DON'T WAIT FOR SPRING; CLEAR OUT OLD CLUTTER BEFORE NEW YEAR ARRIVES.

Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer

Once upon a time, it was valuable stuff you just couldn't live without.

Like the black, fiberboard entertainment center big enough to hold a 27-inch television, the broken exercise bike that someone else didn't want either, a collection of crutches that helped support someone else's broken bones and clothes bought a couple of sizes ago.

Now, it is just clutter - ``junk'' being too harsh a word - and it is everywhere!

The garage is impassable and what was going to be a spare bedroom is now a never-visited black hole sucking up remnants of a past life.

There is hope, though. That messy garage can be spruced up and that extra room reclaimed. All it takes is a little discipline; OK, a lot of discipline.

Remember, what's junk - er, clutter - to you may be a prized possession to somebody else.

So here are some tips for taking back your space:

Hold a garage sale.

Lots of folks do it, but not that many do it right. Garage sales take planning and can be a lot of work. They can also pay off.

Take time to organize and try to present the merchandise as neatly as possible, such as keeping clothes in one area and furniture in another.

Put price tags on every item or group of similar items. And price on the high side. It's easy to negotiate down but almost impossible to negotiate up.

Donate.

There are dozens of nonprofit groups that are more than happy to come to your house or apartment and cart away stuff you don't want. These donations are tax deductible and you put a value, within reason, on the merchandise.

And these are perfect places for stuff you don't sell at the garage sale.

Among the groups:

American Veterans dates back to 1947 and uses the money it generates to buy items like pianos, exercise equipment, vans and buses with wheelchair lifts for Veterans Affairs Department hospitals.

The group does not have any retail outlets in the San Fernando Valley area but makes pickups in the region.

American Veterans will take clothing, electronic equipment and household goods, but not large furniture.

Pickups can be arranged by calling [phone].

The group also regularly canvases of neighborhoods and will leave a plastic bag and instructions on how to bundle material you want to donate.

Goodwill Industries also makes house calls to pick up stuff that is resold through its retail store network. Pickups can be arranged by calling [phone], Ext. 302.

Goodwill also has 60 donation centers throughout Los Angeles County. For their locations, call [phone].

Spokesman Richard Guiss said Goodwill accepts almost everything in terms of household goods. But Goodwill will not take refrigerators, washers or dryers.

It also will refurbish old computer equipment and welcomes donations from companies that may have a storeroom full of outdated equipment.

The Salvation Army is another outlet to make clutter disappear.

Call (800) 95-TRUCK to arrange a pickup. An operator will get information on the items to be donated and the stuff can be left by the curb with a note. The driver will leave a receipt for tax purposes.

``We will take anything that can be reused by someone else,'' said spokeswoman Dawn Marks.

The Salvation Army will take major appliances unless they are built-ins. It will not take old toilets, kitchen cabinets or discarded tile.

``It sounds silly but people think we can take of lot of things that we can't,'' she said.

The majority of donated material is sold to fund the group's drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs.

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PHOTO All that stuff in your garage that you just can't live without? Well, guess again; not only can you live without it, you'll live better without it.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer