• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

PowerSuiting

Career coaching with heart.

  • Career Coaching With Heart
  • How It Works
    • TRANSFORM
    • TRANSFORM DIY
  • About PowerSuiting
    • Contact Me
  • Blog
    • Career
    • Life
  • Client Testimonials

Donate Your Clothes, or Don’t: How to Decide What Goes

December 20, 2016 by Wendy Toth 1 Comment

donate your clothes: how to know what goes - image of a messy cabinet

Deciding if you should donate your clothes? I have a  system for that.

In part 2 of the Closet Taming Series, we covered the rules for filling your Closet Outbox. You should already have a little recurring time picked out weekly, for tending to it.

You’ll begin each session by emptying it, then filling it again with discards from a new category. Remember it’s the liver of your closet (a gross, but effective visual), so it will be living and changing with you each week.

If the image of a human organ isn’t working for you, maybe think of it as a garden: growing, breathing, has a few weeds crowding out the good stuff.

garden

…that’s much nicer. I should have said that first. Oh well.

Should You Donate Your Clothes?

Answer these 5 questions about each item:

1. Does it fit?

  • If yes, move down to #2.
  • If no:
    • Too small? Donate your clothes.
    • Too big? Are you willing to have it tailored this week?
      • If not, donate.
      • If yes, put it by your purse, now. Add a calendar reminder to go to the tailor this week.

2. Do you know how to wear it?

  • If yes, move to #3.
  • If no, challenge yourself to wear it this week. If you still don’t like it after it’s debut, it goes back in your Closet Outbox.

3. Does it need a repair?

  • If yes, are you willing to have it tailored this week?
  • If not, donate it.
    • If yes, put it by your purse now. Create a calendar reminder to go to the tailor.  

4. Is it too worn out to wear/ ruined with a stain?

  • If yes, does it have sentimental value?
    • If yes, consider one of these options:
      • Have a quilt made from your castoffs.
      • Take pictures and start an album on snapfish or smugmug, or your computer.
      • Try withoutatrace.com for tough custom reweaving jobs for knits you love.

5. Is it too worn out/ruined, but you still love the way it fits?

  • If yes, it’s time to measure & record.

Measure & Record

Before you donate your clothes, use a paper notebook, a notes app, a Google Doc, or the FREE MySize app to record:

  • Item Name
  • Brand Name
  • Size
  • Measurements (you can record this all in the “Size” field in MySize)
    • Garment length
    • Width of opening (waist for pants, or neck for shirts)
    • Width of mid points (under the armpits and shoulder to shoulder for shirts, hips for pants)
    • Any other measurement that pertains to a feature you LOVE about the fit. This could be the sleeve length, the width of a pant leg, whatever it is.

You can even take a pic for posterity.

donate your clothes: picture for posterity - image of a white T shirt on a dress form

Now you can use these measurements as an easy guide for shopping for a replacement. Just keep a measuring tape and your notes in your purse, and refer to these measurements the next time you shop.

Anything that’s left should go back in your closet, to the front of its section. Consider it a find your forgot about!

Treat it like something new you just bought.

Each week you should clear your outbox of one category (Tees, blouses, skirts, etc.) and fill up on another. You’ll be through all your clothes in a few weeks, with a sanely, and supremely uncluttered closet.

If you get stuck, just backtrack to an earlier step in the series. 

Here is the full “Sane Closet Cleanout” Series:

Step 1: The 5 Minute Closet Cleanout

Step 2: How to Declutter Your Wardrobe with the Closet Outbox

Step 3: Donate Your Clothes, or Don’t: How to Decide What Goes

Step 4: How to Organize Your Closet in 3 Steps – Head here next!

Filed Under: Organizing Tagged With: closet cleanout, system

Reach your full potential.

powered by TinyLetter

Featured Articles

Gifts That Start With A: An A-mazing List!

Gifts that start with A can be handy for everything from a themed “A” party to a white elephant gift exchange with your work friends. The letter A holds special meaning for many people. Giving gifts starting with the letter A is a creative way to show how much you care.  There are tons of […]

11 Positive Psychology Books for Newbies

In this article, we’ll cover: What is Positive Psychology Common Positive Psychology Topics Personal Growth Books Best Books for Positive Psychology Best Books on Positive Psychology The best books for positive psychology are the ones you’ll read! Seriously, this growing field of research is perfect for anyone who wants to live a more fulfilled life […]

Spotting Hammerhead Sharks in the Galapagos

I have a glamorous travel journalist friend who once let me tag along with her on assignment to the Galapagos Islands. This was before marriage. Before kids. Before having more than a couple of employees. I was always game for such adventures. Fast forward to now. I’m reading a “Magic School Bus” book about the […]

Why 90% of Us Hate Networking, and What the 10% Know

When you boil it down, networking is having relationships. Having friends. Then why does the very concept make most of us FEEL uncomfortable? So icky. Are you cringing a little, right now, just thinking about it? For this, you can thank your Social Survival Mammoth. This guy kept popping up, relentlessly, in my mind while […]

How to Romance Your Career

Anyone who claims they aren’t emotional about work is lying. Rather than ignore it, romance your career! It will love you back with the things you want.

how to hold people accountable

The Magic Email: How to Hold People Accountable

The Magic Email from the book Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss, really works. About the book itself: An ex-FBI international kidnapping negotiator opens each chapter with a crazy-but-true hostage negotiation story. Then he takes whatever tactic was used and applies it to regular life. You […]

how to care less about work

How to Care Less About Work (and Why)

“How to Care Less About Work (and Why)” is an eye-opening guest post from Corrie Shanahan, the author of Do it, Mean it, Be it. The Keys to Achieve Success, Happiness and Everything You Deserve at Work and in Life (Career Press).  I was speaking recently at a large financial institution that operates in Latin […]

shirts in closet

How to Build an Emergency Outfit that Will Work in Any Situation

Yes, this post describes how to easily build an emergency outfit, but I thought about calling it “Never make your family late again.” Or “Never nag your family about WHAT TIME WE HAVE TO LEAVE THE HOUSE for four hours, and then make them late… again.” In it, you’ll find a quick system I use to […]

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dale Monaghan says

    January 19, 2019 at 11:29 am

    One can donate their clothes after looking into these things such as Does it fit, Do you know how to wear it, Does it need a repair, Is it too worn out to wear/ ruined with a stain, Hence these are the ways by which one can know that they can donate their clothes or not.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

About PowerSuiting I’m Wendy, a long-time journalist and career coach. I started PowerSuiting to help other creative women get ahead, without giving up who they are. Wondering if I can support you in a career transition? Book a FREE call with me.

Win a FREE Career Coaching Course!

Transform DIY

Get a fresh career development tip (it’ll be fun, I promise) each month

AND

Be entered to win TRANSFORM DIY for FREE!

powered by TinyLetter

*One winner is chosen quarterly.

Topics

accessorize anxiety be helpful books career closet cleanout essay finances gifts humor interview makeup quotes shopping system What's Your Power Suit?

I’d love to connect with you!

Copyright © 2023 · Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in