Spring cleaning helps others find jobs - decluttering advice from Goodwill

Take Your Donations to Goodwill!

Although the unemployment rate has decreased in recent months, many people in our community still have difficulty entering the labor market and providing for their families. Thus, the simple act of cleaning out your closets and donating to Goodwill this spring will help us help others.

Store revenues fund Goodwill’s job training and education programs, which can lead to employment and fresh starts for people without jobs. Goodwill provides career services that anyone can use to boost their chances of getting hired, including assistance in writing a résumé, job interview practice and access to job leads. Find the nearest donation site here, 

While cleaning, use these helpful tips and techniques from Cindy Jobs, who is a Professional Organizer and owner of Organizing to Simplify

Decide on a realistic project: How much time you have to devote to the project should drive your expectations. You may not be able to organize the entire house in an afternoon, but you CAN make significant progress on those unruly kitchen cupboards.

Find an organizing buddy: Whether it’s a Professional Organizer or a supportive friend, de-cluttering and organizing is easier when you work with someone.

Take a “before” picture: When you are done with your project, you want to have a reminder of where you started and how much progress you’ve made!

Be brutally honest about what stays and what goes: When we organize and de-clutter, we need to figure out what to do with all that stuff we no longer want or need. Generally, those items get handled one of four ways: sell, give away (generally to a friend or relative), recycle or donate. Devote separate areas to place items for each category and make a decision with every item as you go.

Take an “after” photo: Congratulations on your progress! Be sure to give yourself a reminder of how far you’ve come!

Seattle Goodwill Industries is a private, nonprofit organization that has served the central and northern Puget Sound since 1923. It provides free job-training and education programs and services that help low-income and underserved people obtain the skills they need to secure employment so they may achieve economic self-sufficiency. For more information about Goodwill programs, call toll-free 1-877-GIVE4GOOD or visit the website.