When I first moved into my current house 4 years ago, I went from living in 2600 square feet into 1000 square feet. With two adults that need separate home offices, two large dogs, and one tiny clothes closet, space is at a premium. I’ve learned to make small but constant decisions as to what gets to stay in the house and what goes.
Two years ago, we bought and assembled a shed in the back yard. (Note: never assemble an aluminum shed in July in Tucson. Trust me on this one.) Since then, it’s been a repository for all kinds of (ahem) valuable stuff that we no longer use, or use very rarely.
I spent a couple hours on Sunday, filling up the car with donate-able goods, filling the trash can, and generally becoming filthy in all the dirt in the shed. It’s all for good cause: I feel better having simplified all the extra stuff out of my life, and I get to donate used-but-good goods to places and people that can use and appreciate them.
Here’s some good places to donate your good stuff:
Goodwill has several locations throughout Tucson. The one at 4995 E Speedway has a drive-up donation window. Extra convenient!
Also at: 1770 S. Cherrybell Strav
2907 N. 1st Ave
4140 W. Ina Rd
4995 E. Speedway Blvd
8321 E. Broadway Blvd
7139 E. 22nd St
The Habistore is at 3840 S Palo Verde Rd. Proceeds from the Habistore go towards funding the local Habitat for Humanity. The Habistore sells surplus new and used building and home improvement materials, appliances, and furniture. Plus, the Habistore will come to you to pick up your stuff. Just call them at (520) 889-7200.
Casa de los Ninos is at 1302 E Prince Road. All money generated by selling donations to their thrift store goes to support programs that work toward providing safe permanent and nurturing homes for children that can’t be safe in their own homes.
Photo via Flickr, courtesy of alykat.
June 12th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
1000 sqft… :-O
Why?
-Athol
June 12th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
We downsized to save money as we both quit our old jobs and started doing different things. Seemed like a good idea at the time…
June 15th, 2007 at 5:37 am
Have you ever checked out FreeCycle? Their web address is
http://www.freecycle.org
Basically you just post onto a message board listing the things you want to get rid of and other people contact you that want your old stuff. The idea is to keep quality, used “stuff” out of the landfills. It’s all local to your particular city. There is never any money exchanged and you can also post things that you are looking for but don’t necessarily want to go out and buy…
Check it out. It’s a great resource for somebody that has to get rid of a lot of stuff but doesn’t want to have to have a yard sale.