House Declutter Project · Irvine

Don't clean. Run a sorting machine.

Every item gets one of six fates, decided in under 10 seconds by a rule — so you never agonize item-by-item.

The 3 inertia killers: "might need it" → you already ran the 2-yr test on the garage 4 yrs ago, so untouched items are confirmed discards. "still has value" → the $200 rule decides. "drive has my data" → pull it & destroy it. Solved once, mechanically.
2
weeks (spouse away)
1 hr
per day
6
piles, 1 rule
$200
sell / donate line
Your progress
0 / 0 done

⚖️ The decision rule

For every item, ask: Have I used it since the last cleanout / in 2+ years? If no, it leaves — then its resale value picks the lane.

Used in the last 2 years?  →  No? It leaves. What's it worth?
SELL≥ $200 & workingeBay · FB · Apple Trade In
DONATE$100–200 workingtax write-off usually wins
DONATE< $100 workingpickup or drop-off
E-WASTEbroken + electronicsdestroy drive first
TRASHbroken, no valuecurbside recycle

📦 The 6 piles — set up Day 1

Tape-label 6 zones in the garage staging area. Everything you touch lands in exactly one.

🟢
Sell

≥ $200, working

Worth your time to list. I can draft + price these.

🔵
Donate — Pickup

Clothes & working electronics

VVA / Lupus come to your curb. Tax receipt left.

🟡
Donate — Drop-off

SUV run

Goodwill / Salvation Army / Working Wardrobes.

⚫
E-waste + Destroy

Anything with a drive/chip

Destroy drive, then recycle. See SOP below.

🔴
Trash / Recycle

No value, no electronics

The 25-yr tent, ice boxes, old parts → curbside.

🟣
Keep

Earns its space

Sentimental capped at ONE labeled bin.

🔒 Data-security SOP — batch it once

The "my data is on it" blocker, solved mechanically in two buckets.

1

Drives you'll destroy

Pull the drive/SSD, drill 3–4 holes straight through the platters (or hammer + bend). Unrecoverable. Do all of them in one 30-min session.

2

Devices worth selling (≥$200)

Don't destroy — reset to preserve value. iPhone: Erase All Content & Settings (clears Activation Lock). Mac: Erase All Content & Settings (instant secure crypto-erase on modern Macs). Sign out of iCloud / Find My first.

⚠️ Best Buy & Goodwill do NOT guarantee a wipe. The only "hand it over with proof" option is a certified data-destruction service that shreds on-site + issues a Certificate of Destruction (see E-Waste Security, Irvine). Otherwise, destroy it yourself.

📍 Your Irvine resources

Mapped to the piles. Pickup comes to you; drop-off is one SUV run.

Free curbside pickup — they come to you

🇺🇸 Vietnam Veterans of America
Clothes, household, working electronics. ~24hr scheduling, leaves a tax receipt.
clothingdonations.org / vvapickup.org
🦋 Lupus Foundation Pickup
Clothes, electronics, dry goods, unopened makeup. Free scheduled pickup.
Enter ZIP to schedule online

Drop-off — load the SUV

♻️ Goodwill OC — Irvine
Gently-used goods. Fri & Sat only, 8a–5p.
4915 Alton Pkwy (Irvine United Congregational Church lot)
🛎️ Salvation Army — Costa Mesa
Takes furniture / bulkier goods. Mon–Sat 9a–8p, Sun 10a–6p.
2126 Harbor Blvd · (949) 642-3636
👔 Working Wardrobes — Irvine
Your professional clothing only (suits, dress shirts). Higher impact than Goodwill for those. Tue–Sat 9a–3p.
17392 Daimler St

E-waste + secure data destruction

🛡️ E-Waste Security IN IRVINE
Hard-drive shredding + Certificate of Destruction. Free equipment pickup. This is the answer to your OC e-waste data question — use it for drives you'd rather not drill.
2400 Barranca Pkwy, Irvine
🔌 Best Buy / TechWaste
Best Buy = free e-waste drop-off (no wipe guarantee — destroy drives first). TechWaste = certified (R2v3) OC e-waste + data destruction with pickup for larger batches.
Best Buy stores · techwasterecycling.com

Get value back + bulky items

📱 Apple Trade In
Old iPhones/Macs — instant quote, prepaid shipping. Oldest iPhone with value: 6S. Older = $0 but free recycle. Erase first either way.
apple.com/shop/trade-in
🛋️ Bulky items
Save your hauler's 4×/yr allotment for true bulk (furniture, appliances). The tent / ice boxes / parts just go curbside or SUV drop-off — no paid junk hauler needed.
Hauler bulk pickup · curbside recycle

🗓️ The 14-day plan

ADHD-friendly: rotate areas, never finish a room in one go. Each session fills piles; logistics days move stuff out.

Setup Closet Office Garage Logistics Kitchen
Day 1
Build the 6 piles. Quick garage pass — grab obvious discards.
Day 2
Closet — anything unworn 2+ yrs → donate piles.
Day 3
Office — old boxes recycle; pull all old drives into DESTROY bin.
Day 4
Garage — one zone/shelf. Tools/parts: confirmed-discard rule.
Day 5
Logistics — schedule VVA + Lupus; first SUV run (Fri/Sat Goodwill).
Day 6
Closet — shoes, accessories, bags.
Day 7
Office — triage old iPhones/Macs → trade-in vs destroy. Drill-the-drives batch.
Day 8
Garage — next zone. Sentimental bin (cap at one).
Day 9
Logistics — E-Waste Security run (get certificate); list ≥$200 items.
Day 10
Closet — finish; box donations.
Day 11
Office — finish; cables/peripherals → e-waste.
Day 12
Garage — finish remaining zones.
Day 13
Logistics — second donation/recycle run; bulk pickup if needed.
Day 14
Kitchen (last) — duplicate + once-a-year gadgets → Goodwill.

✅ Live checklists

Tick as you go — your progress saves automatically in this browser and feeds the bar up top.

🚀 Day 1 setup

🔒 Data security

🚚 Logistics booked

💰 Value recovery

🏠 Rooms cleared

🏁 Final sweep