Stuff. We’ve all got it. This accumulated collection of unused, broken and ill-fitting miscellaneous is not quite a four-letter word. However, by the time January rolls around and you’ve been cramped inside since Halloween, it can feel like the items in your house are duplicating by the day.

Every January, thousands of people take advantage of the lull during the post-holiday season to commit themselves to a resolution. If you have decided this is the year to purge yourself of the masses of things suffocating your life and cluttering your home, read on.

When you are ready to begin the battle against the jungle of junk taking over your home, there are two avenues you can take: local and national.

Local Resources: If you are a locavore, you can re-purpose your stuff within Worcester County without a visit to the post office and the ensuing shipping costs.

Food drives designed to benefit soup kitchens and local homeless populations are most commonly held during the holiday season. However, hunger is not a seasonal issue. Consider donating items from your pantry or personal care items to benefit those in need. According to the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, homelessness is on the rise in Worcester County. From 2013-2014, there was an 8 percent increase in homelessness, bringing the total number of persons in need to more than 1,500. If you wish to donate, try:

Worcester County Food Bank
474 Boston Turnpike; Shrewsbury
foodbank.org

Rachel’s Table
633 Salisbury St., Worcester
rachelstable.org

One of my favorite winter pastimes is curling up with a book and a large mug of cocoa. However, once I’ve devoured my chosen piece of reading material, it usually ends up in a display on my coffee table (if I like the cover artwork) or in a forlorn pile next to my armchair. For those I choose not to reread – the ones in the pile next to my armchair – I am always on the lookout for a way to trade them in for new books and magazines. Check out bookstores in Worcester County that give customers store credit for their trade-ins.

Annie’s Book Stop
65 James St., Worcester
anniesbooksworcester.com

Food for Thought Bookstore and Café, Worcester Public Library
3 Salem Square, Worcester
worcpublib.org/about/bookstore

National Resources: In my experience, there are two types of people: Those who buy clothes and never wear them and those who, for many reasons, continue to wear the same worn-out, threadbare rags day in and day out. Whichever category you fit into, ThredUp.com should be the next website you visit. Based in San Francisco, ThredUp is a website where customers can sell slightly used women’s and children’s clothing. For those who wish to sell slightly used “top-brand,” “error-free,” “on-trend” clothing, ThredUp will send you a Clean Out Kit, which you fill and return, free of shipping charges. Then, you can go online and shop for new items to fill your slightly less full closet.

Let’s face it, sometimes you just want to be rid of your stuff, but often, there is no resale value for this bric-a-brac. In three simple steps, Waste Management’s collapsible Bagster can rid you of everything from that salvaged door that just does not fit into your DIY schedule to the TV that no longer receives a signal and the box spring molding away in the basement. The Bagster can be found online at Amazon.com or at home improvement stores, including Lowe’s and Home Depot. Able to hold up to 3,300 pounds of debris (a.k.a. the dreaded “stuff”), The Bagster is 96 inches long by 30 inches high and 48 inches deep.

If this year’s New Year’s resolution is to clean out your living space, the most important thing is that you do just that. Use your creativity to find the best ways to repurpose or sell your stuff. Once, my mom even donated extra lily bulbs to our local middle school. With one drop-off, she helped improve the look of our school, put smiles on the faces of a few of my teachers and cleaned out a couple boxes in the garage.

Happy de-cluttering!

By Emily Gowdey-Backus