The big closet switch has moved into full swing.
The request was innocent enough, but it signaled a really big change at your house.
The day that your younger daughter came downstairs and asked if she could move her summer clothes into her older sister’s closet was the real signal that you had been hoping to avoid. With two sophomore daughter’s, one in high school and one in college, closet space has always been a topic for discussion in your home. Your husband complains about the bottom rack in his closet always being jammed full of clothes that have made their way upstairs from the laundry room, but have not been claimed by either of the girls. Your older daughter, who is in her second year of college 12 hours from home, worries that the younger sister will borrow clothes while she is away at campus. Your younger daughter, the one requesting the summer storage expansion, often points out that she has the smallest closet of anyone in the house. You, the mother, struggle with telling your girls to pick up their closets when, in fact, your closet is often just as messy.
On this day, however, when the daughter with the too small closet asked to expand her clothes into her older closet, she signaled what you all knew, but were too saddened to mention. With the exception of coming home for holiday breaks and maybe a few days in the summer, your older daughter is most likely gone for good. She has found a college that she loves and has plans to stay next summer and work. Instead of dealing with this reality, though, you vow to support your younger daughter’s goal of closet sorting and cleaning and go help. And this is how you find yourself with another pile of clothing that you consider a charitable donation. This pile, like so many in the past, has served its purpose in your house and is ready to move on to a greater cause.
Making charitable donations of clothing and other household items is just one way you have of transitioning from one major life event to another. You made donations when your mother died and you and your sister sorted through closets, drawers, and cupboards of items that had wonderful memories, but really deserved to be somewhere else. You called a charity donation pickup service when you moved into this current house. Taking inventory of kitchen pots, pans, dishes, and even furniture, helped you make a more efficient move into your new home. Although it has never been easy for you to get rid of sentimental items, you realize that many people could use the items that are simply hanging in your closet unworn, or sitting in your cupboards unused.
Your Closet Cleaning Can Go a Long Way Toward Helping Families in Need
Fortunately, charitable donations are often on the minds of many Americans. In fact, in the year 2007, an estimated $5.8 billion worth of clothing and other related donations were made to charity foundations in America. Although there are many available donation options, organizations that help military families are some of the most well known. In a time when it is difficult to stand behind every military decision that is made in our country, one thing is easy agree on. The care and keeping of military service people, veterans, and their families.
Making charitable donations to military families is one way that many Americans can thank the men and women who put themselves in harm’s way for the safety of the country. Did you know, for instance, that as many as 1.7 million Purple Heart awards have been presented to soldiers wounded or killed while serving in the military? Every one of these awards may represent a family in need. A family that could benefit from the clothing and other household items that you are no longer using.
Some of life’s biggest transitions can be difficult. They can be easier, however, if you turn toward an opportunity for helping others. The next time that you find yourself regretting the move of a child to college, consider a little closet cleaning to help make the transition a little easier to handle.
