Manic Monday. But I Don't Actually Wish It Was Sunday.

Tip Of The Day: Two-Fer Tuesday is moving to this Monday (i.e. today) for ONE WEEK ONLY! – because I’m wacky like that. Actually, it’s because my Fox 9 News at 5 segment is airing tonight (Monday) at 5:10 PM and not tomorrow.
So! You get the Cheap Chick companion piece today, PLUS a bonus post later on this evening. All this cheap fabulosity coming at you and it’s only Monday. Lucky, lucky you.

Tip For Tomorrow: The excuse you needed to go out and buy a new dress, or two. No, you don’t have to thank me.

Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal: Today’s Fox 9 News at 5 PM Cheap Chick segment is about getting rid of your old stuff, to make way for the new. Which, yes, is a topic I’ve covered extensively in past posts, like this one:

http://cheapbutnoteasy.blogspot.com/2008/04/circle-of-life-or-rather-stuff.html

But for those of you who are new to Cheap But Not Easy, or just didn’t read that particular post (and what excuse do you have for THAT? Hmmmm? None? I thought so.), here is a brief recap.

A. When you do your annual Spring Cleaning, often times you are left with stacks of stuff you no longer want.
B. You don’t know what to do with said stacks.
C. Perhaps you contemplate having a garage sale.
D. The thought of all that work makes you sad, so you self-medicate with a margarita.
E. The drink is tasty and tequila-y, but you are still left with stacks of unwanted stuff. What to do?

Simple. Donate your stuff to either a thrift store or a charitable organization. It’s always a tax write-off, and with one of the donation spots listed below, you get Discounts For Donations (that’s their slogan). Here is the store/organization info you need to get started dumping your stuff:

1. ARC Greater Twin Cities. ARC has been assisting folks with intellectual and developmental handicaps for over 60 years. They sell your donations at either their Value Village stores or to wholesalers (like Saver’s) to fund their worthwhile projects.

But BEST OF ALL, they will actually come to you house and pick up your donation for you. It’s like charitable giving for complete slack-asses! You just can’t beat that.

To donate at their stores: http://www.arcsvaluevillage.com/.

To schedule a pick-up: http://www.bluetrucks.org/.

2. Bridging. Founded in 1987, Bridging’s mission is to “bridge the gap between those who have, and those who have not.” They do this by collecting your gently used furniture and household goods, then giving them FOR FREE to their clientele – who would otherwise go home to an empty space.

To donate: http://www.bridging.org/.

3. Earth Exchange. Earth Exchange’s goal is to have everyone recycle their goods, not just throw them away. To facilitate this, they’ll give you a discount on all their new and gently used merchandise in the store when you bring in a donation.For example: Bring in a bag of clothes, receive 50% off your entire clothing purchase. Their theme is Discounts for Donations – which means faster frugal gratification than that tax write-off!

To donate and shop: http://www.earthexchange.org/.

Please Remember: When donating your stuff, make sure it is clean and in good condition. Someone else is going to be using it now that you are through with it (rhyming is fun). So make it nice for them. Thanks!