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Writer's pictureCharlotte Pototsky

My Thoughts On Donating

Updated: Jul 15, 2020

6/17/20 As I have mentioned, I try to live a very intentional life. This means I am very intentional with both my actions and what I own. I try to keep it minimal. I regularly clean out my room and go through possessions while asking myself if I really need something or if it brings me true happiness. However, when it’s time to get rid of it, it almost never goes straight into the trash. I first would try to sell it or give it away to someone directly. It is very different to sell or give away something knowing exactly who will be receiving it and that it will be used, rather than donating it which yes is nice but we can’t do this indefinitely. It is similar to recycling. Donating will not save the world. Donating something to someone in need can be helpful, however we need to first consider what happens once something gets donated. Infact, a lot of things such as clothing just get sold again, not given away freely. Or, let's say it ends up in a thrift store. Well, just keep in mind, you are not the only one donating. These stores get flooded with second hand items and it's sad to think that often times, our clothes don’t even end up available on the shelfs. So, after a while, if not bought, the item you donated could easily end up in the trash… the one place you don’t want it to go. In other words, donating is simply recycling clothes. If you didn’t know, recycling is not the ultimate answer either for waste disposal. Recycling is a great last resort, however, reduce and reuse come first in the three R’s for a reason. Actually, only 91% of plastic gets recycled. Similarly with clothes, an item often donated, only a certain percent will get reperchased and used a fair number of times. In conclusion, just be aware and cautious of what and how much we are donating. When possible, put it for sale, or even for free online first. Sell it at a garage sale or hand it over to a friend. Similarly, if you are only using a piece occasionally, see if you can share it with a friend or family member so the item can be used to the max. We don’t need to own everything we need to use. Before I leave, I want to share an experience I recently had. Since it is spring and we are stuck in quarentine with nothing better to do, my mom and I decided it was time to clean the house and do some decluttering. However, instead of donating everything like we typically would, we were more intentional with our actions and put it on the sidewalk. This way if something caught someone's eye, they could take it for free. Within just a few days over half of the items had been taken. That was way more efficient than immediately donating everything. The rest of the stuff will likely be donated. I know this was a short blog, but after last week's long post, I figured you wouldn’t want to read that much. See you next Wednesday.


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