Getting organized often includes donating a myriad of items, from things past their prime, to things still in the box. Over the years, there have been many conversations with clients who feel wasteful when choosing what to donate. On one hand, they want to be clear of the clutter, to start fresh and feel great in their homes again. On the other hand, they want to be responsible Earth-dwellers, not filling our landfill with things that still have life left, and upstanding citizens and make sure their donations go to the right place.
So, they are stuck. Sometimes, they begin to parcel out their donations to take to the most worth cause for the item in question:
- The blankets go to the animal shelter.
- The careerwear goes to Dress For Success.
- The crayons, stickers, and plastic tchotchkes go to the school.
- The books go to the library.
- The women’s and baby clothes go to the battered women’s shelter.
- The clothes your family has outgrown go to your friends.
- The “New in Box” and “Excellent Used Condition” items go in a pile to sell on Facebook.
The list goes on… and on… and on.
And soon, you are laughing and nodding furiously at the following meme:
I am all for social and environmental responsibility. Heck, I will sometimes keep a small stash of extra jackets and boots in my car to be able to give them to someone shivering on the street. I believe we should all pitch in to care for our hurting world. I accomplish this with my services and my sweater.
However, I have been editing my possessions and donating with regularity for quite some time. I am at a place where I am not doing a huge purge of my house at any one time. I don’t have to part with items like I’m saying goodbye to an old friend.
As Shrek so wisely stated, “Better out than in, I always say!”
What To Do With Your Donations
There is a point that you need to come to peace with starting fresh. It’s OK to have made mistakes in the past with your money, with your acquiring of stuff, with struggling to let go of the excess.
Mistakes are lessons, waiting for you to learn from them.
What I am suggesting to you is that you need to take care of your own walls before you can assume the full burden of our hurting world. If you are hurting in your home, overwhelmed, frustrated, angry with yourself that you’ve let things get to the point on unmanageability, you aren’t able to reach your full potential.
The best gift you can give to the world is YOU at your full potential, but when you are being suffocated and held back by the physical and mental clutter in your life, that ain’t happening.
So, Let it go. Let it go. Don’t hold it back anymore! (Two animated character references in one blog post?? Who am I?!?).
It’s OK to donate all of your items to one place, or to even call one of those donation trucks for pick up service. It’s OK if each of those places process donations in a different way. That’s their business. Therefore, once you choose to donate an item, fully let it go.
You’ve done the hard part.