the most sense to me is cleaning out…letting go of the old, in order to bring in the new.  Letting go of the things we don’t really love, in order to allow for the things we do.  (This concept is easily applicable to all aspects of our lives!).  I am so happy that in front of Tamarac Fitness Center, there is now a used shoe depository, allowing my many pairs of slightly used sneakers to find a new home.  Donating makes it easier to let go of things, and I recently found a great article in the Parklander, which shared some great suggestions for our donations.

Woman can donate used business clothes to Dress for Success, which helps woman down on their luck get back into the business world.  Men can donate to Career Gear, which shares the same goal.  Blankets, towels and linens can always be used by your local Humane Society.  Bicycles can go to Bikes for the World, a non-profit that provides people in third world countries a form of transportation.  Sports equipment will find new purpose at www.SportsGift.org, a non-profit that helps create community-based sports programs for underprivileged children thought the world.  If your guitar days are over, how about Mr. Holland’s Opus that refurbishes them (and other instruments as well) and gives them to under-funded school music programs.  You can try selling your old electronics to www.Gazelle.com.  This includes camcorders, cell phones, video games, laptops an more.  Children’s books will be appreciated by Project Night Night, an organization that provides homeless children with tote bags filled with books and other items.  Even old magazines can be all new again, when enjoyed by residents of nursing homes, hospitals and schools.  And if your gym doesn’t have an old shoe bin in front of it, you can consider donating your old running shoes to www.RecycledRunners.com where they may end up on someone else’s feet or recycled into building materials.

Of course there is always Goodwill, Women in Distress, and the Vietnam Veterans of America as well as your own local organizations.  Not only will you get that feel good feeling for sharing and helping someone else, but when you clear out the stuff you no longer need, you make room to bring in what you really DO need.  And as Jane, the organizing queen often says, when you clean out and organize, you almost always “find” money.  Sometimes it is actually in the form of  a tucked away bill, or a forgotten gift card, and other times it is more subtle, as in finding an old pair of jeans, or an old favorite belt,  that literally got lost in the clutter.  The added bonus is always that the areas that your clean out and organize always feels so much bigger and roomier.

Let me know what YOU find cleaning out your “stuff.”  It’s not only a great project for a rainy day, but also a great one for the heat of the afternoon, when in many places this week, it’s just too hot to be outside.  Another bonus, you’ll burn more calories standing, climbing, reaching, sorting and bagging, than lying on the couch watching an old movie.  Just saying 🙂

For those of you paying attention, I did complete my 100 lap swimming goal this week.  Finished the last 20 laps yesterday afternoon.  Good challenge, relatively easy to complete, and probably swam more laps than I would have, had I not set the goal.  But now, it’s off to the gym!  And yes, I found still another pair of sneakers to drop off on my way in.