Spread a Little Love

One of the best things I ever did to declutter, was clean out my closet with a very patient and caring friend. I tried things on and she told me what clothing she liked on me and pieces that she thought I should pass on. She also helped me build outfits so that I didn’t keep things that I would never wear because I wouldn’t have anything to wear them with. It was one of the most successful closet clean outs I’ve ever had because I didn’t need to spend hours debating and analyzing my outfits in the mirror. It was super-efficient and it was also pretty fun. I didn’t regret any of my giveaways because my friend had helped me feel confident that the pieces, I kept suited me and met my lifestyle needs.

When it came time to decide who to pass the clothing on to, it was easy for me, because I work at WIN and I already know, first hand, how impactful donating and shopping can be. Before I worked here though, I would probably have put some care into thinking about people who I thought would want my clothing. I lovingly chose pieces for specific people. Although it was always appreciated, the things didn’t frequently work out for others in my life because of size, shape and personal taste. My kindness is more anonymous now in that I donate to WIN and I don’t know exactly how those items will be used, but I put the same care into my selections knowing that my items might be purchased with a gift certificate by one of our program participants or by a shopper, whose purchase is essential to our ability to offer our programs to women in the community. I hope the garments they choose will give them the same good feeling that one of my friends might have had in receiving them. Everyone deserves to feel good in their clothing and about themselves. I hope in some small way that I contribute to more people feeling that. That’s why I am encouraging all of you to spread the love. Give yourself the gift of only keeping clothing that makes you feel great and give someone else the gift of discovering a new item or outfit that helps them feel amazing.