Give back, give thanks, give what you can. And after last week's newsletter, you all should have something to donate to
charity. Last week you purged your wardrobe -- this week, you will donate and then organize. Charity donations will, most importantly, help others but also give you a feeling of internal gratification.
When purging is completed, you'll have trash bags of your discarded items, which I strongly suggest you donate to charity. MUST Ministries in Atlanta is where I take my donations as this charity takes care of
people, helps them find jobs, and helps families in need. Men that are out of work and don't have something nice to wear to an interview can go to MUST and find some clothes. The Salvation Army and Goodwill are other options, but they charge for the clothes, unlike MUST where the clothes are free.
I'm a small guy, so my clothes fit a lot of teenagers. I know that MUST Ministries gives away clothes to people who attend school, which will help them assimilate easier. I feel good about donating clothes and giving back.
I just finished dropping off some bags of clothes and going into a place like that puts life into perspective. You realize just how fortunate you are, and it feels good to help in whatever way possible. I encourage you to donate what you've purged to charity or a homeless shelter. There are places worldwide that can accept donations, which will go to a good cause.
So whether you donate to charity or volunteer some of your time this Thanksgiving, your giving is not merely a task, job, or burden. Social connections develop and/or become more robust, and you can be the catalyst for generosity in your community. And at the end of the day, you will benefit from a healthy helping of happiness in the process.
Now, with the clothes you have left, these are the clothes you love ... that fit you well... and that makes you feel good about yourself. We need to get them organized. So, to start, separate your items into seasons. For example, during summertime, sweaters, corduroy pants, and boots should be removed from your wardrobe and stored. You can store them in a thick trash bag, in a closet in
another room, or somewhere else folded up nicely.
For the rest of the items that remain in your wardrobe, utilize your drawers and closet. If you have a lot of socks and underwear, perhaps designate two drawers for these items. You could also have another drawer with tank tops, sweatpants, and workout pants. Designate another drawer for sleepwear, and shorts could occupy another drawer as
well.
Pretty much everything else gets hung up or folded on the shelf above your hanging clothes, including t-shirts. Many guys will put their jeans into drawers, but I like to see mine, so I hang them up. Jeans can also get wrinkled, being folded up and put into a drawer.
Remember that a key to operating a wardrobe effectively is to have a visual of everything you have. If you unpack your dresser drawers and hang-up everything in your closet, you would be eliminating a lot of stuff because you would realize just how much stuff you have packed into the drawers. That's what the importance of this purge has been. And here's a tip: if you don't have a lot of closet
room, which could be an issue, you can hang items on garment racks.
Now that you've purged and organized, implement a rotation system for wearing your items. Send an alert on your phone a year from the day you start implementing the rotation. After a year, you'll purge again, and the items in your wardrobe will be the ones you absolutely love.
To make sure that I'm operating my wardrobe effectively and not just sticking to items that I love, I systematically go through my wardrobe. Once I've worn an item and launder it, I hang it in the back, so I am forced not to repeat that item. If you're always gravitating towards one piece of clothing that you love, you won't be able to operate your wardrobe efficiently by using all items. The
idea is to be creative & combine items to which you normally or initially wouldn't gravitate.
Along with placing worn items to the back, also use the backward hanger trick. Place all unworn hangers backward to start, and as you wear specific items, put the hanger back in the correct way. That way, after a year, you can purge all the clothing on backward hangers. As far as the items in your drawers, take them out and flip them the wrong way. When you wear them, place them back
correctly; that way, you'll know the items you did not wear and can purge them annually.
At this point, your wardrobe will be lean and mean. You're going to operate your wardrobe efficiently and effectively, and you'll feel so much better
without the clutter. I wish you all a happy and healthy Thanksgiving -- and one where you feel the incredible internal gratification of giving back.
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