Welcome to the June edition of the TAPTF Society newsletter! As we step into the heart of summer, we’re excited to celebrate Pride Month, which reminds us that our biggest strength as a community lies in our diversity and that true sustainability does not end at environmental decisions, but embraces a just society that supports inclusivity in all its forms. We are proud to stand with our LGBTQIA+ community in the continuing fight for dignity and equality for all humanity. 

Speaking of important work, in the month of May our volunteers were busy bees, buzzing here, there and everywhere to sustain Sussex County. Last month, we received $10,796 worth of dry goods, supplies and other resources, which we supplemented and processed into $22,659 in donations. This brings the grand total to 3,916 delicious and nutritious meals delivered to food insecure neighbors. We want to thank our many supporters, donors, and volunteers who help make this possible. We could not do it without you! Let’s keep our energy moving forward all through summer as we celebrate love and positive change together!

Springboard Delaware believes that everyone deserves a safe, stable place to call home. They focus on developing sustainable housing communities, such as Low Barrier Navigation Centers and Springboard Cottage Communities, which provide not only shelter but also access to essential services like healthcare, job training, and education. Their approach is centered on creating supportive environments where residents can thrive, build meaningful connections, and work toward self-sufficiency. 

And they have a Community Garden!

Their Community Garden Program is designed to empower their residents through sustainable farming, community involvement, and valuable skill-building. This program will provide fresh, healthy food for the village while also offering residents the opportunity to gain hands-on experience and contribute to a self-sustaining community. And they need your support…

Monetary donations will go to stipends for the garden caretakers, purchases of tools and supplies, as well as educational workshops on job training, healthy eating, and sustainable cultivation. Donations of plants, soil, and compost are also welcome! 

Help members of our community cultivate hope, resilience, and a healthier future for everyone at Springboard Village.

“I Need to Downsize or Declutter,
But I Have No Idea How to Start!”

A word from our guest blogger, Julie McCullough, a seasoned downsizer and volunteer at Habitat for Humanity ReStore on how to start your downsizing journey.

Whether you must clean out a relative’s home, are preparing for a move, or just want to simplify your life now so your children won’t have to deal with so much of your stuff at a later point, DOWNSIZING IS HARD! Most of us want to keep as much as possible out of the trash, but what do you do with it all? Getting started can be incredibly difficult!

Here are a few suggestions for how to begin:

First, are you working under a tight deadline? If so, talk to a full-service downsizing company and see if that’s a good option for you. There are people who will work with you from start to finish, going through the stuff, donating/selling/recycling as appropriate, and throwing away as needed. If you are cleaning out a relative’s home, or your downsizing is related to a move, these companies can carefully pack up the prized possessions you want to keep and arrange moving services.

If you have the luxury of time and won’t be working with a full-service company, it makes sense to start slowly. Create “success” for yourself. Set aside a small block of time – 30-60 minutes. Identify a small amount of space you want to clear out, like one drawer in the kitchen, or one dresser drawer, or one shelf on a bookshelf. Choose something that will be relatively easy for you to tackle. If you LOVE clothes, do not start with the dresser drawer. If books are your passion, start with the clothes. Whatever you start with, leave photos and sentimental things to much later in the process.

So what does “dealing with it” mean? As an example, think about cleaning out a gadget drawer in the kitchen. Start by opening the drawer and taking a photograph of it on your phone. Don’t straighten or arrange the contents – this is your “before” picture.

Next, empty the drawer onto a table or counter. Now, you “triage.” Go through items one by one. There should be some things you can tell right away you will definitely “let go of”. If you look at it, have no idea what it is, what it is used for or where it came from, it definitely goes into the discard pile. Or if you find duplicates, you only need to keep 1 or 2 – more fodder for the discard pile. You will likely see some items you adore and will keep forever. Put them in a separate pile from the discards. Your challenge here is to put them aside and AVOID THE TEMPTATION to take a trip down Memory Lane. Keep focused on the task at hand. Then you will have a middle category – things you need to think about. The “maybe” items. Put them in a separate pile, don’t get distracted, and keep going through the other things in the drawer.

Once you have the three piles, take another picture (in-process). Then put the definitely keep things back neatly, on one side of the drawer. Label that section as “KEEP.” Create some sort of barrier if you can, and put the “Maybes” back in a separate part of the drawer – labeled as “?”. You can go back and do another sort of the drawer in a few weeks or a couple of months, by which time hopefully some “maybes” will fall out naturally into one of the other two categories. Take another “After Picture” of the “Keep” & “Maybe” items in the neat and organized drawer.

To finish up the day’s task, go back to the “let go of” pile. You want to deal with those things quickly. Otherwise, that voice in the back of your head is very likely to ask, “Are you sure you want to get rid of that? Maybe you need to go back and re-look at the decisions you have just made.” That voice can easily undo most of what you have accomplished, so another triage is required. Separate out the “let go of” items into 4 categories: donate, recycle, throw out, or sell. Put things directly in trash or recycle bins right now, or take things to where you will donate or recycle them within the next week or so. Now you are done for the day! Time for a relaxing cup of coffee, an ice cream or a break with a good book to celebrate your newly cleared up space.

To learn more about how to break free from The Cycle of Stuff, visit Julie’s corner of the TAPTF Society website filled with inspiring reads, a local donation directory, and other useful resources for clearing your home.