Daily Archives: March 6, 2017

Spring Cleaning for a Cause with Red Cross Clothing Pickup

Red cross clothing donations

Spring cleaning is a yearly ritual for many people. It is a perfect opportunity to evaluate what has worked in the previous year and what we want for the year to come. Starting with our clothing is a quick and easy way to really examine what makes us happy on a daily basis. Then we can make space in our lives for what we want and bless others with items they need. Red Cross clothing pickup services take the clothing donations to a central clothing donation center. This makes it easy to help others while also doing something valuable for yourself.

Rethink Your Winter Wardrobe with Red Cross Clothing Pickup

Spring is the perfect time to go through your winter wardrobe and set aside those items that simply didn?t make it into the rotation to be donated. This makes far more sense that packing them away to be not worn again next winter. Take this time to really evaluate your winter wardrobe and only keep those pieces which bring you joy and that you use on a regular basis.

Do this for every family member. It only takes one afternoon to reduce the amount of storage needed for winter clothing and the stress of having to care for items which are not loved. This is an especially valuable space saving strategy for parents. If children do not have younger siblings who may utilize the clothing next winter, simply donate all of their winter clothing they will have outgrown by the following season.

Spring Fashion Planning with Red Cross Clothing Pickup

If this is your first year of sorting and selecting clothes donations, you can also use this time to reflect on the coming season. As you bring out items for warmer weather try them on and see how well they fit, how they make you feel, and if they are still appropriate for your style and lifestyle. Any that don?t fit well, that you are reluctant to wear, or that are no longer truly reflective of where you are in your life can be added to the clothing donations.

People often purchase something that speaks to their emotional and stylistic taste in the moment. They love it and wear it for a season but when the season arrives the following year they find their preferences have changed. Feeling guilty they hold on to the items but it is better to give them to people who can love them in the moment and who will use and enjoy them.

The American National Red Cross is one of the top 20 U.S. charities when ranked by private donations. It is easy to arrange for clothes to be picked up with the Red Cross clothing pickup service. This allows you to make a tax-deductible donation for your used clothing donations, help others, and give yourself more space in your home all at the same time.

The Ripple Effect of Good When You Donate Goods to Charity

Red cross pickup

Have you ever thought about donating all that clutter you have collecting dust to one of your local Red Cross donation centers? Or maybe you’re thinking that you didn’t even know that Red Cross donation centers were a thing. When you say “Red Cross donation center,” most minds go straight to blood donation, or even cash donation. The truth is, the Red Cross wouldn’t be able to administer aid in areas of crisis without the donations of household goods and gently used clothing from people like you.


We don’t mean for this to come across as a giant commercial for Red Cross donation centers. Whether you make Red Cross clothing donations, or you make used clothing donations to any other organization that does good, the impact of your clothes donations has a ripple effect that does good in so many more ways than just the cause of the organization you give to. Let’s think it through:


The Ripple Effect of Good When You Donate Goods to Charity

  1. RIPPLE ONE: Yourself.

    If you are an American, you are among the most fortunate humans on the planet. We have every thing we need, and more. So much more. We have so many possessions that sometimes our brains feel out of control. This is particularly true when we have more things than our brains feel like they can manage. This triggers a sense of anxiety and makes it more difficult to function and succeed in life.


    When you go through your possessions and clear out the items that you don’t need any more, your clean and clear home gives you a sense of zen. It’s easier to think clearly. It’s easier to function and thrive. And that’s not all. Giving your unneeded goods to a charity that does good gives you warm fuzzies. Doing a good deed makes you feel better about yourself, which gives you energy.


  2. RIPPLE TWO: The planet Earth.

    You don’t have to be a mathematician to know that the planet cannot exist forever with the way humans treat it currently. We rob the Earth of its natural resources to create energy and to create the possessions that clutter our homes. Our factories that produce those items also spew air pollution, and physical pollution all over the planet in the process of making out items. Then, when we’re done using them, we cast them off into a landfill. A landfill is essentially a giant hole in the ground that we dump trash into. Once it’s full, we just move along and dig a new hole. At the rate we’re going, one day, our whole planet will be a bunch of trash holes.


    However, when we donate goods to charity, we’re helping the planet in several ways: Instead of adding to the 10 million pounds of clothing that end up in a landfill each year, we’re giving our unneeded items a second life. On top of that, the person who makes use of your unneeded item doesn’t have to go buy it new. That means all the energy that would have been spent manufacturing, shipping it, and retailing it are saved. That also means that since one item met the needs of two people, only one item will be discarded in the long-run, saving the trash hole half the space that it would have taken if you’d just thrown it in the trash.

  3. RIPPLE THREE: Your local economy.

    The organization you donate your goods to isn’t the only one who benefits financially from your donation. The organization you give to might use your clothing to actually put clothes on the back of someone in need. But more likely, they’ll sell your goods in a thrift store and use the cash to further their cause. In addition to benefiting the organization you give to, the people who shop at the thrift store your donations end up are able to find items they need at a fraction of the cost of what they’d pay buying it new, so they benefit from your donation. On top of that, now they have more money in their pocket, so they go spend it at other local businesses, so they benefit. Maybe you’re one of those local businesses, so you put money back in your own pocket!