Here is a Relatively Easy Way to Help People in Your Own Community

It’s no secret that the current economy is a concern for most everyone. We all feel the increases in prices at the grocery store. Renting or buying a home costs more than ever. You feel it, and you see it in your own community. 

Add to that the large-scale disasters we see across the country - from the aftermath of a hurricane in Western North Carolina to the wildfires in Los Angeles - and it’s easy to feel a little helpless. We want to make the world around us a better place. We want to ease suffering and help others, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. How do we help our neighbors AND fight climate change? It can feel overwhelming.

Today I’m giving you one easy place to start, and it’s your own closet.

What Does My Closet Have to Do With Helping the Planet or Other People?

Most of us have too much stuff. Our closets are overflowing with clothes, shoes, bags, and more. (It’s probably why you’re here, reading my newsletter for tips!)

Yet poverty rates in many communities, including here in Atlanta, are increasing. There are probably people within a mile or two from you right now who are worrying about how to pay their rent or how they will feed their children. 

Just think of all the clothes you have, that you haven’t worn in a year, that someone struggling in your area would be so happy to have. A professional outfit to wear to a job interview might mean the difference between paying rent or becoming homeless.

Donating clothes or other items you no longer need is also an eco-friendly choice. You’re saving those items from the landfill and giving them to someone else who can use and appreciate them. That’s an excellent way to help the environment. 

Now let’s look at a few quick tips to make it a bit easier to clean out your closet.

5 Tips for Getting Started on Your Closet Clean Out for a Good Cause

1. Select a cause or group for your donations. 

Start your closet clean out with your end goal in mind. Your end goal here is helping others. Giving back to your community. Easing suffering for neighbors in crisis. So many of us—especially women—will help others before we help ourselves. 

It’s difficult for us to do the things we need to do for ourselves, but it’s easy for us to do something good for someone else. (I’m not saying this is always good for us, but in this particular instance, we’re going to use that motivation. 😉)

Let the inspiration and motivation of helping someone carry you forward. This is a tangible thing we can do to help the world around us, even when so much going on right now feels out of our control.

Here are some organizations in Atlanta that I like to support. Whether you’re in Atlanta or in another city, find a cause that you really want to support. Who is doing good, inspiring work where you live?

Feet Of Clay - https://feetofclayatl.org/ 

Feet of Clay is a local nonprofit that helps women and children escape domestic violence situations. They accept clothing donations, but they do ask that bags or boxes be marked with the gender and age of clothing. You can call them to see what their particular needs are at the moment. A lot of their donations are used to set up new apartments at homes when victims relocate. This particular nonprofit is close to my heart as it’s something I went through myself.

Second Life Atlanta - https://secondlifeatlanta.org/ 

Second Life Atlanta runs a thrift store where the proceeds go to help homeless pets. They accept donations of clothing, accessories, homewares, and more. You can drop regular donations off to them outside at their location in Avondale.

Habitat for Humanity - https://www.atlantahabitat.org/restore/restore-donations 

The Habitat for Humanity ReStore is a little bit different because they don’t accept clothing donations, but they do accept other household items you might like to clean out of your home. I love that they take furniture and kitchen appliances. They also accept other items that you really don’t know what to do with, like extra tile, grout, sand, cement, etc. The ReStore sells these items at a discounted price. All the proceeds go towards building new houses for people who can’t afford them.

You can always donate to multiple groups. For example, you can donate clothing to one organization and furniture or appliances to a different place.

When you have a good idea of a cause you’d like to donate to, you can start decluttering or clearing items out of your closets.

2. Schedule time, but use motivation when it strikes.

No matter what the task is, it’s easy to put it off if we don’t schedule time to do it, even when we have the best intentions.

That’s why my next tip is to schedule time for your closet cleaning or decluttering. Even if you put just 30 minutes on the calendar, set aside time and set reminders for yourself. You will be amazed at how much you can get done in just a few minutes.

You also want to take advantage of motivation when it strikes. Forming a closet clean-out plan in your mind and deciding where you’d like to take your donations can be great motivation to get started. 

Even if you don’t get through your entire closet in the time you’ve scheduled, you will be able to make a good start. Seeing some progress will be inspiring in itself!

Once you have some items you’ve decided to give away, donating them can help give you more motivation and momentum to continue decluttering.

3. If you don’t wear it, let it go.

For every piece of clothing, every accessory, or every pair of shoes, ask yourself if you actually wear it. If you can’t remember the last time you wore it, or if you didn’t wear it within the past year, you should let it go.

If you don’t love it, or if it doesn’t fit, it’s time to let it go. 

This is where we often think of possible scenarios where we would wear something. We convince ourselves to hold onto things because there is a slight chance we might need them in the future. The truth is, most people have clothes they haven’t worn in several years. 

Take all the clothes you haven’t worn because they don’t fit your body, and think of the people who could wear and appreciate them. Is it better for dresses, shirts, shoes, and pants to sit in your closet, where they never see the light of day? Or is it better for them to be out in the world, worn by someone who really needs them?

4. If you have nothing to wear it with or no occasion to wear it, let it go.

There are clothes that don’t fit our bodies, and then there are clothes that don’t fit our lives. 

If, for example, you still have the dress you wore to a friend’s wedding 14 years ago and have never worn since, there is a good chance you won’t ever wear it again. You can let it go with the reassurance that someone else could wear it for a special occasion. 

Maybe you have a sweater you bought on sale last year that looks great on you, but you have nothing to wear with it. Then it’s probably time to let that sweater go too. 

Any item that doesn’t fit into an outfit doesn’t really fit your life. The same is true for clothes that don’t fit to places you go or occasions you celebrate. You wouldn’t own a scuba diving outfit if you never go scuba diving. The same would be true for a formal evening gown or a tuxedo if you never attend black tie events. (If you do have an occasion for a formal outfit, you can always try Rent the Runway.) Not all clothes fit all lifestyles. The clothes, shoes, and accessories in your closet should fit your lifestyle.

We can let go of clothes that don’t serve our lives and hope they will find their way to someone who is a better match.

5. Force yourself to wear the maybes and see how they feel.

Once you’ve evaluated everything in your closet, you might still have some clothes that are a maybe. They fit, and you wear them sometimes but not often. Or maybe you just don’t feel sure whether you should keep them or give them away.

Force yourself to wear the maybes. Those items you want to hold onto for some reason you just can’t quite name. Wear those items and think about how they feel and how they make you feel. Then you can make more final decisions about them. You might discover clothes you haven’t worn much that really do look amazing on you! You might discover that some of your clothes aren’t as comfortable or flattering as you thought they were.

Either way, it will be easier to make decisions about clothes, shoes, or accessories after you wear them for a bit.

Now for the Best Part

Here’s where we come to the best part. Now that you’ve evaluated everything in your closet, you’re ready to make donations. 

Even small donations help someone else in your community. No amount of help is too small, and many small actions add up. We can continue to help each other in little ways every day, even if we just start with our own closets.

I hope these quick tips and a bit of a perspective shift are helpful. I’m here for you if you’d like extra help clearing out closets or bigger spaces. Reach out if you’d like more details.

Xoxo,

Michelle