You open up your closet one morning and you stare at what is before you. Clothing. What seems like miles and miles of clothing. Then you suddenly remember something you heard one time on “Oprah” and you try to remember it exactly. It was something like, ” If you haven’t worn something in six months or more, and you live in a one or two season type of climate, it’s time to let go of that item.”
The more your dig through your closet, the more you find things that fit into that category. The next thing you know, you’ve got a huge pile built up on your bedroom floor. Now, what do you do? What do you do with everything that you no longer want that is piled up like the Leaning Tower of Pisa at the foot of your bed?
Have you considered how used clothing donations actually change the world?
Americans send 10.5 million tons of clothing to landfills every year. You can easily see how this would be a bad thing for our environment. Used clothing donations can obviously make a big dent in the number of items that get wasted. When you donate clothes instead of simply throwing them into a trash bag and hauling them to the curb, you save a little bit of our land but you also do so much more.
Charity clothing donations help people all over the world. Right here in the United States, proceeds from the sale of gently used clothing goes directly to things like helping veterans, aiding the blind, and providing shelter for individuals and families who might find themselves homeless. In addition, there are many developing countries that benefit from purchasing used items at a fraction of their original price. These items get a second use, instead of taking up space that we don’t have in a landfill somewhere.
Used clothing donations do not only benefit others, however. There are often very nice benefits that go along with being charitable. For example, donating clothing as well as other household items can earn you a very nice tax credit. Men’s overcoats and suits, for example, are worth up to 60% as a tax write off. Other items such as coffee makers can be written off on your taxes. Don’t limit yourself to that tower of clothes in your room that has now made it impossible to open the door to get out. Think about how often you use that extra toaster you got as a wedding present.
The good news is that roughly 4.7 billion tons of clothing are donated by Americans every year. As a result, many people can have access to gently used clothing at a fraction of its original cost. In addition, virtually 100% of fabrics can be recycled, regardless of their condition. So, if you find something that you feel can’t be worn again because it’s just too beat up, don’t worry. It will find a new life.
