It’s summer time and your closet is probably looking a little wild. If you’re like many people, cleaning out the closet and parsing summer clothes from winter clothes is a daunting all day task unto itself. More frustrating still is finding things you swore you, your partner, or children would wear but still have tags on. Americans discard roughly 68 pounds of clothing each year. What do you do with perfectly good clothes that you have no particular use for? Tossing it seems like an easy option, but definitely not the environmentally friendly one.

One option is find someone to look through your things and hope they find something like. You also might try selling them at a community or garage sale. If neither of those options sound particularly appealing, donating is a environmentally friendly and simple way to clear out your closet and do some good. 90% of clothes that are thrown out is perfectly fine, and could go to people who need them. donations for non profit organizations are crucial to their survival and the work they do. Americans buy 10 pounds of recycled clothes a year- donated clothes certainly fall into that category!


42.7% of charitable donations are made during the holidays. It is important to remember that people, especially children in need, require clothing year round,especially in regions where the seasons dramatically change. Lightly used clothing and toys are great things to donate if you’re not using them, as someone will love as much as you did. Helping families in need is a mitzvah, a good deed, and something you can feel good about. When deciding what to donate though, make sure they’re in good condition and still working if it’s a battery powered toy or appliance. There are websites that specialize in telling you what to donate for certain populations, so you can look for those items in your closet when you clear it out.

Now that you’ve decided to donate your stuff, where should you donate it? In the Philadelphia area, St Vincent de Paul offers donation pick ups, and a place to donate gently used clothing and household items. Donations for non profit organizations such as St Vincent de Paul go right to their communities, so you know the clothing will find immediate good use.

Your unused clothes can do more good in the community being donated than acquiring interesting moth smells. Scheduling a closet clear out at least once a year for everyone in your household and making them donations for non profit organizations also ensures you’re donating stylish clothes.