Hey earth muffins! A great way to be more sustainable is to support your local secondhand stores. This might mean shopping for clothing exclusively at the thrift OR donating clothes to keep the circular economy going. It is important to make sure your donations are allocated/used in the most effective way; so, you must ask yourself “where to donate my stuff“… But, you also need to ensure you donate clothes properly as well. Keep reading for all the top tips on donating your clothes!
1. Make sure they are worth donating
While you may want to donate that whole bag of clothes you decluttered, it is important to make sure the clothes are worth donating. This means they aren’t full of holes or threadbare… Donating may make you feel better about reducing waste, but it is unfair to the secondhand stores if they just have to throw away what you really should have put into the trash to begin with.
2. Clean them (please!)
Secondhand stores sometimes have the negative connotation that they are “dirty” or unclean. Don’t support this stereotype by donating dirty clothes. Make sure they have been washed and folded nicely. If something has the inherent smell of BO, just toss it in the trash instead.
3. Check the pockets
Before donating, make sure there is nothing left behind in the pockets. You don’t want to leave any personal items behind when making your donation. Not only that, you definitely don’t want someone at the thrift to find a dirty tissue or something. Gross!
4. Don’t leave them outside or unattended
We’ve all been there – you are trying to donate clothes and missed the drop off hours or the bin is full. Do NOT leave a bag of clothes outside of a bin or next to the door of a drop off center. Your items may never make it into the building or be mistaken for trash. To ensure that your items are actually reused and worn by someone else, it is important to make sure they get inside or into a charity worker’s hands.
While donating is great, you must make sure you are donating clothes in the proper way. There are easy things you can do to help with this. The most important is to ensure the items are worth donating in the first place! How often do you like to donate clothes? Comment below and let me know your favorite places to shop secondhand!
Love,
Jenna ♥
These are such excellent suggestions! It’s so important to be thoughtful about what is donated and how.