All those extra clothes you have lying around your place aren’t doing you any good, so why not use them to help someone else out? Donating good clothing is a great way to help support people that have come upon difficult financial times. Clothes can be prohibitively expensive, so it helps to have people who will donate theirs willingly. We’ll give you a few guidelines for donating your old clothing so it can have the maximum amount of impact.
Clothing Must Be Clean
The first and arguably most important guideline for making clothing donations is to wash any clothes you plan on donating. Many people donate clothes they haven’t worn in a long time, meaning they could be musty and dirty. Remember to use a neutral, non-fragranced detergent when you wash the clothes. This helps prevent any bad reactions for people who might pick up your clothes next and are sensitive to those things.
Clothing Must Be in Good Condition
Besides just being clean, a good clothing donation includes clothes fit for wearing. You may not want that shirt that has a huge hole in it anymore, but that doesn’t mean it’s useful for someone else. Clothing in good condition for donating should have no holes, large rips or tears, and no large stains anywhere on them.
Donate According to the Season
Many charities that take clothing donations, especially ones that pick up your donations right from your house, like the Purple Heart Pickup, don’t have the space to dedicate to storing excess clothing that they can’t use immediately. This is why donating according to seasonality is useful. You should donate more clothes that help for the summer or winter in those respective seasons so that these charities don’t have to hold on to clothes for months at a time.
Separate by Size
It can help to separate your clothing donations by size before you drop them off or have them picked up. Separating old baby clothes from your clothes can save the charity workers who sort through donations a lot of time and effort. It also makes them easier to categorize as they come in, rather than having to sort through everything by hand.
Label Everything
You can make the charity workers’ jobs even easier by clearly labeling your donations if you put them in boxes or bags. This also helps to cut back on time spent sorting through everything and gets your clothes out to those who need them much faster.
Authored by Inspire Your Journey