Warning: Recycling Can Cause Cash
So you’re looking in your closet and it’s too packed to maneuver the hangers from left to right, and thinking: Gah, I have nothing to wear! Been there, done that, and got the commemorative t-shirt to prove it.
The first impulse might be to ditch it all and start over. Can of lighter fluid and a box of matches! Don’t. Instead, consider donating the items you keep shoving to the back of the lineup. There are many places that would love to have your stuff, believe me. Besides, think of all the time you’ll save by NOT hosting a garage sale!
Here are a few places to get you started:
- Freecycle – one of the most effective ways of getting your spare stuff into the hands of someone who actually needs it
- Goodwill Industries – resells donated items.
- Salvation Army – resells donated items.
- Dress For Success – provides support (and career wear) for women needing an assist to enter the workforce.
Your local Yellow Pages will probably cough up even more candidate organizations.
Sanity Check:
Donate diplomatically. Give items in a ready-to-wear state if at all possible. Don’t donate garbage, dirty clothing, torn apparel, grubby items that need to be dry-cleaned before they’re usable. Some donation centers will spend far more repairing something in hopes of turning it around than they will ever recover by its sale.
