There are many reasons to downsize — from decluttering your home to making money. Indeed, the thing most people always seem to have too many of is clothes. And, when people downsize their wardrobes, they don’t always donate them to worthy causes. An estimated 12 million tons of clothing and textile waste is thrown out in the United States each year. Considering that there are so many people who need clothing to keep them warm and send their children to school, it is a shocking statistic.
Consider that an estimated 27% of military families in the United States have over $10,000 in credit card debt. Donating clothing specifically to organizations that help military families is a great way to make a difference in a lot of lives.
But how exactly does one go about getting rid of precious possessions? Take a look at this three step program to end up with less and give me:
Sort
First, gather all of one thing into a central location. That means compiling all of your photos, all of your clothes, all of your tchotchkes, etc, into one place, where you will be able to see all of them.
Hold
Hold every single item that you have in your pile and really decide whether or not it “sparks joy in your heart” as the Japanese minimalist Marie Kondo says. Clothes donations will allow you to pass along your things.
Purge
Get rid of whatever doesn’t spark joy in your heart. Seriously, even if you think you’ll use it later — it’s time to face the facts that you probably won’t and put them in the donation pile. Give to organizations that help military families in order to make sure your possession find the best homes possible.
Better recycling would be an amazing way tot help the environment — if every American recycled just one-tenth of their newspapers, we could save about 25 million trees each year. However, recycling is expensive and many municipalities cut corners with it. That is why it is a great idea to try to reuse or donate goods you would otherwise throw out. That’s why you should donate to veterans charities so that your clothes can go towards helping families in need. Organizations that help families will make a difference in the future of all of their members.