The Donation Station

I felt like I was always swimming in clutter up to my armpits. My house was a mess and it never stayed clean for long. That’s why I created the Donation Station. But now I need to tell you how important the Donation Station has been to keeping my house clean and decluttered.
Back in 2007, I realized that I had a huge problem with clutter, no matter how much I cleaned or organized. After a little analysis, I found one of the main sources of my situation. There were constantly things in my house that didn’t even belong there! These items often fell into 2 categories:

1. Donations – Things that we didn’t need anymore and no longer had a place to go in our house. This included items that needed to be donated, sold, thrown away, or given away to friends. Some examples are kids’ outgrown clothes, baby gear, sports gear for a team sport that already ended.

2. Returns – Things that we didn’t even own and would never have a place in our house! This included items that we borrowed and needed to take back to the rightful owner. Some examples are borrowed library books and DVDs, items I borrowed from friends, products that needed to be returned to stores, and even movie rentals (hey – this was before Redbox, still during the time of video rental stores – remember Blockbuster?!).

Clutter in Your House and why You NEED a Donation Station

I’m willing to bet that you also have a never-ending clutter area in your house too (or more than one – be honest, I won’t judge). It can be extremely frustrating to keep cleaning up your house, just to have it look as bad (or worse) a week later. Trust me, I can relate.
Here is the before picture, so you can see how bad the problem was:

Problem #1:   The area between two bookshelves in our dining room was always the catch-all for junk and clutter, probably because nothing really went there and the spot always looked empty and available. The only thing that really belonged there was the wicker basket (which you can barely see!).
Problem #2:  The basket was supposed to house the items that were waiting to be donated, packed away or haul down to the ever-growing garage sale inventory of junk to sell. However, the basket was way too small for the job, and always overflowing and sloppy before I could get the items moved along to their final resting place.
Problem #3:   Nobody in the family except me knew what this basket was for, and so to everyone else it just looked like a permanent basket full of junk.

Cleaning up the mess wasn’t helping, because the plague of stuff always came back. I knew that I needed a more permanent solution. There had to be some kind of home system to address problem areas full of the clutter of transient items.

Solution: Make a Donation Station

And so the Donation Station was born. (And the Return Station. Remember the 2nd category of transitional items at the beginning of this article – the returns?) Here’s a look at the finished product:

Here’s how I organized my transitional items and eliminated the clutter-catching spot in my house, once and for all.
Step 1: I needed a large container, something that kept the junky mess contained and hidden. I scoured the recycle pad at the transfer station and found a perfect container: a large, cardboard moving box. It is tall, very sturdy and perfect… except, it’s brown cardboard, which really isn’t that attractive. Frugal solution: cover the box with gift wrap, which I also found free at the recycle pad!
Step 2: I cleared out all the clutter, putting the items in their homes and throwing the broken chair out with the trash (I told you things just found their way into that spot!). The garage sale items went into bags marked “garage sale” and were taken to the garage to await their fate. The donations were bagged and put into my car for drop-off. And the too-small kid clothes that I wanted to keep were packed into their respective storage boxes, marked with gender and size.
Step 3: Put the word out! I showed my family the new Donation Station and explained its use. If they know the system, they’ll use the system (at east, we moms always hope so, am I right?!).  I even printed out a matching sign that said “Donation Station” and taped it right on the front. That way everyone knew what the box was for, not just mom. Any items that they don’t want, don’t like, clothes that don’t fit, etc. go into the Donation Station. Once a month, mom sorts it into categories for garage sale, donation, eBay, pack away for later, etc.
My husband and I had a big shock when my daughter announced she no longer liked any of her “little kiddish” things, and we had a huge room makeover to do. I believe we would not have been so surprised if she had been able to take things she didn’t like anymore, clothes that were too small, or toys she didn’t want, and have a place to put them – no questions asked. We would have seen the princess items turning up in there and gotten the hint!
The new Donation Station is perfect. It gives a home to all these transitional items and gives everyone free reign to declutter their rooms at their leisure! And my corner looks nice and tidy. Cost of Donation Station: $0, and a mere 10 minutes to wrap the box!

Make It Today: The Donation Station!

So you’re sold on the idea of the Donation Station and desperately want one in your house now? I don’t blame you! Luckily, it’s fast and easy to make a Donation Station and – depending on how resourceful you are – can be cheap or even free.
1. Find a huge box – The bigger your family, the more space you need in your Donation Station. We want it to be able to make it for a month at a time so you can batch your sorting, remember? You can check with stores for bigger boxes that they may want to give away (think clothing stores, electronic stores, etc.).
2. Choose your covering/decoration – So that it blends in with your home decor and looks like it belongs, you’ll need to cover it with something. Unless brown corrugated cardboard matches your industrial motif, which it actually would for some people! Choose wrapping paper or wall paper to complement the decor in the room where it belongs.
3. Put it in an accessible place – I chose the walkway next to the dining room. It was a thoroughfare that led to bedrooms, the kitchen, and the bathroom. Make sure to pick a place that your family will see it and use it. Don’t pick an out of sight, out of mind place like the garage.
4. Make a sign – This is a totally optional step. But it does help to remind your kids that if they lazily just throw stuff over there that they don’t want to put away, it will get donated and be gone forever! I’m a big sign person.
5. Call a family meeting – You guessed it. Teach them how to use it and present the alternative – that they have to find a way to responsibly dispose of their own unwanted items if they don’t use the home system of the Donation Station! Laziness will usually prevail – kids will almost always rather have you do the work!
Let us know: Did you make a Donation Station? Tell us in the comments below and let us know how it’s working out.

Make the Return Station next!