Moving? Consider donating some of your items

Monday marks September 1st, the start of many people's leases on their apartments. This weekend there is going to be ginormous amounts of people moving their stuff from one apartment to the next.

For those that don't have to move, it makes trying to drive around Boston difficult especially because those coming into Boston for the first time aren't familiar with the crazy road system here. The City of Boston is trying to help by increasing the amount of parking-enforcement officers and tow-trucks in areas which have a high-turnover in hopes to decrease the amount of problems throughout the city.

Moving day also means the city is going to be littered with garbage. Many people choose to leave anything they do not wish to move to their new place on the side of the street for the garbage people to pick up on trash day.

Yes, it sometimes is a great way to find end tables, in fact I have gotten two of my end tables from someone else's trash! However, most of people's unwanted furniture, toys, clothes and misc. items goes to our overcrowded landfills.

This is why I would like to remind people that you can take the extra time and donate many of the items you were going to leave on the side of the road. Some places even do curbside pick ups so you don't have to even leave your house. To find out what donatable items you have or what's available in your neighborhood go to earth911.org. It's my favorite site to find out where to either recycle or donate anything I no longer wish to keep.

My favorite place to donate is to Goodwill, in Davis Square. It's close by and is tax deductible. Here is a list of items they accept for donation:

• Antiques, collectibles
• Appliances (small)
• Artwork
• Bedspreads, blankets, curtains, tablecloths, decorative pillows
• Bicycles
• Books, records, tapes, CDs, DVDs
• Clothing, belts, scarves, ties, pocketbooks
• Cookware, dishes, pots and pans
• Games and toys
• House wares and decorative items
• Jewelry
• Sporting goods

I recently moved and I took TWO Full car loads over there of stuff to donate. It made my move easier and it felt great knowing that someone else will find use of the items I no longer wish to have/ fit into my new space. So I ask make three piles when moving, donatable, trash and moving and take the time to drop off any item that is donatable.

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Photo courtesy of: http://uberfashion.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/moving6pf.jpg