clothes donation — Photo via AGKrejci/Pixabay

By Randy Webs of GreenDrop Charitable Donations

As a traveler and adventurer, you know that as you become well-traveled, so do most of your clothes. Your closet is probably full of clothes that you no longer wear; perhaps they’re a little too worn out or they don’t fit as well anymore.

Instead of letting unwanted clothes gather dust in your closet, why not help out those who could really use extra clothing?

At the most important time of the year, when the weather is at its harshest, clothes donations drop significantly. Here’s how donating used clothing through GreenDrop Charitable Donations or another clothes donation charity can help make a difference in someone’s life.

Your unwanted #clothes can #change #lives. Here's how. Click To Tweet

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Clothing Donations Are Down In Many States

This winter, many charities across the U.S. are experiencing a “freeze” on clothes donations, especially coats. Agencies in Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania have reported alarming drops in the amount of clothing donations they’ve been receiving since the start of the year, with many estimating as much as a 50% drop. This has taken huge bites out of the their business. Not only do these charity stores provide low-cost clothing options for people, but they also pay for many charitable actions, such as rehabilitation programs.

Who Benefits From Your Clothes Donation?

Homeless People: Many charities run homeless shelters, which give individuals living on the street a warm bed and shelter in their lives.
Veterans: Did you know that almost 25% of homeless people are U.S. veterans? There are many charities that help support military families by lending assistance to veterans who are struggling to make ends meet as the result of disability, hiring discrimination, etc.
Blind and Visually Impaired Individuals: There are organizations that raise funds through clothing sales in order to develop new technology and training programs that help blind individuals (including those who are losing their vision) so that they can remain both successful and independent in life.

Three Points That Might Encourage You To Donate

1. Donating clothes to charity is one of the easiest ways to help out other people. You can provide clothing for the disadvantaged and support charitable organizations simply by getting rid of a coat you haven’t worn for three years.

2. On average, American families throw out almost 70 pounds of clothes per year. More than 95% of this clothing could have been recycled.

3. There are many charities that will happily collect donations from your doorstep, so you won’t need to leave your home and brave the cold weather. Just call up a participating charity and let them know you have bags to donate.

Here's why you should #donate your used #clothes to #charity this #winter. Click To Tweet

As an added bonus, you could make quite a bit of money donating your unwanted clothes to charity. All you need is a receipt from the charitable organization saying you made the donation so that you can assign a fair market value for the deduction.

Always be careful and honest about the value of the clothing you’re donating. If you overstate the value, you could end up paying penalties and interest. If you’re not sure about the remaining market value of your belongings, one easy way to figure it out is to cruise through Ebay’s offerings for similar clothes and see what price these items ultimately sell for.

Do you have advice to add for those wanting to make a clothes donation? Please share in the comments below!

Jessica Festa is the editor of Epicure & Culture as well as Jessie on a Journey. She enjoys getting lost in new cities and having experiences you don’t read about in guidebooks. Some of her favorite travel experiences have been teaching English in Thailand, trekking her way through South America, backpacking Europe solo, road tripping through Australia, agritouring through Tuscany, and volunteering in Ghana.