Staging

12 home decluttering resources in Bellingham and Whatcom County

DonatingStuffBellingham

Every January 1, I have an incredible urge to simplify and declutter my home. Here’s the problem. I just bought our kids 5 million new toys, with increasingly smaller parts. I literally spent the majority of winter break picking up teeny tiny toy parts only to find them scattered about five minutes later. It's crazy-making!

But it’s not just my kids' fault. I am going to admit a secret. I'm not a natural organizer of my space. I blame it on working so much. I blame it on being a creative person. I blame it on having more important things to do. Here are my internal struggles, brought to you via the inside of my brain.  

  • “This could come in handy later.”
  • “Remember when….?” (this object came into my life in a very enjoyable moment in time.)
  • “Where should this go?”
  • "Whose is this?!?"
  • “If I leave this here, I'll remember.”
  • “What the hell do I do with THIS? I'll figure it out later.”
  • “I bet I could get $40 on eBay for this. I’ll just put it here until I have time to post it.” 
  • “I need to get to Target to buy more bins.”  MORE BINS!!!! 

It’s 2017 and I’m resolving to conquer these useless internal thoughts. I want my sanity back. And that requires less stuff.

Our family of four spends 99 percent of our time on the 1700 sq ft main floor of our house. We should be able to manage in this amount of space. But our stuff keeps growing in numbers. The sheer volume stresses me out!

So, I’m resolving to be ruthless in my decluttering. Bye-bye vintage dessert dishes that I’ll actually never use because - just admit it - I don’t make beautiful homemade desserts. See ya later tiny college t-shirts that remind me of my hipper days but actually don’t fit on my mom-bod. Nice to know you lotions and potions that carry the promise to make me more beautiful but don’t actually inspire me to use with any consistency.

If you’re in the same boat, here are twelve local decluttering resources that you might find helpful in your purge and re-organization.

donate HOUSEHOLD, CLOTHING, FURNITURE items

  • Goodwill – 1115 E Sunset Dr. , Bellingham, WA 98226
  • YWCA Bellingham - especially likes professional women’s clothing, twin or full-sized blankets, quilts and comforters, pillows, kitchen towels, silverware, dishes, and small refrigerators. 1026 N. Forest St. Bellingham.
  • Wise Buys Thrift Store, run by Lydia’s Place, a homeless center for women and children. Takes gently used clothes and household items. 1224 North State St., Bellingham.
  • Arc of Washington State – will pick up clothing, bedding, books, camping equipment, and more. Pick up!
  • Lynden Christian Second Chance Thrift Store

dispose of old ELECTRONics

recycle CRAFT MATERIALS

donate old BUILDING MATERIALs

  • RE-Store -  accepts a wide variety of building supplies, business furniture, home decor, yard and garden items, architectural salvage, and occasionally unique antiques. 2309 Meridian St., Bellingham.

get rid of STUFF NO ONE WANTS

call a PROFESSIONAL HOME ORGANIZER