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Money problems? Struggling with credit card debt? What you need to know about bankruptcy? Trouble repaying student loans?
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Have you noticed that there is no room left in the garage for your car? Does your closet resemble the receiving room at a thrift store? Is your bookshelf a scene out of "Fahrenheit 451"? Own enough pots and pans to cook for the Third Regiment?
If you answered "yes" to more than one of these questions, it's time to take arms against a sea of possessions. The most obvious solution is to hold a garage sale and get strangers to clean out the mess for you. They'll even haul it away, and compensate you with real cash on the barrel head (if you have a barrel in there).
Plan B is to join a Freecycle(tm) group as I recently did. Daily posts in my e-mail from fellow Freecyclers offer goods free for the taking, and requests for things that they would like to own. When the twains meet, it is a wonderful thing. A recent post hooked up my friend Brenda, who had extra towels, with a terrier rescue group that needed them. It was a match made in heaven. The towel closet was thinned out, and the doggies were more comfortable. For information, go to www.freecycle.org.
Books are special. If they weren't, we wouldn't feel so guilty about tossing them. Solution time is nigh. An interesting group called "Book Crossing" is dedicated to the idea that books, once read, should be set free. If you join their group, you can document the release of your book and track it. It is registered by a number, and can be followed from owner to owner. Also, reviews and recommendations are posted. All at no charge! Freed books can be left in waiting rooms, park benches, laundromats, anywhere you choose. Or, if you really don't care to track them, just release them into the wild independently. For more information, go to www.bookcrossing.com.
Hopefully, these few suggestions will make it a little easier to navigate around your house. But remember that "nature abhors a vacuum," so beware that newly created space will fill up again fast if you're not careful.
"My Story" is a regular feature of The Dollar Stretcher. If you have a story that could help save time or money please send it by mailto:MyStory@stretcher.com
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