Most of us are guilty of over-consumerism today. One of the things that most of us have is having more clothes than we actually needed. If I would look into my closet, I can collect together quite a pile of items that I haven't looked at or used in over six months or even a year. Somehow, it's very hard to get the time to collect these clothing items together, bag them up and get rid of them. Plus, many of the clothing are in excellent, almost new condition.

It is such a shame to dump it into the trash, when it could be going to good use. That's where our local charities and used clothing stores come to the rescue. These establishments always welcome clothing donations and often offer discount coupons should you choose to shop for other needed items at a later date. Also, you don't have to limit your drop-offs to clothing only. You can also send shoes, household items, books and even furniture items, as long as they are in good condition and not requiring any major repairs.

Having a place to send our clothing donations has been half the battle for our family. From time to time we've found a needy family who can benefit from our unneeded items, however, it's can be a touchy topic to bring up, and some people have hang-ups about wearing used clothing or they feel like their a charity case, if you try to give them something. Having a retail establishment that welcomes clothing donations solves all those problems for us and eliminates the guesswork.

In addition, many of these used clothing stores now offer free pick-up of your used clothing donations. In our area, we will get a call about once a month notifying us that a truck will be on our street on a particular date, and asking if we will be putting anything out for pick-up. This service is wonderful. All you need to do is bag up your clothing donation along with any other items you would like to have carted away, and the truck will stop by and pick up your donation. Often times, the proceeds from the sales of donations, will go in part to a local charity. This is an added incentive for people to clear out their unused, unneeded items for a good cause!

It is such a waste to throw clothes away or to just leave it hanging in one's closet, and not worn. Donating used clothing is a gesture of generosity, it helps less-fortunate individuals in our communities. It helps to clear out space, making room for items we actually need and use, and eliminating clutter.

In short, clothing donations can benefit everyone. It is definitely something meaningful and our family will continue doing.