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Toss, Keep, Donate: Simple Steps to Prove You’re an Adult

By Linda Galeazzi
  |  
  3 Min Read
Toss, Keep, Donate: Simple Steps to Prove You’re an Adult
Assert your independence with a simple bedroom makeover. It's easier than you think!

Assert your independence with a simple bedroom makeover. It’s easier than you think!

Did you go back home and find your room looking exactly as it did before you left? Stuffed animals and sports trophies still where you left them, collecting dust? The holidays are the perfect time for you show your parents that you’re an adult now, a post-secondary student who’s ready to let go of the past.  The good news is that you can do it in four easy steps. The bad news is that it may require some elbow grease. So stop raiding your parents’ fridge, grab some empty boxes and show them that you’re ready to move on.

4 Simple Steps to Prove You are an Adult

Step One:

Mark three empty boxes or plastic bins with Keep, Toss or Donate and prepare to organize your closet and dresser drawers according to the seasons. In the Keep box, place items that have significant sentimental value, that you use regularly when you go home during breaks and visits, as well as items that you would like to keep but are willing to store away. In the Toss box, place clothing that you no longer wear or that no longer fit, gadgets and things that no longer work and can’t be fixed, and anything else that you can part with that can’t be recycled or donate. In the Donate box, add gently-used clothing, toys and games, and anything else that’s still in good working condition.

Step Two:

Take one last run through your closet and drawers and sort everything according to season. Once you’ve done this, do a final survey: Are you really going to wear those shorts again? Should you really be hanging onto clothes that your younger siblings would refer to as “retro”? Could someone else get good use out of your prom dress? Do you really need all those shoes and purses? Whatever comes out of the closet gets added to either the Toss or Donate box, depending on the condition they’re in.

Remember to wash clothing and stuffed animals and give other items a good washing, too. Charities always appreciate it.

Step Three:

Now that you’ve sorted everything comes the hard part: give your room a thorough cleaning from top to bottom and re-place items from your Keep box where you’d like them to be. (Yes. Cleaning. You’re probably already dusty from the sorting: what’s harm can a little vacuuming and Swiffering do?)

Step Four:

Now that you’ve proven you’re an adult, revert to being a child again and connect with your parents and family in a whole new way.

Play actual board games with your family rather than playing them online with strangers. Go buy a Krazy Karpet or find a large piece of cardboard and hit the nearest tobogganing hill with siblings, nieces or nephews. Make a snowman in the front yard that will put all other snowmen in the neighborhood to shame. Buy a tube of prepared cookie dough and make a batch of cookies like when you were a kid. Get some construction paper, glue and glitter and make home-made cards for your friends and family. Even if you can’t skate worth a lick, get your skates out and give it another shot, encouraging your family to do the same. Anything that was goofy, fun and memorable when you were young will be goofy, fun and memorable on a whole new level now that you’re an adult.

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