Getting Rid of Clutter: Donating Old Clothes

Getting rid of clutter is a necessary but unpleasant job. While doing so will keep your home clean and reduce your stress level, it is rarely a task many people look forward to. Decluttering your home, though, is oftentimes as simple as purging your closet and donating your old clothes. Emptying your closet will provide you with more space and contributing your old clothes to a charity will leave you feeling cheerful to have helped someone in need.

Pick a Donation Date

Contact local charities and schedule a reasonable pick-up date and time for your donations. Scheduling this before you begin will require you to perform within the deadline and ensure that your discarded clothing will not remain in your house for very long. Request that the charity provide you with a donation receipt at the time of your donation for tax purposes.

Set Rules

Sit down and consider what you should purge from your closet and why. You do not necessarily need to write down these rules unless you think doing so will help you remember and stick to them.

In general, torn, overused or faded clothing should be donated. If you have recently gained or lost weight you can donate the clothing that is not your current size. Anything not worn in the last year, or is old or outdated-regardless of whether having ever been worn-are other great rules for donation. If you are unsure whether items are outdated, check to see if recent magazines contain similar items. If not they should be donated. Apply the rules uniformly to all items in your closet, including shoes, purses and accessories.

Divide up the Closet

Unless you have an unlimited amount of time in one day, set aside specific times to tackle a portion of your closet. Be reasonable in the amount of time each section will take to complete. Undertaking one portion at a time will make the job seem less insurmountable and overwhelming.

Do the Work

After completed the previous tasks, it is time to actually begin the purging process. Stick to your rules and be realistic with each piece of clothing. Put items that have not been worn in a year but that you are hesitant to donate into a separate pile and leave it for a week. If after that time you still have not worn it the piece should be donated.

Remove the clothing you intend to donate from hangers and put into a pile. Upon completion of the section, loosely fold these items and make a list of them for tax purposes. Next, put them into a garbage bag and place the bag in an out of the way area. Do not look back into the bags to review what they contain, or to pull out items. Add the items you have put in the “maybe” pile if they have not been worn during the allotted time.

Organize the New Space

Reorganizing your new closet efficiently will make discarding your old clothing less worrisome. Do not put empty hangers back into your closet. Re-hang like items together in ascending color order. For instance, t-shirts should hang near other t-shirts with like colors together. You may want to go to an organizational store to get ideas and purchase items to properly organize your closet.

Keep in mind that the clothing you are placing into the bags is not being discarded but donated to those in need. Your old suits or purses may help an individual struggling to find a job, and your old jeans can make a great new outfit for a teenager who otherwise would be unable to afford one. With planning decluttering your closet does not have to be a despised chore.