It’s that time of year again. All of the holiday madness is over, and you’ve gone back to the daily grind. As you go through your morning routine you see that same ugly sweater that your aunt gave you – without a gift receipt – or you have fun choosing which of the new shirts to wear that your mom bought you, and realize that you dig through shirts that you haven’t worn in at least a year.
Perhaps you sit on your couch, watching TV in the evenings, and try to avoid looking at the pile sitting in the corner with a board game you already own, a diffuser whose scent gives you a headache, a CD of John Denver’s greatest hits (which is just not your bag), and a stuffed animal whose proceeds benefit the World Wildlife Fund that you love the sentiment behind but have nowhere to put.
You can get rid of all of these things! De-clutter your life and help enrich the lives of others in the process by donating the things that you don’t use or want. It may be hard at first giving things away when you know a family member or friend had the best intentions when they gave them to you, but knowing other people could enjoy them more than you should make you feel better. Besides, if you wear that pair of earrings that are so not you every time you see your sister, then you might get the matching necklace next year for Christmas.
So if the idea of going through your clothes, or cleaning out your hall closet seems daunting, just find a grocery sack and start putting things in it that you are tired of looking at on a daily basis. You will be surprised how fast first one bag, and then two, and then three will fill up. Before you know it you’ll have a car full of things that you don’t want, but other people out in the world need whether it be to keep them warm, or simply make them feel better about themselves.
Wynne Cunningham