If you are anything like me, as soon as the ball drops on New Years Eve, you get that urge to CLEAR. OUT. ALL. THE. THINGS!! I don't know what it is, but that fresh start feeling is REAL and is guaranteed to have me tackling every closet and drawer in my house. And of course, after a good de-cluttering, you need to figure out what to do with all that stuff.
Well, if you are clearing out some cozy apparel, now is a great time to take them to your local shelter or donation centre. Winters here are downright frigid and since layering in the cold weather is key, items such as winter coats, sweaters, long johns, scarves, warm socks, hats, mittens, undershirts, and good quality jeans all make good donations at this time of year. I want to stress that our goal is to not just clean out our space, but also to HELP, so it’s generally a good idea to call the organization ahead of time to find out exactly what they need, if anything. Sometimes shelters and charities are operating with limited space and staff and cannot manage all their donations. Also, donating clothing means that someone needs to open the donations, clean it, mend it, sort it, etc, etc, etc, so let's make sure those resources are put to good use. Much of what is donated is dirty, ripped, worn, out of fashion or not appropriate for that particular shelter (i.e. men's items donated to a women's shelter or vice versa).
I've also found it useful to keep my eyes and ears peeled around my community. Local schools will often do mitten and coat drives and last Winter my local grocery store was collecting gently used outerwear for a youth shelter.
So Happy New Year to you and yours! Cheers to fresh starts and helping others. Oh, and if you find that you've cleared out TOO MUCH cozy, you know where to find me ;)
S.