Last night I was sorting donations for a charity rummage sale event. I was also fighting back my gag reflex because Ew! Smells! I don't do well with smells. Fabric softener, perfume, mold, moth balls...but what skeeved me out the most was the sh*t people "donate to charity" instead of "throw in their dumpster." Because I'm feeling charitable, I'll pass along a few tips for when you're pulling stuff from your closet for your next donation, folks:
1. If it's underwear? Throw it away. Unless it's still wrapped in original packaging and never been worn.
2. Ditto for bras. Especially bras all knotted together with wads of hair clinging to the elastic.
3. If it has stains, it's a rag. Throw it away.
4. If it has holes, it's a rag. Throw. It. Away.
5. If it has bleach stains, it's a rag. Throw. Away.
6. If the fabric has worn away in any area, particularly the collar, wrists, cuffs or knees, it's a rag. Throw. Away.
7. If it was once white but now is a dingy shade of almost gray, it's a rag. Throw. Away.
8. If it's unforgivably out of date (like the plaid polyester stirrup pants with matching sweatshirt I found in one bag), it should not even be used as a rag. Throw it away.
9. If it smells funky and you're not willing to even wash it first, throw it away.
As for the other stuff I hauled to the garbage pile, outdated canned goods, half-used bottles of lotion and nail polish, mix tapes and old magazines are NOT rummage. They are rubbish. So please, for the love of God, throw them away.
(Green Girl goes to wash her hands again, scrubbing them raw under hot, hot water.)
I'm going in today for another bout of sorting--this time I'm wearing gloves and a face mask. It makes me wonder, if this is what people see fit to donate to charity, what do they actually throw in their dumpster? Next time I make a thrift shop run I'm baking cookies for those poor souls who do this for a living. They need a little extra love if this is what they endure.
And? I'm feeling very superior in my charity right now because the stuff I donate? Is nice, often new, just not my taste.
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