Did you know the busiest time that thrift stores like Goodwill and the Salvation Army face is the week between Christmas and New Year’s? It makes sense: Many of us have time off, which offers a good opportunity to de-clutter and purge unwanted items. One way to help is to avoid that week and plan to make your donation at least a month prior to Christmas. This does two things: It helps avoid the busy donation time, and it provides merchandise that can be sold during the holiday season, too.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

It can be almost impossible to remove an ink stain from clothes when a ballpoint pen explodes. Here's a resourceful way to treat the stain and make your clothes look as good as new: Cover the stain in hand sanitizer. Clear, gel-based hand sanitizers are loaded with alcohol, which helps lift stains from the fibers of clothes. Saturating the area makes it easy for the stain to be removed when washed. Simply allow the hand sanitizer to saturate the material for at least 10 minutes before washing.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Seasonal decorations like evergreen branches, pumpkins, gourds and dried corn wreaths can easily be taken apart and tossed into the compost bin after the holiday season is over. Since these items are compostable, be sure to avoid adorning them with paint, glue or artificial materials as added decor. Decorate with fully natural and compostable materials so these seasonal items are truly zero waste from the first day of use to the last.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION