Reader Letter #1
Make Use of Charities in Your Area for Clearing Out a Home
In the United Kingdom, if someone
is clearing out a home, local charity shops are always very happy to receive anything in good condition that they can sell to raise funds for the charity. If furniture is being donated to charity, some charities will send a van to collect it.
-- Nicola Hurman, United Kingdom
Reader Letter #2
Reassess Your Need to Keep Things That You Don't Use and/or Don't Have the Desire to Store
Dear Maria, I read tearfully the message from Marie in NJ. It brought to mind my similar experience from a few years back.
A dear friend died and in helping her relatives clean
out her belongings, we found numerous large boxes and storage containers crammed full of beautiful decorations for entertaining, clothing and purses that still had price tags on them, and other gifts stored away with notes to give to friends and relatives.
She was a Home-Shopping-Club addict which her closets, household and garage reflected. It was such a task for her family to sort through all of it, most of which was "too pricey" to just donate.
Her daughter-in-law was left with the task of asking friends over to choose what they would like and then having a sale at the church to dispose of the remaining items.
After that experience, I vowed that I would
never leave that sort of "mess" for my loved ones to deal with and have ever since been trying to reassess my need to keep things I love but no longer use or care to store.
-- Mary in CA
Reader Letter #3
Essential Tools for a College Dorm Student
To your dorm living list, I would add basic tools: hammer, pliers, and two screwdrivers (flat head and Philips).
-- Catherine Peters, Celina, OH
