Flip on the television or radio, or scroll through your social media feed, and you will likely come across some stories that leave you with an unpleasant feeling. Whether it is a hurricane threatening to destroy life as we know it, or entire groups of people losing their rights, or news of violence and fighting, it seems that the bad news just never stops. If we let it, it can have the power to make us feel useless and as though there is nothing that we can do to try to make the world a better place.
But there is always something to be done, and no matter how seemingly small, every little action that we take with positive intention behind it can be a drop that causes a ripple, making a difference that may at first be unimaginable.
Household donations for a better world
It may not seem like a big deal to gather up some household donations for non profit organizations, second hand stores, or other donation centers, but if you take a step back, you just might start to grasp the overall impact that your supposedly small actions have in the long run.
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Steps to making a difference
- Start with the simple fact that these used clothing donations are no longer cluttering up your house. Sure, that might seem like an insignificant or selfish way to look at things, but you have to start somewhere. And think about the example of putting your own oxygen mask on first, before helping others in the event of a flight emergency. You have to be able to take care of yourself before you can help anyone else. Cleaning out closets and drawers can help to simplify your life and in turn bring clarity to your everyday mindset.
- Once you have started to get your own life in order, it is time to reach out and pay it forward. Take those household donations to a local charity or second hand shop, and think of the difference that those items will eventually make. To you, they no longer have any use or hold much value. But to the mother who buys those items at a significantly discounted price than you got it, it will mean the world that she can provide something for her family that she might not otherwise have the chance to do. Or the father who receives an unexpected gift from the charity organization. The things you were ready to discard are going to change someone’s life, if even for an instant.
- On top of decluttering your home and making someone less fortunate than you quite happy, you are helping to save the planet. Think about it. While nearly 100% of clothing and household textiles are indeed recyclable, no matter what condition they may be in, textile waste is one of the leading materials clogging landfills today. Clothing is bought and discarded at such a fast rate that the earth is slowly choking to death on old shirts. One study a few years ago showed that about 2.5 billion pounds of textiles and fabrics were recycled by way of used clothing purchases, thus keeping those items out of the landfills. We can make a difference, and it starts by not throwing that old shirt into the garbage can.
Whether you are helping a neighbor be able to afford to feed his or her family, or you are providing essential items to an individual overseas who you will never meet, there is a lot of good that will come out of thinning your wardrobe. And as you save the planet in the process, you can rest assured that those seemingly tiny steps that you have taken, of gathering up household donations and delivering them to the next stage of their journey, have indeed started an incredible ripple effect of goodness.
