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nqmonarch · 7 months

Text

Valentines Day w/ HSR Characters!

Doing Calc homework and am very stressed, i can feel it everywhere in my body. the math is just not mathing mentally today (i looked at trigonometric identities today so maybe thats why)

Just writing out some messy ideas to take a break

Btw if u sent in a request and I haven't answered it yet I am working on it thank you for your uh question ask thingy i appreciate it, i like to know what people like to read bcus tbh i like to write anything altho jingyuan gets like +10 points cus he fluffy

Valentines Day With Some HSR Characters (Jing Yuan, Blade, Dan Heng, Stelle)

Jing Yuan

Jing Yuan is old school romantic. You cannot tell me he wouldn't arrive home with a big bouquet of roses (does HSR even have roses?) and 20 other gifts, including but not limiting to boxes of chocolate, teddy bears, and at least one gag gift. There's gotta be at least one, he'd make a dad joke out of it too.

Then he'd reserve one of the best restaurants on the Luofu and bring you there. He'd probably have booked a private room, thank goodness because no one wants to hear the general continuously compliment you until you're a puddle on the floor. What he is best at is attacks. But if he gets a compliment in return he'll freeze up for a moment before playfully returning it.

Jing Yuan doesn't put on his normal coy facade today, instead he just embraces how much he loves you because he's happy to still have you in his life.

Blade

Blade does not know it's Valentine's Day. It's not his fault, cut him some slack. Anyway Kafka probably reminds him that it's Valentine's Day about half way through the day to which he goes into a silent panic. You can't tell he's panicking he's just staring at the wall with a blank face, he actually looks like he wants to murder someone.

The two of you end up celebrating though! He... pulls something together, it really is something. Sure he smells like blood and the waiters are scared, and taking over this restaurant for a Valentine's Day dinner was definitely not in the script but... It could be worse. He's trying his best, really.

Afterwards you and Blade share lots of cuddles! Something he's pretty good at! Holding you just tight enough, and keeping you close to his side-- you just won't be able to get up if you want to get water or anything. He doesn't say too much but you can feel the love in each caress.

Dan Heng

Dan Heng doesn't really like going out, why would he when all he needs is right by his side? So the two of you stay on the express in the archives. What matters isn't where you are but the company. He'd probably get you a few trinkets from different places he's collected over the years, a necklace, a sick looking compass, whatever fits your vibe.

Dan Heng would probably also write you a love poem, and make you read it or awkwardly recite it in front of you. If you read it out loud though he will get unbelievably embarrassed and snatch it away from you. He'd give it back but he'd take some coaxing, be nice okay? His face is already red.

Then when the night draws to a close the two of you would curl up together on that sorry excuse of what he calls a bed. The majority of your body would be on Dan Heng's using him as a pillow, and his arms would be wrapped around your body keeping you still and warm.

Dan Heng's bed is not it man. Personally, I'd get back problems.

Stelle

"You are the one who deserves the golden trash the most," Truly romantic words from Stelle as she hands you a golden trashbag. That is just the first of the gifts she gives you tonight, and the one that's most valuable to her. It's the thought that counts right? You still have no idea what she's talking about when she mentions fighting Sampo as a trashcan...

The two of you spend a romantic night together, walking down the quiet streets of Belobog, and-- did Stelle just investigate a trashcan again? You should be used to this. On the bright side, every time she gets something cool she comes up to you with the biggest smile on her face, it's beyond adorable. Sometimes the trashcans even have good stuff, like a scarf Stelle lets you wear that thankfully doesn't smell like trash.

It's just good to spend time with the person you love. She spends her time catching you up on everything new from her adventures, and when it's too cold to stay out any longer the two of you head to the Astral Express. Where you shower together and then doze off on one of the Express' couch cushions while playing games. Your head rests against Stelle's reminding you, you're never alone.

Okay I need to get back to homework, fun break thanks guys. Imagine being alone on Valentines Day couldn't be me, I have my Calc Homework. It told me I was integral to it <3 legit peak partner material.

#hsr #reader insert #hsr x reader #gn reader #jing yuan x reader #blade x reader #dan heng x reader #stelle x reader #valentines day #me x calculus homework

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justawaychan · 6 years

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Gin-san and The Parfait

Note: Hey guys! I wrote this horror (?) fanfic for Gintoki’s bday 2 yrs ago. I finally edited it so I’d appreciate it greatly if you guys can give me feedback! It’s my first time writing a horror one, and tbh I imagined this story line in video/manga format. Please don’t be too harsh on me! Thank you and enjoy!! ^^

Lesson 1010:

When Your Doctor Tells You To Lay Off The Sweets, You Should Probably Listen To Him

“Parfait, parfait~

Strawberry, strawberry~”

Gintoki hummed mindlessly as he opened the door to the restaurant, ready to order his all-time favorite dessert. To his surprise, a perfectly concocted parfait with fresh strawberries and strawberry/chocolate Pocky sticking out on the side was waiting for him on the bar counter. A shiny silver spoon was laid out next to it.

“HO HO HO ~" He mused.

"I guess the owner finally realized what a valuable customer I am!”

He jumped to a seat at the bar, pulled the dessert close to him, and admired its beauty with twinkling eyes. A minute later, he finally grabbed the silver spoon, kissed it, and readied himself for battle. He started with a spoonful of strawberries at the top, chewing every bit of the fruit slowly, savoring its sweet yet tangy flavor. He headed for the Pocky after, dipping the chocolate-covered tips into the strawberry cream, biting them piece by piece. Once the garnishes were gone, he unceremoniously dove right into the main course. Spoonful after spoonful, bite after bite, Gintoki showed no signs of slowing down. After all, hesitation in battle could be deadly. The only time the White Yaksha would stop was to loudly sigh in satisfaction. It was during one of these interludes, as he leaned back on his seat, that he finally looked around the restaurant. It was empty and eerily quiet - there were no annoying yelling of the regular Amantos, the stuttering of the new waitresses in their short frilly aprons, or the crying of the grade school kids who wanted to leave and play at the park nearby. Odd, he thought, but Gintoki being Gintoki, pushed the uneasiness to the back of his mind and refocused on finishing his parfait. He was midway putting another spoonful in his mouth when it happened:

click

ti-nk

B A N G G G G G G ! ! !!!

the lights went out.

“Cho-cho-chotto…" Gintoki stuttered, trying to reach the bar counter from the floor. "A-a-ano…”

Silence.

“Yo-Yo-You se-se-see, I have ni-night blindness and I dropped my spo-spoon and I still have some pa-parfait left and I don’t want to be rude and not fi-finish the whole thing CAN YOU HEAR ME???!!!”

Silence.

“Ha! This is so funny! You’re really funny!! This is a great prank!!! HA HA HA!"

Silence.

“O-O-Onegai… just le-le-let me finish my parfait and I-I-I’ll be on my way…”

Silence...

H E A V Y B R E A TH I N G

...more silence.

“G A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A H H H H H H H ! ! ! ! ! ”

d a s h

crash-bang!

kreen ~ jin-gle!

B A M M M M M M

Panting heavily, with his hands on his knees, Gintoki barely kept himself from collapsing to the ground. He looked up and noticed a crowd of people staring at him and whispering, but the loud pounding of his heart prevented him from deciphering what was said. Passersby glared at him for taking up too much space on the sidewalk, mouthing the word "crazy" as they walk past him. Not wanting any more attention than he already had, Gintoki stood up straight, dusted his yukata, and casually walked off.

"F-Funny old man!" He shouted at the restaurant, nervously glancing at the people watching.

"I-I'll definitely get you next time! Ha ha ha!"

What transpired back there was nothing but a simple, random power outage - at least that was what Gintoki wanted to believe. It was just his luck that he was all alone when it happened, no big deal. Still, Gintoki's adrenaline hadn't gone down yet. He speedwalked away from the restaurant, checking behind him a few times to make sure no one was following him. He only slowed down when he couldn't see the diner anymore. Calm and relieved, he started wondering when their next job would be since rent was due next week, which then reminded him that he still owed Otose-san last month's rent. He scratched his head; all this thinking was going to make him bald. He then wondered whether he could sell his hair, but thought against it because who on Earth would want a naturally permed silver hair anyway? He realized, at this moment, that the street he was walking on was empty, and he, yet again, was alone. He then saw Madao up ahead, sitting on a flattened box in front of the convenience store with nothing on but his sunglasses – no shirt, no pants, no nothing. He was surrounded by his usual dark, gloomy aura, and Gintoki wanted nothing to do with it, or him. Looking straight ahead, he hastened his pace.

“Oy,” Madao called out softly. “Gin-san...”

Gintoki ignored him and proceeded onwards.

“Oy~ Gin-san, how was the parfait?”

Gintoki, unrelentless on his purpose of ignoring Madao, treaded on without a glance towards the latter's direction. He turned right at the corner at the end of the street, then another right on the next. It was about a mile past the store when he started to slow down. Finally able to collect his thoughts, he remembered what Madao said.

How was the parfait? echoed in Gintoki’s head.

How was the parfait?

Gintoki came to a halt. Sweat formed on his forehead, with some already trickling down his face. He could hear his heart race back up again. He looked around and found himself in a yet another empty street, dark and desolate.

Good grief, he thought.

Did everyone decide to stay at home today?! The dramas don't start til 8 pm anyway! What, do they all have hemorrhoids and need to-

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-

He was in the middle of his ruminations when he heard loud, heavy footsteps coming from his left. He saw through his periphery a dark alleyway from that direction, and a dark silhouette moving towards him.

-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-

The footsteps were getting louder and closer. He heard heavy breathing, but whether it's from the stranger or from him, he couldn't tell - his pounding heart was too loud. With adrenaline kicking in, he only had a few seconds to decide whether to run or fight. Whoever it was, he knew he could take them on, given they were human, or even Amanto. But, his mind interjected. But if it's a g-ghost...

-tap-tap-tap-tap-

Gintoki decided running was the only option for him in this situation. After the incident at the restaurant, it might be an omen from the gods that he, like everyone else, needed to stay home tonight. He tried hastily to move his feet - left, right, left, right - but they won't budge.

-tap-tap-tap-

Desperate, he punched his thighs a few times as some kind of reset. Gah! This is not a video game! Why the hell are you guys lagging now that I need you to work?!?!?

-tap-tap-

Left with his only other option, he gripped the handle of his wooden sword.

-tap.

The footsteps stopped. Gintoki was getting ready to strike back when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

“Dono, have you seen Madao?”

“O-Okita?” Gintoki blankly asked.

“Haiiiii…” Sougo replied, coming out of the darkness eating ice cream.

“Wha-What the hell are you doing in a dark, creepy alleyway eating ice cream?!?” Gintoki shouted. “…scared the shit out of me…”

“Oh, did I scare you? My bad~” Okita said half-heartedly. “Anyway, have you seen him? MADAO.”

“Ma-Madao? Wha-Why are you looking for him?”

“Well, he’s kind of a prime suspect right now,” Okita answered as he licked his ice cream.

“P-Prime suspect...?”

“Uh-huh.” Lick. “Allegedly, he killed the owner of the restaurant by the station. The employees last saw him with the owner, and they seemed to have been arguing about paying for a parfait or something.”

“Re-restaurant by the station? Pa-parfait?” Gintoki repeated.

“Yeah, the one you go to a lot. It was just chaos this morning – blood everywhere, body missing, employees were in shock. Some of them even passed out, had to go to the hospital by ambulance.” Okita explained, still eating.

“T-This morning? But I was just there… an hour… ago…” Gintoki gulped, his words trailing off.

“Dono?” Okita took his focus off his ice cream, looked up, and watched Gintoki with interest.

“N-Nothing. About Madao, I-I haven’t seen him at all.” Gintoki replied, his voice cracking towards the end. Okita stared at him. Gintoki averted his eyes away from Okita’s gaze, and tried to act as nonchalantly as possible. He started humming the new song that Otsuu-chan released, making a mental note to beat up Shinpachi later for getting it stuck in his head. He even started to mumble about the new Jump coming out this month. But Okita kept his stare, one side of his ice cream starting to melt. Gintoki, feeling the pressure of not telling the truth, was thinking of excuses to use to get out of the situation.

"Okita, I-"

“Well, if you do see him, give me a call. I’m going to head back to HQ. Hijikata might be looking for me and he’ll give me hell if he saw me eating ice cream while on patrol. Not that I care though,” Okita interrupted, licking the melting part of his ice cream before finishing it off in one bite. “Jah ne~”

“M-Mhm, jah ne...” Gintoki mumbled, waving goodbye to Sougo. He started walking towards the Yorozuya again. He couldn't fully comprehend what Okita told him and didn't really want to. Moreover, he didn't understand why he lied in the first place.

“Oh, Gin-san!”

Gintoki turned around, ready to come clean to Okita just in case he figured it out.

“ H O W W A S T H E P A R F A I T ? ”

"G A A A A A H H H H H ! ! !” Gintoki screamed, running as fast as he could away from the streets and into Otose-san's bar. It wasn't Okita who called him back in the alley. For a second, he thought he saw Madao's face. Scratch that, he was sure it was Madao - who couldn't recognize those sunglasses of his? But if it was Madao, Gintoki thought, why the hell was he looking like a ghost and screaming at me like a damn banshee? How the hell does he know about the - ?

Gintoki became aware then how dark the bar was. Around this time usually, the old hag and Catherine were busy getting ready to open up shop, with regular customers coming in right after work.

“Gin-san…” someone in the dark called out. “How was… the… ”

Gintoki blinked, clumsily opened the door, closed it behind him, then sprinted up the stairs into his apartment. He slammed the door shut, locked it, then double locked it as if his life depended on it. Feeling safe and secured, his breathing started to come down. He collapsed into the couch, and started to take off his yukata, thinking how great a shower would be right now. He couldn't believe the amount of sweat he produced in a short amount of time. He was halfway inside the bathroom when he noticed how unusually dark the apartment was. He gulped. His instinct told him to run, but his pride wasn’t letting him. This was his house after all. He wasn’t about to let his house scare him off, not one bit. He tried turning on the lights, but either the switch wasn’t working or the bulb burnt out. Damn Kagura for always leaving the lights on! Gintoki complained. So he started looking for candles. He looked everywhere – the drawers in the kitchen, the cabinets, on top of the fridge, under the sink – he found none. He started to panic.

“Cho-cho-chotto. Thi-This is my house! Why am I sc-scared?!? Hahahahaha..."

Then he heard feet shuffling.

“H A H A H A H A H A H A,” he laughed maniacally while slowly finding his way towards his room. When he found the door, he quickly opened it, leapt inside, and bolted it. He pressed his ears on the door, straining to listen for more footsteps. It was quiet. He breathed a sigh of relief. He felt heat radiating inside his room and noticed how brighter it was getting. With one hand still on the doorknob and the other on his sword, he slowly turned around.

P O P ! went the confetti canons.

“ H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y ! ”

Everyone shouted, though discordantly, with some already singing the Happy Birthday song. He could hear Shinpachi’s tone-deaf singing; Zura’s obnoxious laughter, telling Elizabeth how he thought of this surprise party for Gintoki but Kagura yelling at him for taking credit for her idea; Kondo's annoying laughter followed by him choking after getting kicked by Otae; and Sa-chan declaring herself as Gintoki's only-needed present. Everyone chatted away, mostly complaining about how long they waited in the dark, and how there better be food because they were starving. Tama then started passing out plates in the back as if on cue. The room was so loud and lively that the guests didn’t notice how silent and pale Gintoki had become. After all, in front of him, holding the cake, was none other than Madao’s half-illuminated, grinning face.

“How was the parfait, Gin-san?”

#gintama #gintoki #sakata gintoki #happy birthday gintoki #fanfic #fanfiction #gintama fanfiction #horror #comedy #anime #manga #edited

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aaltjebarisca · 5 years

Text

Keep, Donate or Toss: A Guide to Spring Cleaning

My method to decluttering isn’t exactly as inspiring as deciding what “sparks joy” and gently discarding the items that don’t. I tend to go with a tough love approach.

“Yeah, you loved that dress, but at this point it’s just taking up space.”

“Man, I wish people would quit loading me up with a bunch of junk ‘gifts’ that I’m just going to keep out of guilt for six months and then toss in the trash.”

“Stop pretending you’re cool enough to get invited to a party that would allow you to wear those sparkly pants. Get rid of them already!”

I’m a little bit ruthless, but it definitely helps me pare down all the stuff I own to items that I truly appreciate and am happy to have taking up valuable space in my home.

How can you channel this energy into your spring cleaning? Let’s take a look at some of the questions you should ask yourself anytime you’re trying to overhaul your large collection of “stuff.”

Figure Out Your Plan of Attack

First, you want to figure out how you’re going to sort through it all. Don’t resolve to do it all in one day – you don’t want to get burned out.

In fact, you might want to spread out your cleaning over several weeks, especially if you lead a busy life. Even doing a little bit each day helps. If you’re really limited on time, make it an ongoing, long-term project where you declutter as you go through your everyday actions.

For example, if you prepare your outfits the night before, take some of that time to do a quick once-over of your closet, looking for anything you haven’t worn in a while that can be put aside for donation.

You might also want to have a couple bins or boxes set aside so you can easily sort what’s going in the trash from what’s to be donated.

How do you decide what to donate and what to throw away? Basically, if it’s in good condition, you should consider donating it. Otherwise, it’s probably best to toss (or recycle) it.

Once you’ve decided on your strategy and are ready to get started, here are the questions you need to ask yourself when deciding to keep, donate or toss.

Would I Miss It?

One of the main questions you should be asking yourself when spring cleaning is, “If this item disappeared tomorrow, would I miss it?”

This won’t apply to everything (you might not miss your archive of tax documents, but you should still hold onto it), but it’s a good measure for things like clothes, books and other personal items. It helps you determine your emotional connection to an item.

If you have an old, beloved copy of a book you haven’t read in a while but are glad to have on your shelf, keep it. On the other hand, if you have a book that you’ve been promising yourself you’ll “get to” for several years now, it’s probably time to donate.

If you aren’t sure about something, give it a deadline. Stick it in the back of your closet for a month or so, and if you haven’t thought of it by the deadline, get rid of it.

Have I Used It Recently?

Even if an item has been really useful or important to you in the past, it doesn’t do any good to have a bunch of “Ghosts of Blue Jeans Pasts” cluttering up your space and limiting the room you have for newer, more useful items.

This can be especially helpful for sorting through clothing items. A lot of us have a tendency to hold onto things just in case we end up needing them – the beautiful but impractical pair of shoes that don’t go with anything in our closet, the shirt that fit us two sizes ago, the worn jeans we swear we’re going to turn into cutoffs one of these days.

Just because you haven’t used or worn an item recently doesn’t mean it automatically goes in the toss/donate pile. It just means that you need to evaluate why you haven’t used it in a while and if it’s really worth hanging onto.

Do I Need It?

Now, about those old tax documents.

You probably have a small stockpile of items that you either might need one day, or aren’t sure if it’s OK to throw out. While it’s generally a good idea to hold onto important documents you aren’t sure you’ll need, these records can start to pile up over the years, creating a big mess of paper that’s hard to navigate.

When it comes to important records and financial documents, here’s a basic rundown of how long you should keep them, according to finra.org:

Tax-related documents: 7 years

Property records: 6 years after sale of the home

Loan-related documents: Until the loan is paid off (you may want to keep proof that the loan was paid off indefinitely)

Paystubs: Until you receive your W-2

Bank and credit card statements: 1 month

Bills: Until payment clears

Keep any documentation of items that you plan to deduct/have previously deducted on your taxes. Additionally, if you make any large purchases, you should hold onto any related bills or receipts in case you ever need to substantiate an insurance claim.

What about the menagerie of junk drawer-type items you’ve got cluttering your home? Things like old remotes, cords that you aren’t sure what they belong to, old phone chargers and the like? That stuff is usually pretty safe to throw out. So are any instruction manuals you’ve kept for your belongings, since these are all online now. If you’re ever in need of instructions on how to use something, just type the item’s name and “manual” into your search engine.

Is It Taking Up More Space Than It’s Worth?

Sometimes, it’s nice to have some items on hand that you don’t necessarily use all the time but, when the occasion does arise, you’re glad you kept. A good example of this is a waffle iron.

Waffle irons are fun to have – especially if you have a kid who loves waffles. But realistically, how often are you making waffles? Once a month? Twice a year? For the other 300-plus days you aren’t using it, that waffle iron is just sitting there, taking up valuable cabinet space.

The key to these types of items is to ask yourself if they’re worth the space they take up when they aren’t in use. Maybe you consider whether to toss the waffle iron but decide that those Saturday mornings making waffles are more important than having the extra space.

Or you may decide that it’s not the end of the world if you have to make pancakes instead. There’s no right or wrong answer, as long as you’re being honest with yourself about an item’s usefulness.

Is There a Better Alternative?

The digital age offers many opportunities to minimize the amount of physical space things take up in your home. You can load photos onto a disc or flash drive, put your books onto an E-reader or get your music from a streaming service. If you have a giant DVD collection, save a few of your favorites, donate the rest and subscribe to a video streaming service to satisfy your entertainment needs.

Additionally, any physical resources and manuals you have can be given away and replaced with a simple internet connection. You don’t need multiple cookbooks or a set of encyclopedias when you have the World Wide Web at your fingertips.

If you have a bunch of files and documents that are taking up a lot of space, it might be worth it to spend a day scanning them onto your computer. Just be sure to back them up onto some sort of external drive.

While you’re doing this, go into all your important accounts and see which ones you can get paperless statements for. This will prevent a future build-up of document clutter and cut down on the amount of paper you have to shred.

While not everything in your life can (or should) be digitized, don’t be afraid to use technology to your advantage when it comes to decluttering and making the most of your space.

Get to a Comfortable (For You) Level of Clutter

This cleaning strategy requires you to be brutally honest with yourself. Asking yourself these questions will only get you so far if your answer to each one has you holding on to every single item.

We all have different tolerance levels for clutter, and while not everyone is going to end their spring cleaning as a minimalist with nothing but the bare essentials in their home, you should have at least a few bags of trash or donations to show for your hard work.

How do you know if you’re doing it right? If you end up with a house that’s got slightly less stuff in it and is easier to tidy, you’ve probably done a good job.

What are your top spring cleaning tips? Share them with us in the comments below!

The post Keep, Donate or Toss: A Guide to Spring Cleaning appeared first on ZING Blog by Quicken Loans.

from Updates About Loans https://www.quickenloans.com/blog/keep-donate-toss-guide-spring-cleaning

0 notes

mikebrackett · 5 years

Text

Keep, Donate or Toss: A Guide to Spring Cleaning

My method to decluttering isn’t exactly as inspiring as deciding what “sparks joy” and gently discarding the items that don’t. I tend to go with a tough love approach.

“Yeah, you loved that dress, but at this point it’s just taking up space.”

“Man, I wish people would quit loading me up with a bunch of junk ‘gifts’ that I’m just going to keep out of guilt for six months and then toss in the trash.”

“Stop pretending you’re cool enough to get invited to a party that would allow you to wear those sparkly pants. Get rid of them already!”

I’m a little bit ruthless, but it definitely helps me pare down all the stuff I own to items that I truly appreciate and am happy to have taking up valuable space in my home.

Figure Out Your Plan of Attack

First, you want to figure out how you’re going to sort through it all. Don’t resolve to do it all in one day – you don’t want to get burned out.

You might also want to have a couple bins or boxes set aside so you can easily sort what’s going in the trash from what’s to be donated.

How do you decide what to donate and what to throw away? Basically, if it’s in good condition, you should consider donating it. Otherwise, it’s probably best to toss (or recycle) it.

Once you’ve decided on your strategy and are ready to get started, here are the questions you need to ask yourself when deciding to keep, donate or toss.

Would I Miss It?

One of the main questions you should be asking yourself when spring cleaning is, “If this item disappeared tomorrow, would I miss it?”

If you aren’t sure about something, give it a deadline. Stick it in the back of your closet for a month or so, and if you haven’t thought of it by the deadline, get rid of it.

Have I Used It Recently?

Do I Need It?

Now, about those old tax documents.

When it comes to important records and financial documents, here’s a basic rundown of how long you should keep them, according to finra.org:

Tax-related documents: 7 years

Property records: 6 years after sale of the home

Loan-related documents: Until the loan is paid off (you may want to keep proof that the loan was paid off indefinitely)

Paystubs: Until you receive your W-2

Bank and credit card statements: 1 month

Bills: Until payment clears

Is It Taking Up More Space Than It’s Worth?

Sometimes, it’s nice to have some items on hand that you don’t necessarily use all the time but, when the occasion does arise, you’re glad you kept. A good example of this is a waffle iron.

Is There a Better Alternative?

While not everything in your life can (or should) be digitized, don’t be afraid to use technology to your advantage when it comes to decluttering and making the most of your space.

Get to a Comfortable (For You) Level of Clutter

This cleaning strategy requires you to be brutally honest with yourself. Asking yourself these questions will only get you so far if your answer to each one has you holding on to every single item.

How do you know if you’re doing it right? If you end up with a house that’s got slightly less stuff in it and is easier to tidy, you’ve probably done a good job.

What are your top spring cleaning tips? Share them with us in the comments below!

The post Keep, Donate or Toss: A Guide to Spring Cleaning appeared first on ZING Blog by Quicken Loans.

from Updates About Loans https://www.quickenloans.com/blog/keep-donate-toss-guide-spring-cleaning

0 notes

aaronsniderus · 5 years

Text

Keep, Donate or Toss: A Guide to Spring Cleaning

My method to decluttering isn’t exactly as inspiring as deciding what “sparks joy” and gently discarding the items that don’t. I tend to go with a tough love approach.

“Yeah, you loved that dress, but at this point it’s just taking up space.”

“Man, I wish people would quit loading me up with a bunch of junk ‘gifts’ that I’m just going to keep out of guilt for six months and then toss in the trash.”

“Stop pretending you’re cool enough to get invited to a party that would allow you to wear those sparkly pants. Get rid of them already!”

I’m a little bit ruthless, but it definitely helps me pare down all the stuff I own to items that I truly appreciate and am happy to have taking up valuable space in my home.

Figure Out Your Plan of Attack

First, you want to figure out how you’re going to sort through it all. Don’t resolve to do it all in one day – you don’t want to get burned out.

You might also want to have a couple bins or boxes set aside so you can easily sort what’s going in the trash from what’s to be donated.

How do you decide what to donate and what to throw away? Basically, if it’s in good condition, you should consider donating it. Otherwise, it’s probably best to toss (or recycle) it.

Once you’ve decided on your strategy and are ready to get started, here are the questions you need to ask yourself when deciding to keep, donate or toss.

Would I Miss It?

One of the main questions you should be asking yourself when spring cleaning is, “If this item disappeared tomorrow, would I miss it?”

If you aren’t sure about something, give it a deadline. Stick it in the back of your closet for a month or so, and if you haven’t thought of it by the deadline, get rid of it.

Have I Used It Recently?

Do I Need It?

Now, about those old tax documents.

When it comes to important records and financial documents, here’s a basic rundown of how long you should keep them, according to finra.org:

Tax-related documents: 7 years

Property records: 6 years after sale of the home

Loan-related documents: Until the loan is paid off (you may want to keep proof that the loan was paid off indefinitely)

Paystubs: Until you receive your W-2

Bank and credit card statements: 1 month

Bills: Until payment clears

Is It Taking Up More Space Than It’s Worth?

Sometimes, it’s nice to have some items on hand that you don’t necessarily use all the time but, when the occasion does arise, you’re glad you kept. A good example of this is a waffle iron.

Is There a Better Alternative?

While not everything in your life can (or should) be digitized, don’t be afraid to use technology to your advantage when it comes to decluttering and making the most of your space.

Get to a Comfortable (For You) Level of Clutter

This cleaning strategy requires you to be brutally honest with yourself. Asking yourself these questions will only get you so far if your answer to each one has you holding on to every single item.

How do you know if you’re doing it right? If you end up with a house that’s got slightly less stuff in it and is easier to tidy, you’ve probably done a good job.

What are your top spring cleaning tips? Share them with us in the comments below!

The post Keep, Donate or Toss: A Guide to Spring Cleaning appeared first on ZING Blog by Quicken Loans.

from Updates About Loans https://www.quickenloans.com/blog/keep-donate-toss-guide-spring-cleaning

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