Pre-Organizing Thoughts

I'm trying to psych myself up for a big - okay HUGE - organizing extravaganza at my house in 2 weeks. Judy, my MIL, will be in town for 5 days, so I'm going to take advantage of a live-in babysitter and go crazy. My main goal is to get the basement completely organized first. I'd also like to get all of our closets (We only have 3, so shouldn't be a huge undertaking) and all of the kids toys and clothes organized.

I'm already trying to figure out what I'm going to do with all of our stuff. We have a ton of baby items (clothes, blankets, toys) that I would love to go to a good home. However, while doing research today to find a place to donate these types of items, I'm noticing that they all require new things. I don't mean to be a jerk, but don't you think a homeless child would appreciate a used blanket as much as a new one? I read that you should only donate stuff to Goodwill (and stores like that) only if it can sell very easily; otherwise, you should just toss it. I have a feeling I'll be making several trips to the dump, because I bet my standards are lower than the average. I've thought about selling stuff myself. We'll see if I have the motivation for that. Justin is adamant about not having any rummage sales at our house, so I'd have to use Craigslist or EBay. That sounds like too much work for a few dollars, but we'll see, like I said.

I plan to take before and after pictures, because I'm determined that there will be a very noticeable difference. I'm feeling both excitement and dread toward this project, but I'm pretty sure I'll be very happy if I succeed! I just hope Justin is able to help me, because a lot of the crap in the basement is his!