Clean Out Closets For Favorite Charity
Fall always feels like the beginning of the year to us, rhythms left over from childhood when the school year signaled beginnings and new adventures.
It’s also a time to clean closets and try, we mean try, to abide by this rule: If we haven’t worn it or used it in the past year, give it to charity. Get it out into the world for others to use. Right now, we have about five small baskets languishing in the downstairs guest room closet. Why save them?
Somewhere, someone can use them. Put flowers in them. Or place bath soaps in them, all those good intentions we had in mind but never made time for. So into the charity bin they’ll go. Anyway, in the spirit of fall closet cleaning, we’re including here a couple of requests for items needed by two non-profit groups.
The YWCA Family Clothing Bank needs back-to-school items. They need new or clean usable clothing for girls and boys ages 5 to 18. For more information, call 326-1190, ext. 150.
Also, The Single Parent Outreach Connection, a non-profit group that offers support, referrals and counseling to single parents, is in need of diapers, feminine hygiene products, soap, toilet paper, kitchenware, towels, crib bedding, strollers and household furniture such as beds, dressers, tables and chairs. Call 483-4478.
Office clean-up: Speaking of getting rid of clutter, the “Get Organized! News” newsletter (www.tgon.com) offers these questions to ask yourself as you clear out files.
Do I need to keep this for legal reasons?
Can I get the same information from another source?
Could someone else make better use of this material?
Then there’s always that other rule of how to deal with mail efficiently. Only handle a piece of mail once. Do something with it (answer it, trash it) before setting it down. Sounds good on paper, but seems impossible in life.
The solace of memory: Here’s an excerpt from “Broken Sentences” an article written by women in prison in the March 1996 New Yorker special women’s issue:
“Every single morning when I go to work, you can see this fire in the sky, and I think of my grandmother and my grandfather and also the birds! When I hear the birds chirping I think of my grandmother who always thought I was an angel. She would always feed the birds from her balcony, throwing bread crumbs so there are things within these fences that remind me of good memories and loved ones from the past.”
, DataTimes